diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a37bef2..870729f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 2.1.1 (2026-08-24)
+
+### Fixes
+
+- StackQL planner/compiler errors (`could not locate symbol ...`, `cannot find matching operation ...`, `syntax error at position ...`, `disparity in fields to insert ...`) are now treated as fatal and abort the operation immediately. These errors are deterministic - the same query fails the same way on every attempt - but they were previously swallowed by the `exists`/`statecheck` retry loop and retried until the retry budget was exhausted.
+
 ## 2.1.0 (2026-08-24)
 
 ### Features
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 0ddd055..1e219cd 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1809,7 +1809,7 @@ checksum = "a8f112729512f8e442d81f95a8a7ddf2b7c6b8a1a6f509a95864142b30cab2d3"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "stackql-deploy"
-version = "2.1.0"
+version = "2.1.1"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "chrono",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 564bda4..b032b24 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "stackql-deploy"
-version = "2.1.0"
+version = "2.1.1"
 edition = "2021"
 rust-version = "1.75"
 description = "Infrastructure-as-code framework for declarative cloud resource management using StackQL"
diff --git a/src/core/errors.rs b/src/core/errors.rs
index 03a9370..794ff87 100644
--- a/src/core/errors.rs
+++ b/src/core/errors.rs
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 /// StackQL engine. If any pattern matches, the operation is aborted
 /// immediately rather than retried.
 ///
-/// Two categories:
+/// Three categories:
 ///
 /// 1. **Network errors** - The request never reached the API. Any result
 ///    from a query in this state is untrustworthy (e.g., an exists check
@@ -19,6 +19,11 @@
 /// 2. **HTTP status errors** - The request reached the API but the response
 ///    indicates an unrecoverable problem (auth failure, forbidden, etc.).
 ///    404 is explicitly excluded as it's normal for exists checks.
+///
+/// 3. **Planner/compiler errors** - The stackql engine could not plan the
+///    query (unknown column/symbol, no matching provider operation, SQL
+///    syntax error). These are deterministic: the same query will fail the
+///    same way on every attempt, so retrying only burns the retry budget.
 const FATAL_ERROR_PATTERNS: &[&str] = &[
     // Network-layer errors (Go net/http)
     "dial tcp:",
@@ -36,6 +41,11 @@ const FATAL_ERROR_PATTERNS: &[&str] = &[
     // HTTP status codes that are never retryable
     "http response status code: 401",
     "http response status code: 403",
+    // stackql planner/compiler errors - deterministic, never succeed on retry
+    "could not locate symbol",
+    "cannot find matching operation",
+    "disparity in fields to insert",
+    "syntax error at position",
 ];
 
 /// Patterns that indicate a non-fatal error, even if a fatal pattern
@@ -119,4 +129,28 @@ mod tests {
         let msg = r#"query returns error: no such column: foo"#;
         assert!(check_fatal_error(msg).is_none());
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_could_not_locate_symbol_is_fatal() {
+        let msg = r#"Query execution failed: could not locate symbol DBInstanceStatus"#;
+        assert!(check_fatal_error(msg).is_some());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_cannot_find_matching_operation_is_fatal() {
+        let msg = r#"cannot find matching operation, searched: [insert update delete]"#;
+        assert!(check_fatal_error(msg).is_some());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_syntax_error_is_fatal() {
+        let msg = r#"Query execution failed: syntax error at position 42 near 'form'"#;
+        assert!(check_fatal_error(msg).is_some());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_disparity_in_fields_is_fatal() {
+        let msg = r#"disparity in fields to insert and supplied data"#;
+        assert!(check_fatal_error(msg).is_some());
+    }
 }