register_table is an Apache Iceberg procedure for recreating a catalog entry that points to an existing metadata.json file. It provides a recovery path when catalog records are lost or corrupted but metadata remains available in storage. section 11.3.1
Use register_table with explicit operational safeguards:
- Identify and preserve the correct metadata file; recovery depends on knowing its location and retaining consistent metadata versions. section 11.3.1
- Register exported metadata in another environment only for inspection, validation, or testing, and make the resulting table read-only. section 11.3.3
- Prevent concurrent writes across catalogs, because multiple authoritative owners can create split-brain divergence and metadata corruption. section 11.3.3
Recovery and validation workflow
After a catalog failure, locate a preserved metadata.json file, use register_table to create a catalog entry pointing to it, and validate the restored table. For staging or disaster recovery, register the exported metadata for read-only inspection rather than allowing writes in both environments. section 11.3.1 section 11.3.3
