Snapshot lineage records how versioned Iceberg table states relate and change over time. Each write creates a snapshot that points to its parent, forming a directed lineage rather than a strictly chronological log. section 11.2.1
Use lineage metadata to:
- Inspect snapshot IDs, parent IDs, operations, and summaries of added, removed, or rewritten records. section 11.2.1
- Trace an unexpected row-count change from a commit to the specific files added or removed through manifest metadata. section 11.2.1
- Support auditing, governance, rollback, historical queries, and recovery alongside retention and storage controls. section 11.0 section 10.4
Investigating a changed fact table
Query the table’s snapshots metadata table, order recent commits for inspection, compare summary metrics, and drill into manifests to locate the responsible files. Treat committed timestamps as informative rather than perfectly reliable ordering signals. section 11.2.1
SELECT snapshot_id, committed_at, operation, summary FROM "db "."critical_fact_table.snapshots "ORDER BY committed_at DESC;
Use the supplied SQL listing to inspect snapshot IDs, commit timestamps, operations, and summary statistics for a table. section 11.2.1
