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The OverwriteFiles interface provides an API for replacing existing files in an Iceberg table with new files.

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Overview

OverwriteFiles accumulates file additions and deletions, producing a new snapshot that replaces deleted files with added files. This is used for:
  • Idempotent writes that replace partitions
  • Update/delete operations that eagerly overwrite files
  • Data compaction and optimization

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Interface

public interface OverwriteFiles extends SnapshotUpdate<OverwriteFiles>

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Core Methods

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overwriteByRowFilter()

Deletes files that match an expression on data rows. 
OverwriteFiles overwriteByRowFilter(Expression expr)
Parameters:
  • expr - An expression on rows in the table
Returns: This for method chaining Throws: ValidationException if a file can contain both rows that match and rows that do not Description: A file is selected to be deleted if it could contain any rows that match the expression (using an inclusive projection). Files are deleted if all rows in the file must match the expression (using a strict projection). Example: 
import org.apache.iceberg.expressions.Expressions;

// Overwrite all data for a specific date
table.newOverwrite()
    .overwriteByRowFilter(Expressions.equal("date", "2024-01-15"))
    .addFile(newDataFile)
    .commit();

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addFile()

Adds a data file to the table. 
OverwriteFiles addFile(DataFile file)
Parameters:
  • file - A data file to add
Returns: This for method chaining Example: 
DataFile newFile = DataFiles.builder(spec)
    .withPath("/data/new-file.parquet")
    .withRecordCount(1000)
    .build();

table.newOverwrite()
    .addFile(newFile)
    .commit();

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deleteFile()

Deletes a data file from the table. 
OverwriteFiles deleteFile(DataFile file)
Parameters:
  • file - A data file to delete
Returns: This for method chaining Example: 
DataFile oldFile = ...; // File to remove

table.newOverwrite()
    .deleteFile(oldFile)
    .addFile(newFile)
    .commit();

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deleteFiles()

Deletes a set of data files along with their delete files. 
default OverwriteFiles deleteFiles(
    DataFileSet dataFilesToDelete,
    DeleteFileSet deleteFilesToDelete)
Parameters:
  • dataFilesToDelete - The data files to be deleted
  • deleteFilesToDelete - The delete files corresponding to the data files
Returns: This for method chaining

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Validation Methods

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validateAddedFilesMatchOverwriteFilter()

Validates that each added file matches the overwrite expression. 
OverwriteFiles validateAddedFilesMatchOverwriteFilter()
Returns: This for method chaining Description: Ensures writes are idempotent by validating that added files match the overwrite filter. This prevents adding files that wouldn’t be removed if the operation ran again. Example: 
table.newOverwrite()
    .overwriteByRowFilter(Expressions.equal("date", "2024-01-15"))
    .addFile(newFile)
    .validateAddedFilesMatchOverwriteFilter()
    .commit();

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validateFromSnapshot()

Sets the snapshot ID used in any reads for this operation. 
OverwriteFiles validateFromSnapshot(long snapshotId)
Parameters:
  • snapshotId - A snapshot ID
Returns: This for method chaining Description: Validations will check changes after this snapshot ID. If not set, all ancestor snapshots through the table’s initial snapshot are validated.

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conflictDetectionFilter()

Sets a conflict detection filter for validating concurrent changes. 
OverwriteFiles conflictDetectionFilter(Expression conflictDetectionFilter)
Parameters:
  • conflictDetectionFilter - An expression on rows in the table
Returns: This for method chaining

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validateNoConflictingData()

Enables validation that concurrently added data does not conflict. 
OverwriteFiles validateNoConflictingData()
Returns: This for method chaining Description: Required for non-idempotent overwrite operations. Validates that no new files matching the conflict detection filter have been added concurrently. Example: 
table.newOverwrite()
    .conflictDetectionFilter(Expressions.equal("date", "2024-01-15"))
    .validateNoConflictingData()
    .deleteFile(oldFile)
    .addFile(newFile)
    .commit();

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validateNoConflictingDeletes()

Enables validation that concurrent deletes do not conflict. 
OverwriteFiles validateNoConflictingDeletes()
Returns: This for method chaining Description: Required for non-idempotent overwrite operations. Validates that no concurrent deletes affect the files being overwritten.

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caseSensitive()

Enables or disables case sensitive expression binding. 
OverwriteFiles caseSensitive(boolean caseSensitive)
Parameters:
  • caseSensitive - Whether expression binding should be case sensitive
Returns: This for method chaining

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Examples

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Partition Overwrite (Idempotent)

import org.apache.iceberg.Table;
import org.apache.iceberg.OverwriteFiles;
import org.apache.iceberg.expressions.Expressions;

// Replace all data for a specific partition
String targetDate = "2024-01-15";

DataFile newFile = createDataFile("/data/date=2024-01-15/new.parquet");

table.newOverwrite()
    .overwriteByRowFilter(Expressions.equal("date", targetDate))
    .addFile(newFile)
    .validateAddedFilesMatchOverwriteFilter()
    .commit();

System.out.println("Partition overwrite complete");

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File-Level Overwrite

// Replace specific files
List<DataFile> oldFiles = findFilesToReplace();
List<DataFile> newFiles = createReplacementFiles();

OverwriteFiles overwrite = table.newOverwrite();

// Delete old files
for (DataFile oldFile : oldFiles) {
    overwrite.deleteFile(oldFile);
}

// Add new files
for (DataFile newFile : newFiles) {
    overwrite.addFile(newFile);
}

overwrite.commit();

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Compaction with Overwrite

import org.apache.iceberg.FileScanTask;
import org.apache.iceberg.io.CloseableIterable;

// Compact small files in a partition
Expression partitionFilter = Expressions.equal("date", "2024-01-15");

// Find files to compact
List<DataFile> filesToCompact = new ArrayList<>();
TableScan scan = table.newScan().filter(partitionFilter);

try (CloseableIterable<FileScanTask> tasks = scan.planFiles()) {
    for (FileScanTask task : tasks) {
        if (task.file().fileSizeInBytes() < SMALL_FILE_THRESHOLD) {
            filesToCompact.add(task.file());
        }
    }
}

// Compact files
DataFile compactedFile = compactFiles(filesToCompact);

// Overwrite
OverwriteFiles overwrite = table.newOverwrite();
for (DataFile file : filesToCompact) {
    overwrite.deleteFile(file);
}
overwrite.addFile(compactedFile).commit();

System.out.println("Compacted " + filesToCompact.size() + 
    " files into 1 file");

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Dynamic Overwrite

// Overwrite partitions dynamically based on new data
Set<String> affectedPartitions = new HashSet<>();

for (DataFile newFile : newFiles) {
    String partition = extractPartition(newFile);
    affectedPartitions.add(partition);
}

// Build overwrite expression
Expression filter = null;
for (String partition : affectedPartitions) {
    Expression partExpr = Expressions.equal("date", partition);
    filter = (filter == null) ? partExpr : Expressions.or(filter, partExpr);
}

// Overwrite affected partitions
OverwriteFiles overwrite = table.newOverwrite()
    .overwriteByRowFilter(filter);

for (DataFile newFile : newFiles) {
    overwrite.addFile(newFile);
}

overwrite.validateAddedFilesMatchOverwriteFilter()
         .commit();

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Non-Idempotent Update with Validation

// Update operation that must validate concurrent changes
long readSnapshotId = table.currentSnapshot().snapshotId();

// Read and filter data
List<DataFile> filesToUpdate = identifyFilesToUpdate();
List<DataFile> updatedFiles = rewriteFiles(filesToUpdate);

// Perform overwrite with validation
Expression conflictFilter = Expressions.equal("category", "electronics");

OverwriteFiles overwrite = table.newOverwrite()
    .validateFromSnapshot(readSnapshotId)
    .conflictDetectionFilter(conflictFilter)
    .validateNoConflictingData()
    .validateNoConflictingDeletes();

for (DataFile oldFile : filesToUpdate) {
    overwrite.deleteFile(oldFile);
}

for (DataFile newFile : updatedFiles) {
    overwrite.addFile(newFile);
}

try {
    overwrite.commit();
} catch (ValidationException e) {
    System.err.println("Concurrent modification detected: " + e.getMessage());
    // Retry or handle conflict
}

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Multi-Partition Overwrite

// Overwrite multiple partitions atomically
List<String> dates = Arrays.asList("2024-01-15", "2024-01-16", "2024-01-17");

// Build filter for all dates
Expression filter = null;
for (String date : dates) {
    Expression dateExpr = Expressions.equal("date", date);
    filter = (filter == null) ? dateExpr : Expressions.or(filter, dateExpr);
}

// Create new files for each partition
List<DataFile> newFiles = new ArrayList<>();
for (String date : dates) {
    DataFile file = createFileForDate(date);
    newFiles.add(file);
}

// Atomic overwrite
OverwriteFiles overwrite = table.newOverwrite()
    .overwriteByRowFilter(filter);

for (DataFile file : newFiles) {
    overwrite.addFile(file);
}

overwrite.validateAddedFilesMatchOverwriteFilter()
         .commit();

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Overwrite with Delete Files

import org.apache.iceberg.util.DataFileSet;
import org.apache.iceberg.util.DeleteFileSet;

// Overwrite data files and associated delete files
DataFileSet dataFiles = DataFileSet.create();
DeleteFileSet deleteFiles = DeleteFileSet.create();

// Collect files to remove
for (FileScanTask task : tasks) {
    dataFiles.add(task.file());
    deleteFiles.addAll(task.deletes());
}

// Perform overwrite
table.newOverwrite()
    .deleteFiles(dataFiles, deleteFiles)
    .addFile(compactedFile)
    .commit();

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Validation Modes

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Idempotent Overwrite

For operations that can safely be retried: 
table.newOverwrite()
    .overwriteByRowFilter(filter)
    .addFile(newFile)
    .validateAddedFilesMatchOverwriteFilter()  // Ensures idempotency
    .commit();

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Non-Idempotent Overwrite

For operations that must check for conflicts: 
table.newOverwrite()
    .validateFromSnapshot(readSnapshot)
    .conflictDetectionFilter(filter)
    .validateNoConflictingData()
    .validateNoConflictingDeletes()
    .deleteFile(oldFile)
    .addFile(newFile)
    .commit();

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See Also

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