Iceberg
How to keep Apache Iceberg tables fast and affordable: file layout, sort-based compaction, snapshot maintenance and the trade-offs behind each choice.
Featured guides
Iceberg
Iceberg Compaction Explained: Bin-Pack vs. Sort
Why Apache Iceberg tables need compaction, how bin-pack and sort strategies differ, and how to choose between them.
All guides in this topic
Iceberg
Apache Iceberg Table Maintenance Checklist
The recurring maintenance tasks that keep Apache Iceberg tables fast and storage costs under control.
Iceberg
Iceberg Compaction Explained: Bin-Pack vs. Sort
Why Apache Iceberg tables need compaction, how bin-pack and sort strategies differ, and how to choose between them.
Frequently asked questions
What is Iceberg compaction?
Compaction rewrites many small data files into fewer larger ones, which reduces query planning time and object-store requests.
How often should I compact Iceberg tables?
It depends on write frequency. Tables with streaming or frequent batch writes usually need compaction daily or more often.