Apache Iceberg Table Maintenance Checklist

Apache Iceberg keeps a full history of table changes. That history enables time travel and safe concurrent writes, but it also accumulates files that need regular cleanup.

Expire old snapshots

Each commit creates a snapshot. Expiring snapshots older than your retention window removes references to data files that are no longer needed.

Remove orphan files

Failed or interrupted writes can leave files that no snapshot references. A periodic orphan-file cleanup reclaims that storage.

Compact data files

Schedule compaction

Run compaction on partitions that receive frequent writes, starting with the bin-pack strategy.

Target file size

Keep a consistent target file size, typically between 128 MB and 512 MB, depending on your query engine.

Rewrite manifests

Many small manifest files slow down query planning. Rewriting manifests groups them so planning stays fast as the table grows.

[[cta:contact]]

Key takeaways

Automate snapshot expiry, orphan cleanup, compaction and manifest rewrites so table performance and storage costs stay predictable.

‍