Table Snapshots

Every time a table is written, PlaidCloud’s lakehouse keeps a snapshot of the table at that point — a consistent, point-in-time copy of the data. Snapshots let you look back at what a table contained earlier, recover from a bad load, and audit how a table changed over time. Recent snapshots are retained for roughly 30 days.

The Snapshots panel lets you browse that history, open any snapshot read-only in Table Explorer, and revert or restore the table to an earlier snapshot.

Opening the Snapshots Panel

In the project Tables list, click the snapshot/flashback button on a table’s row. The Snapshots panel opens, listing the table’s snapshots newest first:

• When — the date and time the snapshot was taken.
• Rows — the table’s row count at that snapshot.
• Δ Rows — the change in row count compared with the previous snapshot, so you can see what each write added or removed.
• Size — the compressed storage size of the snapshot.
• Label — a name, for snapshots you have named or pinned.
• Held — a pin marker for snapshots that are held (kept beyond the normal retention window).

Viewing the Data as of a Snapshot

There are two ways to view a table’s data at an earlier point in time. Both open Table Explorer in a read-only historical view with a banner showing which snapshot you’re viewing and a Return to Current Data button.

1. From the Snapshots panel — select a snapshot and click View at Snapshot.
2. From Table Explorer — use the As of dropdown in the toolbar. It lists the table’s recent snapshots; pick one to switch the view, or pick Current (live data) to return to live data.

Note

The historical view is read-only — it’s a window into the past, not an editable copy. Use Revert or Restore (below) if you want to bring old data back into a table.

Reverting or Restoring a Snapshot

Select a snapshot and click Revert / Restore. The dialog offers two choices:

• Revert this table in place (default) — replaces the table’s current data with the snapshot. Because this is destructive, you type the table’s name to confirm. Before the data is replaced, PlaidCloud automatically captures a pre-revert safety snapshot of the current state (on storage engines that support pinning), so you can always get back to where you were.
• Restore the snapshot to a new table — leaves the original table untouched and creates a new table (you give it a name and folder) populated from the snapshot, with the same columns as the source.

Caution

Reverting in place overwrites the table’s current data. The typed confirmation and the automatic pre-revert safety snapshot are there to protect you — read the dialog before confirming. Revert is blocked while the project is locked.

Naming, Pinning, and Retention

Snapshots age out of the retention window (about 30 days) automatically. To keep one longer:

• Create Snapshot takes a held snapshot of the current data on demand — useful before a risky reload (for example, “before Q2 reload”).
• Hold pins the selected snapshot so it is never cleaned up; Release removes the hold and returns it to the normal lifecycle.

Note

Naming, pinning, and per-snapshot retention are available on lakehouse (StarRocks) tables. On Databend-backed tables, snapshots are kept for the retention window, but individual snapshots can’t be named or pinned.

Auditing

In-place reverts are recorded in the lakehouse audit log, including who performed the revert, when, the snapshot reverted to, and the safety snapshot that was kept — so table changes through this feature are traceable.