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Row ID and Lineage Specification

Overview

Lance provides row identification and lineage tracking capabilities. Row addressing enables efficient random access to rows within the table through a physical location encoding. Stable row IDs provide persistent identifiers that remain constant throughout a row's lifetime, even as its physical location changes. Row version tracking records when rows were created and last modified, enabling incremental processing, change data capture, and time-travel queries.

Row Identifier Forms

A row in Lance has two forms of row identifiers:

  • Row address - the current physical location of the row in the dataset.
  • Row ID - a logical identifier of the row. When stable row IDs are enabled, this remains stable for the lifetime of a logical row. When disabled (default mode), it is exactly equal to the row address.

Row Address

Row address is the physical location of a row in the table, represented as a 64-bit identifier composed of two 32-bit values:

row_address = (fragment_id << 32) | local_row_offset

This addressing scheme enables efficient random access: given a row address, the fragment and offset are extracted with bit operations. Row addresses change when data is reorganized through compaction or updates.

Row address is currently the primary form of identifier used for indexing purposes. Secondary indices (vector indices, scalar indices, full-text search indices) reference rows by their row addresses.

Note

Work to support stable row IDs in indices is in progress.

Row ID

Row ID is a logical identifier for a row.

Stable Row ID

When a dataset is created with stable row IDs enabled, each row is assigned a unique auto-incrementing u64 identifier that remains constant throughout the row's lifetime, even when the row's physical location (row address) changes. The _rowid system column exposes this logical identifier to users. See the next section for more details on assignment and update semantics.

Historical/unstable usage

Historically, the term "row id" was often used to refer to the physical row address (_rowaddr), which is not stable across compaction or updates.

Warning

With the introduction of stable row IDs, there may still be places in code and documentation that mix the terms "row ID" and "row address" or "row ID" and "stable row ID". Please raise a PR if you find any place incorrect or confusing.

Stable Row ID

Row ID Assignment

Row IDs are assigned using a monotonically increasing next_row_id counter stored in the manifest.

Assignment Protocol:

  1. Writer reads the current next_row_id from the manifest at the read version
  2. Writer assigns row IDs sequentially starting from next_row_id for new rows
  3. Writer updates next_row_id in the new manifest to next_row_id + num_new_rows
  4. If commit fails due to conflict, writer rebases:
  5. Re-reads the new next_row_id from the latest version
  6. Reassigns row IDs to new rows using the updated counter
  7. Retries commit

This protocol mirrors fragment ID assignment and ensures row IDs are unique across all table versions.

Enabling Stable Row IDs

Stable row IDs are a dataset-level feature recorded in the table manifest.

  • Stable row IDs must be enabled when the dataset is first created.
  • Currently, they cannot be turned on later for an existing dataset. Attempts to write with enable_stable_row_ids = true against a dataset that was created without stable row IDs will not change the dataset's configuration.
  • When stable row IDs are disabled, the _rowid column (if requested) is not stable and should not be used as a persistent identifier.

Row-level version tracking (_row_created_at_version, _row_last_updated_at_version) and the row ID index described below are only available when stable row IDs are enabled.

Row ID Behavior on Updates

When stable row IDs are enabled, updates preserve the logical row ID and remap it to a new physical address instead of assigning a new ID.

Update Workflow:

  1. Original row with _rowid = R exists at address (F1, O1).
  2. An update operation writes a new physical row with the updated values at address (F2, O2).
  3. The new physical row is assigned the same _rowid = R, so the logical identifier is preserved.
  4. The original physical row at (F1, O1) is marked deleted using the deletion vector for fragment F1.
  5. The row ID index for the new dataset version maps _rowid = R to (F2, O2), and uses deletion vectors and fragment bitmaps to avoid returning the tombstoned row at (F1, O1).

This design keeps _rowid stable for the lifetime of a logical row while allowing physical storage and secondary indices to be maintained independently.

Row ID Sequences

Storage Format

Row ID sequences are stored using the RowIdSequence protobuf message. The sequence is partitioned into segments, each encoded optimally based on the data pattern.

RowIdSequence protobuf message 
message RowIdSequence {
    repeated U64Segment segments = 1;

}

Segment Encodings

Each segment uses one of five encodings optimized for different data patterns:

Range (Contiguous Values)

For sorted, contiguous values with no gaps. Example: Row IDs [100, 101, 102, 103, 104] → Range{start: 100, end: 105}. Used for new fragments where row IDs are assigned sequentially.

Range protobuf message 
message Range {
    /// The start of the range, inclusive.
    uint64 start = 1;
    /// The end of the range, exclusive.
    uint64 end = 2;
}
Range with Holes (Sparse Deletions)

For sorted values with few gaps. Example: Row IDs [100, 101, 103, 104] (missing 102) → RangeWithHoles{start: 100, end: 105, holes: [102]}. Used for fragments with sparse deletions where maintaining the range is efficient.

RangeWithHoles protobuf message 
message RangeWithHoles {
    /// The start of the range, inclusive.
    uint64 start = 1;
    /// The end of the range, exclusive.
    uint64 end = 2;
    /// The holes in the range, as a sorted array of values;
    /// Binary search can be used to check whether a value is a hole and should
    /// be skipped. This can also be used to count the number of holes before a
    /// given value, if you need to find the logical offset of a value in the
    /// segment.
    EncodedU64Array holes = 3;
}
Range with Bitmap (Dense Deletions)

For sorted values with many gaps. The bitmap encodes 8 values per byte, with the most significant bit representing the first value. Used for fragments with dense deletion patterns.

RangeWithBitmap protobuf message 
message RangeWithBitmap {
    /// The start of the range, inclusive.
    uint64 start = 1;
    /// The end of the range, exclusive.
    uint64 end = 2;
    /// A bitmap of the values in the range. The bitmap is a sequence of bytes,
    /// where each byte represents 8 values. The first byte represents values
    /// start to start + 7, the second byte represents values start + 8 to
    /// start + 15, and so on. The most significant bit of each byte represents
    /// the first value in the range, and the least significant bit represents
    /// the last value in the range. If the bit is set, the value is in the
    /// range; if it is not set, the value is not in the range.
    bytes bitmap = 3;
}
Sorted Array (Sparse Values)

For sorted but non-contiguous values, stored as an EncodedU64Array. Used for merged fragments or fragments after compaction.

Unsorted Array (General Case)

For unsorted values, stored as an EncodedU64Array. Rare; most operations maintain sorted order.

Encoded U64 Arrays

The EncodedU64Array message supports bitpacked encoding to minimize storage. The implementation selects the most compact encoding based on the value range, choosing between base + 16-bit offsets, base + 32-bit offsets, or full 64-bit values.

EncodedU64Array protobuf message 
message EncodedU64Array {
    message U16Array {
        uint64 base = 1;
        /// The deltas are stored as 16-bit unsigned integers.
        /// (protobuf doesn't support 16-bit integers, so we use bytes instead)
        bytes offsets = 2;
    }

    message U32Array {
        uint64 base = 1;
        /// The deltas are stored as 32-bit unsigned integers.
        /// (we use bytes instead of uint32 to avoid overhead of varint encoding)
        bytes offsets = 2;
    }

    message U64Array {
        /// (We use bytes instead of uint64 to avoid overhead of varint encoding)
        bytes values = 2;
    }

    oneof array {
        U16Array u16_array = 1;
        U32Array u32_array = 2;
        U64Array u64_array = 3;
    }

}

Inline vs External Storage

Row ID sequences are stored either inline in the fragment metadata or in external files. Sequences smaller than ~200KB are stored inline to avoid additional I/O, while larger sequences are written to external files referenced by path and offset. This threshold balances manifest size against the overhead of separate file reads.

DataFragment row_id_sequence field 
message DataFragment {
  oneof row_id_sequence {
    bytes inline_row_ids = 5;
    ExternalFile external_row_ids = 6;
  }
}

Row ID Index

Construction

The row ID index is built at table load time by aggregating row ID sequences from all fragments:

For each fragment F with ID f:
  For each (position p, row_id r) in F.row_id_sequence:
    index[r] = (f, p)

This creates a mapping from row ID to current row address.

Index Invalidation with Updates

When rows are updated and stable row IDs are enabled, the row ID index for a given dataset version only contains mappings for live physical rows. Tombstoned rows are excluded using deletion vectors, and logical row IDs whose contents have changed simply map to new row addresses.

Example Scenario:

  1. Initial state (version V): Fragment 1 contains rows with IDs [1, 2, 3] at offsets [0, 1, 2].
  2. An update operation modifies the row with _rowid = 2:
    • A new fragment 2 is created with a row for _rowid = 2 at offset 0.
    • In fragment 1, the original physical row at offset 1 is marked deleted in the deletion vector.
  3. Row ID index in version V+1:
    • 1 → (1, 0) ✓ Valid
    • 2 → (2, 0) ✓ Valid (updated row in fragment 2)
    • 3 → (1, 2) ✓ Valid

The address (1, 1) is no longer reachable via the row ID index because it is filtered out by the deletion vector when the index is constructed.

Fragment Bitmaps for Index Masking

Secondary indices use fragment bitmaps to track which row IDs remain valid:

Without Row Updates:

String Index on column "str":
  Fragment Bitmap: {1, 2}  (covers fragments 1 and 2)
  All indexed row addresses are valid

With Row Updates:

Vector Index on column "vec":
  Fragment Bitmap: {1}  (only fragment 1)
  The row with _rowid = 2 was updated, so the index entry that points to its old physical address is stale
  Index queries filter out the stale address using deletion vectors while returning the row at its new address

This bitmap-based approach allows indices to remain immutable while accounting for row modifications.

Row Version Tracking

Row version tracking is available for datasets that use stable row IDs. Version sequences are aligned with the stable _rowid ordering within each fragment.

Created At Version

Each row tracks the version at which it was created. For rows that are later updated, this creation version remains the version in which the row first appeared; updates do not change it. The sequence uses run-length encoding for efficient storage, where each run specifies a span of consecutive rows and the version they were created in.

Example: Fragment with 1000 rows created in version 5: 

RowDatasetVersionSequence {
  runs: [
    RowDatasetVersionRun { span: Range{start: 0, end: 1000}, version: 5 }
  ]
}

DataFragment created_at_version_sequence field 
message DataFragment {
  oneof created_at_version_sequence {
    bytes inline_created_at_versions = 9;
    ExternalFile external_created_at_versions = 10;
  }
}
RowDatasetVersionSequence protobuf messages 
message RowDatasetVersionSequence {
    repeated RowDatasetVersionRun runs = 1;

}

Last Updated At Version

Each row tracks the version at which it was last modified. When a row is created, last_updated_at_version equals created_at_version.

When stable row IDs are enabled and a row is updated, Lance writes a new physical row for the same logical _rowid while tombstoning the old physical row. The created_at_version for that logical row is preserved from the original row, and last_updated_at_version is set to the current dataset version at the time of the update.

Example: Row created in version 3, updated in version 7: 

Old physical row (tombstoned):
  _rowid: R
  created_at_version: 3
  last_updated_at_version: 3

New physical row (current):
  _rowid: R
  created_at_version: 3
  last_updated_at_version: 7

DataFragment last_updated_at_version_sequence field 
message DataFragment {
  oneof last_updated_at_version_sequence {
    bytes inline_last_updated_at_versions = 7;
    ExternalFile external_last_updated_at_versions = 8;
  }
}

Change Data Feed

Lance supports querying rows that changed between versions through version tracking columns. These queries can be expressed as standard SQL predicates on the _row_created_at_version and _row_last_updated_at_version columns.

Inserted Rows

Rows created between two versions can be retrieved by filtering on _row_created_at_version:

SELECT * FROM dataset
WHERE _row_created_at_version > {begin_version}
  AND _row_created_at_version <= {end_version}

This query returns all rows inserted in the specified version range, including the version metadata columns _row_created_at_version, _row_last_updated_at_version, and _rowid.

Updated Rows

Rows modified (but not newly created) between two versions can be retrieved by combining filters on both version columns:

SELECT * FROM dataset
WHERE _row_created_at_version <= {begin_version}
  AND _row_last_updated_at_version > {begin_version}
  AND _row_last_updated_at_version <= {end_version}

This query excludes newly inserted rows by requiring _row_created_at_version <= {begin_version}, ensuring only pre-existing rows that were subsequently updated are returned.