DROP TABLE¶

Remove Lance tables from the catalog.

DROP TABLE (Deregister Only)¶

The standard DROP TABLE command removes the table from the catalog metadata but preserves the underlying data files. This allows the table to be re-registered later if needed.

DROP TABLE users;

Drop table if it exists (no error if table doesn't exist):

DROP TABLE IF EXISTS users;

DROP TABLE PURGE (Delete Data)¶

Use DROP TABLE ... PURGE to completely remove the table, including both metadata and underlying data files. This operation is irreversible.

DROP TABLE users PURGE;

Drop and purge if exists:

DROP TABLE IF EXISTS users PURGE;

Comparison¶

Command	Catalog Metadata	Data Files	Recoverable
`DROP TABLE`	Removed	Preserved	Yes (re-register)
`DROP TABLE PURGE`	Removed	Deleted	No