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Data & Analytics · Intermediate

Delta Lake Time Travel

Querying or restoring earlier versions of a Delta table by version number or timestamp.

Definition

Uses include audits, rollbacks and reproducing ML training sets. DESCRIBE HISTORY lists versions and RESTORE TABLE rolls back. VACUUM removes old files and therefore limits how far back you can travel.

Example

SELECT * FROM orders VERSION AS OF 12; RESTORE TABLE orders TO TIMESTAMP AS OF '2026-10-30';

Exam tip

After VACUUM with 7-day retention, versions older than 7 days can't be read.

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