ENTITY_HISTORY namespace
Reference documentation for the ENTITY_HISTORY namespace containing historical snapshots of asset metadata
The ENTITY_HISTORY namespace contains historical snapshots of tables in the ENTITY_METADATA namespace. Each table in the ENTITY_HISTORY namespace:
- Mirrors the corresponding table in ENTITY_METADATA
- Adds timestamp columns for change tracking and time-series analysis
Key snapshot columns:
snapshot_timestamp: Timestamp when this snapshot was captured.snapshot_date: Date when this snapshot was captured. This column is used for partitioning and date filters.
Which history tables exist
The ENTITY_HISTORY namespace contains a table for an asset type once that asset type has at least one asset in your tenant. If your tenant has never had assets of a given type, that type has no history table, and querying it returns an object-not-found error from your query engine.
Snapshots you have already accumulated are kept: a history table is removed only when the asset type has no assets and its history table holds no snapshots.
This differs from ENTITY_METADATA, where every asset type has a table and types with no assets return 0 rows.
If you query the Lakehouse through the Snowflake catalog integration, tables that aren't in ENTITY_HISTORY also don't appear in Snowflake.
Before referencing a specific table in a query, list the tables in the ENTITY_HISTORY namespace from your query engine. For example, run SHOW TABLES.
If you need history tables for asset types you don't currently use, contact Atlan Support.
Use these examples as a starting point for building time-series analyses, change-tracking reports, and audit queries on top of the ENTITY_HISTORY namespace.
Browse ENTITY_HISTORY example queries grouped by category. Select a pattern to see the SQL and key columns used.
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What changed
The ENTITY_HISTORY namespace previously contained a table for every asset type, including types with no assets and no snapshots. Those empty tables are no longer created, and empty tables created under the earlier behavior are removed. Asset types with existing snapshots are unaffected.