RESTORE SNAPSHOT

Enterprise command reference.

Command Snapshot

Field	Value
Category	Replication and Backup
Mutates Data	Yes/Depends
Scope	Statement
Privilege Model	Requires administrative privilege on replication and backup objects.

Purpose

Executes the RESTORE SNAPSHOT SQL command with MonkDB distributed runtime semantics.

Syntax

RESTORE SNAPSHOT repository_name.snapshot_name
{ ALL |
  METADATA |
  TABLE table_ident [ PARTITION (partition_column = value [, ...])] [, ...] |
  data_section [, ...] }
[ WITH (restore_parameter [= value], [, ...]) ]

Operational Notes

• Use schema-qualified identifiers in automation and automation pipelines.
• Validate behavior in staging for cluster-impacting or governance-impacting changes.
• Confirm runtime effects through system tables and metrics before and after execution.

When to Use

• Use for snapshot lifecycle, repository operations, and logical replication setup.
• Use as part of disaster recovery and data mobility runbooks.

When Not to Use

• Avoid assuming restore/snapshot compatibility across untested version boundaries.

Common Errors and Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	Action
Permission denied / unauthorized	Missing privilege on object or cluster scope	Re-run with required grants or elevated admin role.
Analysis/parse error	Syntax variant or object shape mismatch	Compare with canonical syntax and object definition.
Runtime failure under load	Resource limits, breaker pressure, or node state transitions	Check sys.jobs, sys.operations, sys.checks, and retry after mitigation.

Cross-References

• SQL Command Catalog
• SQL Commands Index
• SQL Reference Overview

Detailed Reference

The RESTORE SNAPSHOT command in MonkDB is used to restore data, metadata, or specific tables and partitions from a snapshot into the cluster.

SQL Statement

RESTORE SNAPSHOT repository_name.snapshot_name
{ ALL |
  METADATA |
  TABLE table_ident [ PARTITION (partition_column = value [, ...])] [, ...] |
  data_section [, ...] }
[ WITH (restore_parameter [= value], [, ...]) ]

Data Section Options

• TABLES: Restore all tables without metadata.
• VIEWS: Restore views.
• USERMANAGEMENT: Restore users, roles, and privileges.
• ANALYZERS: Restore custom analyzers.
• UDFS: Restore user-defined functions.

Description

The RESTORE SNAPSHOT command allows recovery of data or metadata stored in a snapshot. Snapshots are identified by their repository name and snapshot name. The command supports restoring:

• All Data and Metadata: Use the ALL keyword to restore everything.
• Metadata Only: Use the METADATA keyword for cluster settings, views, roles, privileges, analyzers, and UDFs.
• Specific Tables or Partitions: Specify tables using TABLE and optionally restore specific partitions with the PARTITION clause.
• Multiple Sections: Combine multiple data_section keywords to restore selected parts of the snapshot.

Parameters

• repository_name: Name of the repository containing the snapshot.
• snapshot_name: Name of the snapshot to restore.
• table_ident: Name of the table (optionally schema-qualified) to restore.
• data_section: Specifies what part of the snapshot to restore (e.g., TABLES, VIEWS).

Clauses

PARTITION

Used for restoring specific partitions of a partitioned table. Syntax:

PARTITION (partition_column = value [, ...])

All partition columns must be listed in the order defined by the PARTITIONED BY clause. For example,

RESTORE SNAPSHOT my_repo.my_snapshot
TABLE my_table PARTITION (year = 2025, month = 4);

WITH

Customizes the restore operation with optional parameters:

• ignore_unavailable:

  • Default: false.
  • Ignores missing tables during restoration when set to true.

• wait_for_completion:

  • Default: false.
  • Waits for the operation to complete before returning a response.

• schema_rename_pattern / schema_rename_replacement:

  • Renames schemas during restoration using regex patterns. For example,

  sql WITH (schema_rename_pattern = '(.+)', schema_rename_replacement = 'new_$1')

• table_rename_pattern / table_rename_replacement:

  • Renames tables during restoration using regex patterns. For example,

  sql WITH (table_rename_pattern = '(.+)', table_rename_replacement = 'backup_$1')

Caution

• Restoring a table that already exists will result in an error.
• Metadata or cluster settings that already exist will be overwritten.
• Name collisions after applying rename operations will cause restoration failure.

Examples

Restore All Data and Metadata

RESTORE SNAPSHOT my_repo.my_snapshot ALL;

Restore Specific Table

RESTORE SNAPSHOT my_repo.my_snapshot TABLE my_table;

Restore Metadata Only

RESTORE SNAPSHOT my_repo.my_snapshot METADATA;

Restore Partitioned Table

RESTORE SNAPSHOT my_repo.my_snapshot TABLE my_partitioned_table PARTITION (year = 2025);

Rename Tables During Restoration

RESTORE SNAPSHOT my_repo.my_snapshot TABLES
WITH (table_rename_pattern = '(.+)', table_rename_replacement = 'restored_$1');

This command is versatile for recovering data efficiently while allowing customization for schema/table renaming and selective restoration of metadata or partitions.