`add_column` changes the values of an existing column for files without field IDs

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@Anurag-S1ngh is already working on this.

Since Nov 10, 2026.

  • #4332 by @Anurag-S1ngh — open

Assessment

Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Newbie friendliness
57/100
Issue type
Bug
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
postgresql, python
Domain
database

Research direction

Start with _remove_reassigned_names in pyiceberg/table/name_mapping.py and trace how schema updates change name mappings for files without field IDs. Reproduce the report using the supplied add_files, rename, and add_column sequence, then check both scan results and IsNull("b") filtering. Done means the existing column keeps its values and the filter returns the matching rows after adding the reused name.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

Apache Iceberg version

0.12.0 (latest release); the same logic is on main

Please describe the bug 🐞

Adding a column changes what an existing column reads. Files added with add_files have no field IDs and are read through the name mapping. After a rename, the renamed column reads correctly. Adding a column that reuses the old name then moves that name to the new field in the mapping (_remove_reassigned_names in pyiceberg/table/name_mapping.py). From then on, the renamed column reads as null for those files, and the new column gets its values.

The manifest statistics of those files still describe the original field, so planning also prunes with statistics that no longer match what is read: below, IsNull("b") skips the file although both rows read b as null.

import tempfile

import pyarrow as pa
import pyarrow.parquet as pq
from pyiceberg.catalog.sql import SqlCatalog
from pyiceberg.expressions import IsNull
from pyiceberg.schema import Schema
from pyiceberg.types import LongType, NestedField

d = tempfile.mkdtemp()
catalog = SqlCatalog("c", uri=f"sqlite:///{d}/c.db", warehouse=f"file://{d}")
catalog.create_namespace("ns")
table = catalog.create_table("ns.t", Schema(NestedField(1, "a", LongType())))

# a Parquet file without field IDs, read through the name mapping
pq.write_table(pa.table({"a": [1, 3]}), f"{d}/imported.parquet")
table.add_files([f"file://{d}/imported.parquet"])

with table.update_schema() as update:
    update.rename_column("a", "b")
print(table.scan().to_arrow().to_pydict())
# {'b': [1, 3]}

with table.update_schema() as update:
    update.add_column("a", LongType())
print(table.scan().to_arrow().to_pydict())
# {'b': [None, None], 'a': [1, 3]}: expected {'b': [1, 3], 'a': [None, None]}

print(table.scan(row_filter=IsNull("b")).to_arrow().num_rows)
# 0: the file is pruned by the statistics of `b`, which hold its original values

Expected: adding a column leaves the values of existing columns unchanged, as it does for files with field IDs. The name was written for the original field in those files, so either the mapping keeps it there, or adding a column whose name files without field IDs still use is refused.

Willingness to contribute
  • I can contribute a fix for this bug independently
  • I would be willing to contribute a fix for this bug with guidance from the Iceberg community
  • I cannot contribute a fix for this bug at this time
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