feat(query): add use_lsm to read MemWAL LSM data (#3489)

## What

MemWAL LSM **read** support. When a table has an LSM write spec
(`set_lsm_write_spec`), `merge_insert` upserts live in the MemWAL
active/frozen memtables and flushed SSTables until an external
compaction merges them into the base table, so a normal scan returns
**stale** data. This routes reads through Lance's `LsmScanner` so
queries also surface that in-flight data, deduplicated by primary key
(newest generation wins).

## How

- Adds a **`use_lsm: Option<bool>`** query flag, symmetric with the
`merge_insert` flag:
- **unset** — auto-route through the LSM scanner when the table carries
a write spec
- **`use_lsm(true)`** — force the LSM path; error if there is no spec
    - **`use_lsm(false)`** — read the base table only (the escape hatch)
- Plain scan, single-column full-text search, and single-vector ANN all
run through one `LsmScanner` (assembled from on-disk shard manifests
plus the cached writer's in-memory memtables), so a `where` predicate is
honored as a **prefilter** uniformly — including for vector search.
- **Compaction-aware snapshots:** an SSTable generation is dropped only
once it is both compacted into the base table and covered by the arm's
base-index catch-up (`index_catchup`); plain scans use the compaction
watermark alone.
- Query shapes the scanner cannot honor hard-error with guidance to set
`use_lsm(false)`: hybrid, multi/binary vectors, `with_row_id`,
reranking, `order_by`, dynamic/Substrait projection or filters,
`distance_range`, `use_index(false)`, postfilter, take-by-row-id/offset,
reads from a time-traveled version, and an unmaintained or ambiguous
(multiple) FTS/vector index. Namespace-pushdown queries fall back to
local execution when a spec is present; WAL-only writers are handled.
- Exposed across the Rust core and the Python (`use_lsm`) and TypeScript
(`useLsm`) bindings, including `TakeQuery`.

Rebased from Lance `7.2.0-beta.3` to `10.0.0-beta.3`.
This commit is contained in:
Heng Ge
2026-07-25 23:45:27 -07:00
committed by GitHub
parent bf15655c83
commit f655f62e09
23 changed files with 2253 additions and 83 deletions
+8 -9
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@@ -76,24 +76,23 @@ the query optimizer chooses a suboptimal path.
***
### useLsmWrite()
### useLsm()
```ts
useLsmWrite(useLsmWrite): MergeInsertBuilder
useLsm(enable): MergeInsertBuilder
```
Controls whether the merge uses the MemWAL LSM write path.
Control MemWAL routing for this merge.
By default (unset), a `mergeInsert` on a table with an LSM write spec is
routed through Lance's MemWAL shard writer, and a table without one uses
the standard path. Pass `false` to force the standard path even when a
spec is set. Pass `true` to require a spec — `mergeInsert` rejects if none
is installed.
routed through Lance's MemWAL shard writer, and a table without one uses the
standard path.
#### Parameters
* **useLsmWrite**: `boolean`
Whether to use the LSM write path.
* **enable**: `boolean`
`true` forces MemWAL routing and errors if the table has no
LSM write spec. `false` forces the standard write path even when a spec is set.
#### Returns
+36
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@@ -497,6 +497,42 @@ ArrowTable.
***
### useLsm()
```ts
useLsm(enable): this
```
Control MemWAL read routing for this query.
By default (unset), when the table carries a MemWAL write spec (see
[Table#setLsmWriteSpec](Table.md#setlsmwritespec)), reads are routed through the LSM scanner so
they also return data written via the `mergeInsert` LSM path that has not yet
been compacted into the base table (the active/frozen in-memory memtables and
the flushed generations), deduplicated by primary key; a table without a spec
reads the base table.
#### Parameters
* **enable**: `boolean`
`true` forces the LSM scanner and errors if the table has no
MemWAL write spec. `false` bypasses the MemWAL and reads the base table only,
even when a spec is present.
Note: the LSM scanner does not support every query shape (e.g. reranking,
hybrid search, `orderBy`). On a MemWAL table those shapes error unless
`useLsm(false)` is set, because a base-only read would silently exclude
un-compacted MemWAL data.
#### Returns
`this`
#### Inherited from
`StandardQueryBase.useLsm`
***
### where()
```ts
+23
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@@ -273,6 +273,29 @@ ArrowTable.
***
### useLsm()
```ts
useLsm(enable): this
```
Control MemWAL read routing for this take query.
`false` bypasses the MemWAL and reads the base table only — the escape hatch,
since take-by-row-id/offset is not supported on the LSM scanner and, on a
MemWAL table, auto-routes to it and errors otherwise.
#### Parameters
* **enable**: `boolean`
`false` reads the base table only.
#### Returns
`this`
***
### withRowId()
```ts
+36
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@@ -746,6 +746,42 @@ ArrowTable.
***
### useLsm()
```ts
useLsm(enable): this
```
Control MemWAL read routing for this query.
By default (unset), when the table carries a MemWAL write spec (see
[Table#setLsmWriteSpec](Table.md#setlsmwritespec)), reads are routed through the LSM scanner so
they also return data written via the `mergeInsert` LSM path that has not yet
been compacted into the base table (the active/frozen in-memory memtables and
the flushed generations), deduplicated by primary key; a table without a spec
reads the base table.
#### Parameters
* **enable**: `boolean`
`true` forces the LSM scanner and errors if the table has no
MemWAL write spec. `false` bypasses the MemWAL and reads the base table only,
even when a spec is present.
Note: the LSM scanner does not support every query shape (e.g. reranking,
hybrid search, `orderBy`). On a MemWAL table those shapes error unless
`useLsm(false)` is set, because a base-only read would silently exclude
un-compacted MemWAL data.
#### Returns
`this`
#### Inherited from
`StandardQueryBase.useLsm`
***
### where()
```ts