feat(node)!: require Node >= 22 and drop npm lockfiles (#4074)

The bindings are built, installed and published with pnpm everywhere,
but a parallel npm dependency graph was still being maintained beside
it. This removes it, raises the supported Node floor to the versions we
actually test, and gives Dependabot the npm coverage it was missing.

## Dropping npm

`nodejs/package-lock.json` was regenerated by `ci/update_lockfiles.sh`
on every release commit and read by nothing — no workflow runs `npm ci`
or `npm install` in `nodejs/`, and npm never publishes a lockfile in a
package tarball. It could not even agree with the real install, since
npm does not see pnpm's `overrides`. Because GitHub's dependency graph
parses `package-lock.json`, it was also reporting vulnerabilities for a
tree we neither install nor ship.

`docs/package.json`, `docs/package-lock.json` and `docs/tsconfig.json`
go too. They depend on `file:../node` and
`file:../node/node_modules/apache-arrow` — the `node/` directory was
removed long ago — the tsconfig compiles `src/*.ts` where no TypeScript
files exist, and nothing installs any of it. `docs.yml` only referenced
the lockfile to configure an npm cache for an install it never ran.

Two `workflow_dispatch` workflows for regenerating those lockfiles are
removed as well. Both were already broken: they `uses:` composite
actions at `.github/workflows/update_package_lock{,_nodejs}` that do not
exist, so dispatching either failed immediately.

The remaining `npx` calls become direct `node_modules/.bin/...`
invocations. These were already running locally installed binaries
rather than resolving anything, but naming the binary removes the npm
CLI from the loop and does not depend on which Node version is active.
`dev.yml`'s commitlint check was the last place doing real npm
dependency resolution — an unpinned `npm install
@commitlint/config-conventional` that also bypassed the
`minimumReleaseAge` hold configured for `nodejs/` — and is now a pinned
`pnpm dlx`.

## Node support

Node 18 and 20 both reached end-of-life, in April 2025 and April 2026.
The matrix moves to 22, 24 and 26, and `engines` rises from `>= 18` to
`>= 22` so the declared floor is one the matrix actually covers. Node 22
is LTS until April 2027; 24 is LTS; 26 is Current and becomes LTS in
October 2026.

This also removes the reason the workflows reached for `npx` in the
first place: pnpm 11 requires Node >= 22.13, which every matrix version
now satisfies.

The prebuilt-binary smoke test in `npm-publish.yml` moves from Node 20
to Node 22 — the floor, where a napi ABI problem would surface first —
rather than fanning out across all three, to keep the publish matrix
from tripling.

## Dependabot

There were no npm-ecosystem entries at all, which is why the advisories
behind #4073 went unnoticed. Both pnpm lockfiles are now watched —
`nodejs/` and `nodejs/examples/`, which is a separate install — using
the same `lockfile-only` strategy as the existing cargo and pip entries,
so version ranges in `package.json` are left alone.

## Pre-commit biome

The hook ran `npx @biomejs/biome@1.8.3` while `nodejs/package.json`
resolved 1.9.4. The two disagree about formatting, so the hook rejected
code that `pnpm lint` accepts, and failed on unmodified `main` for
anyone touching `nodejs/`. It now uses the pnpm-managed biome, which
fixes the drift with no source changes.

## Testing

`dev.yml`'s commitlint job does not check out the repo, so it runs in an
empty workspace, and I could not verify `pnpm/action-setup` there
locally. It triggers on `pull_request_target`, so this PR exercises it
directly — worth confirming green before merge. I did verify the `pnpm
dlx` invocation itself locally: it accepts a conventional title and
rejects a non-conventional one with exit 1.

Node 26 is new enough that the examples job may surface gaps in prebuilt
native binaries (`onnxruntime-node`, `sharp`) before their maintainers
publish for it.

## Not included

`nodejs/examples/` still pins `sharp: "0.33.5"` and has its own audit
findings. Raising the Node floor unblocks that work — sharp 0.35
requires Node >= 20.9, which the matrix now satisfies — but it is a
dependency bump rather than tooling cleanup, so it is left separate.

## Breaking changes

`@lancedb/lancedb` now requires Node >= 22; previously >= 18. The
`@types/node` peer range moves from `>=18` to `>=22` to match. Users on
Node 18 or 20 must upgrade their runtime; both have been end-of-life for
some time. Existing installs are unaffected, since `engines` is only
checked on install.

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

.bumpversion.toml

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [tool.bumpversion]
-current_version = "0.38.0-beta.11"
+current_version = "0.38.0-beta.12"
 parse = """(?x)
     (?P<major>0|[1-9]\\d*)\\.
     (?P<minor>0|[1-9]\\d*)\\.

.github/dependabot.yml

@@ -44,3 +44,27 @@ updates:
       python-deps:
         patterns:
           - "*"
+
+  # The npm ecosystem covers pnpm lockfiles. There are two separate installs:
+  # the bindings themselves and the examples, which have their own lockfile.
+  # As with cargo and pip above, only bump the lockfile — the version ranges
+  # in package.json are our consumers' constraints, not ours.
+  - package-ecosystem: npm
+    directory: /nodejs
+    schedule:
+      interval: weekly
+    versioning-strategy: lockfile-only
+    groups:
+      nodejs-deps:
+        patterns:
+          - "*"
+
+  - package-ecosystem: npm
+    directory: /nodejs/examples
+    schedule:
+      interval: weekly
+    versioning-strategy: lockfile-only
+    groups:
+      nodejs-examples-deps:
+        patterns:
+          - "*"

.github/workflows/dev.yml

@@ -29,12 +29,14 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
-          node-version: "18"
+          node-version: "24"
+      - uses: pnpm/action-setup@v6
+        with:
+          version: 11.1.1
       # These rules are disabled because Github will always ensure there
       # is a blank line between the title and the body and Github will
       # word wrap the description field to ensure a reasonable max line
       # length.
-      - run: npm install @commitlint/config-conventional
       - run: >
           echo 'module.exports = {
             "rules": {
@@ -43,7 +45,11 @@ jobs:
               "body-leading-blank": [0, "always"]
             }
           }' > .commitlintrc.js
-      - run: npx commitlint --extends @commitlint/config-conventional --verbose <<< $COMMIT_MSG
+      - run: >
+          pnpm dlx
+          --package @commitlint/cli@21.2.2
+          --package @commitlint/config-conventional@21.2.2
+          commitlint --extends @commitlint/config-conventional --verbose <<< $COMMIT_MSG
         env:
           COMMIT_MSG: >
             ${{ github.event.pull_request.title }}
@@ -54,7 +60,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           script: |
             const message = `**ACTION NEEDED**
-              
+
               Lance follows the [Conventional Commits specification](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/) for release automation.
 
               The PR title and description are used as the merge commit message.\

.github/workflows/docs-link-check.yml

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: lycheeverse/lychee-action@e7477775783ea5526144ba13e8db5eec57747ce8 # v2.9.0
         with:
           # Restricted to http(s) on purpose. Much of docs/src is generated
-          # API reference (the js/ tree comes from `npm run docs` in nodejs)
+          # API reference (the js/ tree comes from `pnpm run docs` in nodejs)
           # and the hand-written pages use mkdocstrings cross-references and
           # nav-relative paths that only resolve in the site mkdocs builds,
           # not in this checkout, so relative links would be reported as

.github/workflows/docs.yml

@@ -55,9 +55,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up node
         uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
-          node-version: 20
-          cache: 'npm'
-          cache-dependency-path: docs/package-lock.json
+          node-version: 24
       - name: Install node dependencies
         working-directory: nodejs
         run: |

.github/workflows/nodejs.yml

@@ -47,9 +47,8 @@ jobs:
         version: 11.1.1
     - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
       with:
-        # pnpm 11 requires Node >= 22.13; use 24 since 22 hits EOL
-        # in October. The library itself still supports Node >= 18
-        # (see test matrix below).
+        # Build on a supported LTS; the matrix job below covers every
+        # Node version the library claims to support.
         node-version: 24
         cache: 'pnpm'
         cache-dependency-path: nodejs/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -84,7 +83,7 @@ jobs:
     timeout-minutes: 30
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        node-version: [ "18", "20" ]
+        node-version: [ "22", "24", "26" ]
     runs-on: "ubuntu-22.04"
     defaults:
       run:
@@ -101,9 +100,9 @@ jobs:
     - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
       name: Setup Node.js 24 for build
       with:
-        # pnpm 11 requires Node >= 22.13; use 24 since 22 hits EOL
-        # in October. Build/install runs on Node 24; tests run on the
-        # matrix version below using direct jest invocation.
+        # Build and install once on a fixed version so the generated docs
+        # are identical across matrix legs; the tests below then run on each
+        # supported Node version.
         node-version: 24
         cache: 'pnpm'
         cache-dependency-path: nodejs/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -152,9 +151,9 @@ jobs:
         S3_TEST: "1"
         # Newer @smithy/core uses dynamic ESM imports.
         NODE_OPTIONS: "--experimental-vm-modules"
-      # Invoke jest directly because pnpm 11 itself requires Node 22+
-      # while the matrix tests on older Node versions.
-      run: npx jest --verbose
+      # Invoke the installed jest binary directly; the pnpm shim is set up
+      # against the build-phase Node, not the version selected above.
+      run: node_modules/.bin/jest --verbose
     - name: Test examples
       working-directory: ./
       env:
@@ -164,7 +163,7 @@ jobs:
       run: |
         python ci/mock_openai.py &
         cd nodejs/examples
-        npx jest --testEnvironment jest-environment-node-single-context --verbose
+        node_modules/.bin/jest --testEnvironment jest-environment-node-single-context --verbose
   macos:
     timeout-minutes: 30
     # macos-15 ships a newer linker; the older macos-14 linker fails to insert
@@ -185,8 +184,7 @@ jobs:
         version: 11.1.1
     - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
       with:
-        # pnpm 11 requires Node >= 22.13; use 24 since 22 hits EOL
-        # in October.
+        # pnpm 11 requires Node >= 22.13.
         node-version: 24
         cache: 'pnpm'
         cache-dependency-path: nodejs/pnpm-lock.yaml

.github/workflows/npm-publish.yml

@@ -168,8 +168,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Setup node
         uses: actions/setup-node@v6
         with:
-          # pnpm 11 requires Node >= 22.13; use 24 since 22 hits EOL
-          # in October.
+          # pnpm 11 requires Node >= 22.13.
           node-version: 24
           cache: pnpm
           cache-dependency-path: nodejs/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -251,7 +250,7 @@ jobs:
           run: |
             set -e
             ${{ matrix.settings.pre_build }}
-            npx napi build --platform --release \
+            node_modules/.bin/napi build --platform --release \
               --features ${{ matrix.settings.features }} \
               --target ${{ matrix.settings.target }} \
               --dts ../lancedb/native.d.ts \
@@ -271,7 +270,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build
         run: |
           ${{ matrix.settings.pre_build }}
-          npx napi build --platform --release \
+          node_modules/.bin/napi build --platform --release \
               --features ${{ matrix.settings.features }} \
               --target ${{ matrix.settings.target }} \
               --dts ../lancedb/native.d.ts \
@@ -339,7 +338,7 @@ jobs:
           - target: aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu
             host: ubuntu-2404-8x-arm64
         node:
-          - '20'
+          - '22'
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.settings.host }}
     defaults:
       run:
@@ -385,9 +384,9 @@ jobs:
       - name: Move built files
         run: cp dist/native.d.ts dist/native.js dist/*.node lancedb/
       - name: Test bindings
-        # Invoke jest directly because pnpm 11 itself requires Node 22+
-        # while the matrix tests on older Node versions.
-        run: npx jest --verbose
+        # Invoke the installed jest binary directly; the pnpm shim is set up
+        # against the install-phase Node, not the version selected above.
+        run: node_modules/.bin/jest --verbose
   publish:
     name: Publish
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest

.github/workflows/update_package_lock_run.yml

@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-name: Update package-lock.json
-
-on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-permissions:
-  contents: read
-
-jobs:
-  publish:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          ref: main
-          persist-credentials: false
-          fetch-depth: 0
-          lfs: true
-      - uses: ./.github/workflows/update_package_lock
-        with:
-          github_token: ${{ secrets.LANCEDB_RELEASE_TOKEN }}

.github/workflows/update_package_lock_run_nodejs.yml

@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-name: Update NodeJs package-lock.json
-
-on:
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-permissions:
-  contents: read
-
-jobs:
-  publish:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v6
-        with:
-          ref: main
-          persist-credentials: false
-          fetch-depth: 0
-          lfs: true
-      - uses: ./.github/workflows/update_package_lock_nodejs
-        with:
-          github_token: ${{ secrets.LANCEDB_RELEASE_TOKEN }}

.pre-commit-config.yaml

@@ -20,7 +20,10 @@ repos:
     hooks:
       - id: local-biome-check
         name: biome check
-        entry: npx @biomejs/biome@1.8.3 check --config-path nodejs/biome.json nodejs/
+        # Use the biome from nodejs/package.json rather than a separately
+        # pinned one: the two drifted apart and disagreed on formatting, so
+        # this hook rejected code that `pnpm lint` accepted.
+        entry: nodejs/node_modules/.bin/biome check --config-path nodejs/biome.json nodejs/
         language: system
         types: [text]
         files: "nodejs/.*"

AGENTS.md

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ Before committing changes, run formatting for every language you touched. At min
 * Rust changes: run `cargo fmt --all`.
 * Python changes: run `ruff format .` and `ruff check .` from the repository root,
   and run targeted tests through `cd python && uv run ...`.
-* TypeScript changes: run the relevant `npm`/`pnpm` lint, format, build, and docs commands in `nodejs`.
+* TypeScript changes: run the relevant `pnpm` lint, format, build, and docs commands in `nodejs`.
 
 Before creating a PR, the exact value passed to `gh pr create --title` must follow
 Conventional Commits, such as `fix: support nested field paths in native index creation`
@@ -101,12 +101,12 @@ Python bindings changes:
 TypeScript bindings changes:
 
 1. Add napi-rs method binding on `Table` in `nodejs/src/table.rs`.
-2. Run `npm run build` to generate TypeScript definitions.
+2. Run `pnpm build` to generate TypeScript definitions.
 3. Add typescript method on abstract class `Table` in `nodejs/src/table.ts`.
 4. Add concrete method on `LocalTable` class in `nodejs/src/native_table.ts`.
     * Note: despite the name, this class is also used for remote tables.
 5. Add test in `nodejs/__test__/table.test.ts`.
-6. Run `npm run docs` to generate TypeScript documentation.
+6. Run `pnpm run docs` to generate TypeScript documentation.
 
 ## Python API reference
 

Cargo.lock

@@ -1597,9 +1597,9 @@ checksum = "613afe47fcd5fac7ccf1db93babcb082c5994d996f20b8b159f2ad1658eb5724"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "chacha20"
-version = "0.10.0"
+version = "0.10.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6f8d983286843e49675a4b7a2d174efe136dc93a18d69130dd18198a6c167601"
+checksum = "65c35e4b699c7e15ccbe7ee35c005e4fc0a278d22238a2857e6ce2dadeda1b06"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if 1.0.4",
  "cpufeatures 0.3.0",
@@ -5402,7 +5402,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lancedb"
-version = "0.38.0-beta.11"
+version = "0.38.0-beta.12"
 dependencies = [
  "ahash",
  "anyhow",
@@ -5490,7 +5490,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lancedb-nodejs"
-version = "0.38.0-beta.11"
+version = "0.38.0-beta.12"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-buffer",
@@ -5515,7 +5515,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "lancedb-python"
-version = "0.38.0-beta.11"
+version = "0.38.0-beta.12"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow",
  "async-trait",

Makefile

@@ -5,5 +5,5 @@ licenses:
 	cd python && cargo about generate ../about.hbs -o RUST_THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.html -c ../about.toml
 	cd python && uv sync --all-extras && uv tool run pip-licenses --python .venv/bin/python --format=markdown --with-urls --output-file=PYTHON_THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md
 	cd nodejs && cargo about generate ../about.hbs -o RUST_THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.html -c ../about.toml
-	cd nodejs && npx license-checker --markdown --out NODEJS_THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md
+	cd nodejs && pnpm dlx license-checker@25 --markdown --out NODEJS_THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md
 	cd java && ./mvnw license:aggregate-add-third-party -q

ci/update_lockfiles.sh

@@ -12,16 +12,12 @@ done
 # This updates the lockfile without building
 cargo metadata --quiet > /dev/null
 
-pushd nodejs || exit 1
-npm install --package-lock-only --silent
-popd
-
 if git diff --quiet --exit-code; then
   echo "No lockfile changes to commit; skipping amend."
 elif $AMEND; then
-  git add Cargo.lock nodejs/package-lock.json
+  git add Cargo.lock
   git commit --amend --no-edit
 else
-  git add Cargo.lock nodejs/package-lock.json
+  git add Cargo.lock
   git commit -m "Update lockfiles"
 fi

deny.toml

@@ -131,18 +131,13 @@ allow = [
     "BSD-3-Clause",
     "ISC",
     "Unicode-3.0",
-    "Unicode-DFS-2016",
     "Zlib",
     "CC0-1.0",
     "MPL-2.0",
     "BSL-1.0",
-    "OpenSSL",
     # 0BSD ("BSD Zero Clause") is effectively public domain — no attribution
     # required. Pulled in by `mock_instant`.
     "0BSD",
-    # bzip2-1.0.6 is the permissive upstream bzip2 license (BSD-like). Pulled
-    # in by `libbz2-rs-sys`, the pure-Rust bzip2 implementation.
-    "bzip2-1.0.6",
     # CDLA-Permissive-2.0 is a permissive data license used by `webpki-roots`
     # for the Mozilla CA root bundle. Data-only, distribution-compatible.
     "CDLA-Permissive-2.0",
@@ -150,12 +145,7 @@ allow = [
 confidence-threshold = 0.8
 # Per-crate license exceptions: allow a license for a specific crate only,
 # rather than globally via the `allow` list above.
-exceptions = [
-    # CDDL-1.0 (copyleft) is pulled in only as a dev/profiling dependency via
-    # `inferno` -> `pprof` -> `lance-testing`; it is a test dependency that we
-    # do not distribute, so scope the allowance to `inferno` alone.
-    { allow = ["CDDL-1.0"], crate = "inferno" },
-]
+exceptions = []
 # Crates whose license cannot be determined from Cargo metadata but whose
 # license we've manually confirmed from upstream. Keep this list minimal.
 [[licenses.clarify]]

docs/README.md

@@ -47,22 +47,24 @@ pytest -vv python/tests/docs
 
 ### Checking typescript examples
 
-The `@lancedb/lancedb` package must be built before running the tests:
+The examples depend on `@lancedb/lancedb` at `file:../dist`, so the package must be
+built before running the tests. This uses pnpm; see the
+[Typescript contributing guide](../nodejs/CONTRIBUTING.md) for the toolchain setup.
 
 ```shell
 pushd nodejs
-npm ci
-npm run build
+pnpm install
+pnpm build
 popd
 ```
 
-Then you can run the examples by going to the `nodejs/examples` directory and
-running the tests like a normal npm package:
+Then you can run the examples by going to the `nodejs/examples` directory, which is a
+separate pnpm package with its own lockfile:
 
 ```shell
 pushd nodejs/examples
-npm ci
-npm test
+pnpm install
+pnpm test
 popd
 ```
 
@@ -84,6 +86,7 @@ The new files should be checked into the repository.
 
 ```shell
 pushd nodejs
-npm run docs
+# `pnpm docs` would invoke pnpm's built-in `docs` command, not the script.
+pnpm run docs
 popd
 ```

docs/package-lock.json

@@ -1,135 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "name": "lancedb-docs-test",
-  "version": "1.0.0",
-  "lockfileVersion": 3,
-  "requires": true,
-  "packages": {
-    "": {
-      "name": "lancedb-docs-test",
-      "version": "1.0.0",
-      "license": "Apache 2",
-      "dependencies": {
-        "apache-arrow": "file:../node/node_modules/apache-arrow",
-        "vectordb": "file:../node"
-      },
-      "devDependencies": {
-        "@types/node": "^20.11.8",
-        "typescript": "^5.3.3"
-      }
-    },
-    "../node": {
-      "name": "vectordb",
-      "version": "0.21.2-beta.0",
-      "cpu": [
-        "x64",
-        "arm64"
-      ],
-      "license": "Apache-2.0",
-      "os": [
-        "darwin",
-        "linux",
-        "win32"
-      ],
-      "dependencies": {
-        "@neon-rs/load": "^0.0.74",
-        "axios": "^1.4.0"
-      },
-      "devDependencies": {
-        "@neon-rs/cli": "^0.0.160",
-        "@types/chai": "^4.3.4",
-        "@types/chai-as-promised": "^7.1.5",
-        "@types/mocha": "^10.0.1",
-        "@types/node": "^18.16.2",
-        "@types/sinon": "^10.0.15",
-        "@types/temp": "^0.9.1",
-        "@types/uuid": "^9.0.3",
-        "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^5.59.1",
-        "apache-arrow-old": "npm:apache-arrow@13.0.0",
-        "cargo-cp-artifact": "^0.1",
-        "chai": "^4.3.7",
-        "chai-as-promised": "^7.1.1",
-        "eslint": "^8.39.0",
-        "eslint-config-standard-with-typescript": "^34.0.1",
-        "eslint-plugin-import": "^2.26.0",
-        "eslint-plugin-n": "^15.7.0",
-        "eslint-plugin-promise": "^6.1.1",
-        "mocha": "^10.2.0",
-        "openai": "^4.24.1",
-        "sinon": "^15.1.0",
-        "temp": "^0.9.4",
-        "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
-        "ts-node-dev": "^2.0.0",
-        "typedoc": "^0.24.7",
-        "typedoc-plugin-markdown": "^3.15.3",
-        "typescript": "^5.1.0",
-        "uuid": "^9.0.0"
-      },
-      "optionalDependencies": {
-        "@lancedb/vectordb-darwin-arm64": "0.21.2-beta.0",
-        "@lancedb/vectordb-darwin-x64": "0.21.2-beta.0",
-        "@lancedb/vectordb-linux-arm64-gnu": "0.21.2-beta.0",
-        "@lancedb/vectordb-linux-x64-gnu": "0.21.2-beta.0",
-        "@lancedb/vectordb-win32-x64-msvc": "0.21.2-beta.0"
-      },
-      "peerDependencies": {
-        "@apache-arrow/ts": "^14.0.2",
-        "apache-arrow": "^14.0.2"
-      }
-    },
-    "../node/node_modules/apache-arrow": {
-      "version": "14.0.2",
-      "license": "Apache-2.0",
-      "dependencies": {
-        "@types/command-line-args": "5.2.0",
-        "@types/command-line-usage": "5.0.2",
-        "@types/node": "20.3.0",
-        "@types/pad-left": "2.1.1",
-        "command-line-args": "5.2.1",
-        "command-line-usage": "7.0.1",
-        "flatbuffers": "23.5.26",
-        "json-bignum": "^0.0.3",
-        "pad-left": "^2.1.0",
-        "tslib": "^2.5.3"
-      },
-      "bin": {
-        "arrow2csv": "bin/arrow2csv.js"
-      }
-    },
-    "node_modules/@types/node": {
-      "version": "20.11.8",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/node/-/node-20.11.8.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-i7omyekpPTNdv4Jb/Rgqg0RU8YqLcNsI12quKSDkRXNfx7Wxdm6HhK1awT3xTgEkgxPn3bvnSpiEAc7a7Lpyow==",
-      "dev": true,
-      "dependencies": {
-        "undici-types": "~5.26.4"
-      }
-    },
-    "node_modules/apache-arrow": {
-      "resolved": "../node/node_modules/apache-arrow",
-      "link": true
-    },
-    "node_modules/typescript": {
-      "version": "5.3.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/typescript/-/typescript-5.3.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-pXWcraxM0uxAS+tN0AG/BF2TyqmHO014Z070UsJ+pFvYuRSq8KH8DmWpnbXe0pEPDHXZV3FcAbJkijJ5oNEnWw==",
-      "dev": true,
-      "bin": {
-        "tsc": "bin/tsc",
-        "tsserver": "bin/tsserver"
-      },
-      "engines": {
-        "node": ">=14.17"
-      }
-    },
-    "node_modules/undici-types": {
-      "version": "5.26.5",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/undici-types/-/undici-types-5.26.5.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-JlCMO+ehdEIKqlFxk6IfVoAUVmgz7cU7zD/h9XZ0qzeosSHmUJVOzSQvvYSYWXkFXC+IfLKSIffhv0sVZup6pA==",
-      "dev": true
-    },
-    "node_modules/vectordb": {
-      "resolved": "../node",
-      "link": true
-    }
-  }
-}

docs/package.json

@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "name": "lancedb-docs-test",
-  "version": "1.0.0",
-  "description": "auto-generated tests from doc",
-  "author": "dev@lancedb.com",
-  "license": "Apache 2",
-  "dependencies": {
-    "apache-arrow": "file:../node/node_modules/apache-arrow",
-    "vectordb": "file:../node"
-  },
-  "scripts": {
-    "build": "tsc -b && cd ../node && npm run build-release",
-    "example": "npm run build && node",
-    "test": "npm run build && ls dist/*.js | xargs -n 1 node"
-  },
-  "devDependencies": {
-    "@types/node": "^20.11.8",
-    "typescript": "^5.3.3"
-  }
-}

docs/src/java/java.md

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Add the following dependency to your `pom.xml`:
 <dependency>
     <groupId>com.lancedb</groupId>
     <artifactId>lancedb-core</artifactId>
-    <version>0.38.0-beta.11</version>
+    <version>0.38.0-beta.12</version>
 </dependency>
 ```
 

docs/tsconfig.json

@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "include": [
-    "src/*.ts",
-  ],
-  "compilerOptions": {
-    "target": "es2022",
-    "module": "nodenext",
-    "declaration": true,
-    "outDir": "./dist",
-    "strict": true,
-    "allowJs": true,
-    "resolveJsonModule": true,
-  },
-  "exclude": [
-    "./dist/*",
-  ]
-}

java/lancedb-core/pom.xml

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
     <parent>
       <groupId>com.lancedb</groupId>
       <artifactId>lancedb-parent</artifactId>
-      <version>0.38.0-beta.11</version>
+      <version>0.38.0-beta.12</version>
       <relativePath>../pom.xml</relativePath>
     </parent>
 

java/pom.xml

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
     <groupId>com.lancedb</groupId>
     <artifactId>lancedb-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>0.38.0-beta.11</version>
+    <version>0.38.0-beta.12</version>
     <packaging>pom</packaging>
     <name>${project.artifactId}</name>
     <description>LanceDB Java SDK Parent POM</description>

nodejs/Cargo.toml

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [package]
 name = "lancedb-nodejs"
 edition.workspace = true
-version = "0.38.0-beta.11"
+version = "0.38.0-beta.12"
 publish = false
 license.workspace = true
 description.workspace = true

nodejs/__test__/package.test.ts

@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ import packageJson = require("../package.json");
 
 describe("package metadata", () => {
   it("requires Node.js type declarations compatible with the runtime", () => {
-    expect(packageJson.engines.node).toBe(">= 18");
-    expect(packageJson.peerDependencies["@types/node"]).toBe(">=18");
+    expect(packageJson.engines.node).toBe(">= 22");
+    expect(packageJson.peerDependencies["@types/node"]).toBe(">=22");
     expect(packageJson.peerDependenciesMeta["@types/node"]).toEqual({
       optional: true,
     });

nodejs/__test__/remote.test.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 import * as http from "http";
 import { RequestListener } from "http";
+import packageJson = require("../package.json");
 import {
   ClientConfig,
   Connection,
@@ -70,7 +71,13 @@ async function withMockDatabase(
   try {
     await callback(db);
   } finally {
-    server.close();
+    // `close()` alone leaves the port bound until keep-alive sockets drain, so
+    // a single failing test would cascade into EADDRINUSE for every test after
+    // it. Destroy the connections and wait for the port to actually be free.
+    await new Promise<void>((resolve) => {
+      server.closeAllConnections();
+      server.close(() => resolve());
+    });
   }
 }
 
@@ -131,7 +138,7 @@ describe("remote connection", () => {
       (req, res) => {
         expect(req.headers["x-api-key"]).toEqual("fake");
         expect(req.headers["user-agent"]).toEqual(
-          `LanceDB-Node-Client/${process.env.npm_package_version}`,
+          `LanceDB-Node-Client/${packageJson.version}`,
         );
 
         const body = JSON.stringify({ tables: [] });

nodejs/examples/package.json

@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@
     "//1": "--experimental-vm-modules is needed to run jest with sentence-transformers",
     "//2": "--testEnvironment is needed to run jest with sentence-transformers",
     "//3": "See: https://github.com/huggingface/transformers.js/issues/57",
-    "test": "node --experimental-vm-modules node_modules/.bin/jest --testEnvironment jest-environment-node-single-context --verbose",
+    "//4": "jest is invoked by its JS entry, not node_modules/.bin/jest: under pnpm that path is a shell shim, which `node` cannot execute",
+    "test": "node --experimental-vm-modules node_modules/jest/bin/jest.js --testEnvironment jest-environment-node-single-context --verbose",
     "lint": "biome check *.ts && biome format *.ts",
     "lint-ci": "biome ci .",
     "lint-fix": "biome check --write *.ts && pnpm format",

nodejs/npm/darwin-arm64/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-darwin-arm64",
-	"version": "0.38.0-beta.11",
+	"version": "0.38.0-beta.12",
 	"os": ["darwin"],
 	"cpu": ["arm64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.darwin-arm64.node",

nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-gnu/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-linux-arm64-gnu",
-	"version": "0.38.0-beta.11",
+	"version": "0.38.0-beta.12",
 	"os": ["linux"],
 	"cpu": ["arm64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.linux-arm64-gnu.node",

nodejs/npm/linux-arm64-musl/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-linux-arm64-musl",
-	"version": "0.38.0-beta.11",
+	"version": "0.38.0-beta.12",
 	"os": ["linux"],
 	"cpu": ["arm64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.linux-arm64-musl.node",

nodejs/npm/linux-x64-gnu/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-linux-x64-gnu",
-	"version": "0.38.0-beta.11",
+	"version": "0.38.0-beta.12",
 	"os": ["linux"],
 	"cpu": ["x64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.linux-x64-gnu.node",

nodejs/npm/linux-x64-musl/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-linux-x64-musl",
-	"version": "0.38.0-beta.11",
+	"version": "0.38.0-beta.12",
 	"os": ["linux"],
 	"cpu": ["x64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.linux-x64-musl.node",

nodejs/npm/win32-arm64-msvc/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@lancedb/lancedb-win32-arm64-msvc",
-  "version": "0.38.0-beta.11",
+  "version": "0.38.0-beta.12",
   "os": [
     "win32"
   ],

nodejs/npm/win32-x64-msvc/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
 	"name": "@lancedb/lancedb-win32-x64-msvc",
-	"version": "0.38.0-beta.11",
+	"version": "0.38.0-beta.12",
 	"os": ["win32"],
 	"cpu": ["x64"],
 	"main": "lancedb.win32-x64-msvc.node",

nodejs/package.json

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     "ann"
   ],
   "private": false,
-  "version": "0.38.0-beta.11",
+  "version": "0.38.0-beta.12",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
   "exports": {
     ".": "./dist/index.js",
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
     "timeout": "3m"
   },
   "engines": {
-    "node": ">= 18"
+    "node": ">= 22"
   },
   "packageManager": "pnpm@11.1.1",
   "cpu": ["x64", "arm64"],
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@
     "openai": "4.29.2"
   },
   "peerDependencies": {
-    "@types/node": ">=18",
+    "@types/node": ">=22",
     "apache-arrow": ">=15.0.0 <=18.1.0"
   },
   "peerDependenciesMeta": {

python/Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "lancedb-python"
-version = "0.38.0-beta.11"
+version = "0.38.0-beta.12"
 publish = false
 edition.workspace = true
 description = "Python bindings for LanceDB"

python/python/lancedb/remote/table.py

@@ -67,7 +67,15 @@ from ..query import (
     LanceTakeQueryBuilder,
     LanceVectorQueryBuilder,
 )
-from ..table import AsyncTable, BlobMode, Branches, IndexStatistics, Query, Table, Tags
+from ..table import (
+    AsyncTable,
+    BlobMode,
+    Branches,
+    IndexStatistics,
+    Query,
+    Table,
+    Tags,
+)
 from ..types import BaseTokenizerType
 
 

python/python/lancedb/table.py

@@ -2165,9 +2165,11 @@ class Table(ABC):
             Function columns are supported only on LanceDB Cloud and
             Enterprise.
         computed: Dict[str, str], optional
-            A map of column name to a SQL expression defining the column. The
-            column's type and inputs are derived from the expression, so no
-            data type is supplied.
+            A mapping from output column names to SQL expressions derives each
+            output field from its expression. A direct projection of a Blob v2
+            field inherits Blob v2 semantics; other expressions derive their
+            ordinary Arrow type. Mapping order is declaration and dependency
+            order.
 
             Unlike ``transforms``, the expression is stored rather than
             evaluated now: the column is committed with no values, and rows get
@@ -6268,8 +6270,11 @@ class AsyncTable:
             Function columns are supported only on LanceDB Cloud and
             Enterprise.
         computed: Dict[str, str], optional
-            A map of column name to a SQL expression defining the column. The
-            column's type and inputs are derived from the expression.
+            A mapping from output column names to SQL expressions derives each
+            output field from its expression. A direct projection of a Blob v2
+            field inherits Blob v2 semantics; other expressions derive their
+            ordinary Arrow type. Mapping order is declaration and dependency
+            order.
 
             Unlike ``transforms``, the expression is stored rather than
             evaluated now: the column is committed with no values, and rows get

python/python/tests/test_table.py

@@ -4087,6 +4087,29 @@ def test_computed_column_rejects_transforms_and_computed_together(tmp_path):
         table.add_columns({"a": "x + 1"}, computed={"b": "x * 2"})
 
 
+def test_computed_column_blob_projection_inherits_semantics(tmp_path):
+    schema = pa.schema([pa.field("id", pa.int64()), lancedb.blob("image")])
+    db = lancedb.connect(tmp_path)
+    table = db.create_table("computed_column_blob", schema=schema)
+    table.add(
+        [
+            {"id": 1, "image": b"hello"},
+            {"id": 2, "image": b""},
+            {"id": 3, "image": None},
+        ]
+    )
+
+    table.add_columns(computed={"image_copy": "image", "second_copy": "image_copy"})
+    assert table.refresh_column("image_copy").rows_filled == 2
+    assert table.refresh_column("second_copy").rows_filled == 2
+    assert table.blob_columns() == ["image", "image_copy", "second_copy"]
+
+    hits = table.search().with_row_id(True).limit(10).to_arrow()
+    rows = sorted(zip(hits["id"].to_pylist(), hits["_rowid"].to_pylist()))
+    copied = table.fetch_blobs("second_copy", [row_id for _, row_id in rows])
+    assert copied.to_pylist() == [b"hello", b"", None]
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_computed_column_async(tmp_path):
     db = await lancedb.connect_async(tmp_path)

rust/lancedb/Cargo.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "lancedb"
-version = "0.38.0-beta.11"
+version = "0.38.0-beta.12"
 edition.workspace = true
 description = "LanceDB: A serverless, low-latency vector database for AI applications"
 license.workspace = true

rust/lancedb/src/remote/table.rs

@@ -3180,8 +3180,8 @@ impl<S: HttpSend> BaseTable for RemoteTable<S> {
             self.schema().await?.as_ref(),
             "schema evolution",
         )?;
-        // The server plans the declaration: expression validation, type
-        // inference and the persisted binding all happen there.
+        // The server plans the declaration against its table schema, including
+        // Blob v2 semantics inherited by a direct field projection.
         let entries = columns
             .iter()
             .map(
@@ -7388,8 +7388,8 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(result.version, if old_server { 0 } else { 43 });
     }
 
-    /// A declaration is sent as `{name, computed}` entries for the server to
-    /// plan; the client never types the expression itself.
+    /// A declaration is sent as `{name, computed}` for the server to plan; the
+    /// client never types the expression itself.
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_add_computed_columns_sends_the_expression() {
         let table = Table::new_with_handler("my_table", |request| match request.url().path() {

rust/lancedb/src/table.rs

@@ -750,8 +750,8 @@ pub trait BaseTable: std::fmt::Display + std::fmt::Debug + Send + Sync {
     /// Declare computed columns, each defined by a SQL expression.
     ///
     /// Where the declaration is planned depends on the backend: a local table
-    /// validates and types the expression itself, a remote one sends the text
-    /// for the server to plan.
+    /// validates and types the expression itself, while a remote one sends the
+    /// expression for the server to plan.
     async fn add_computed_columns(
         &self,
         _columns: &[(String, String)],

rust/lancedb/src/table/computed_columns.rs

@@ -9,29 +9,35 @@
 //! refresh fills the rows.
 //!
 //! The rule is tagged by kind ([`ComputedColumnKind`]) because kinds differ in
-//! where the column's type and inputs come from. A SQL expression is
-//! self-describing -- both are derived from the expression, so a caller writes
-//! neither -- while a kind resolved through a registry cannot be typed without
-//! consulting it. Registered Functions use an exact remote version plus a
-//! schema-level Function binding; unknown newer kinds remain readable and fail
-//! closed before mutation.
+//! where the column's type and inputs come from. A SQL expression determines
+//! its inputs and physical result type. A direct projection of a Blob v2 field
+//! also inherits that field's semantic type while execution continues to use
+//! `LargeBinary`. A kind resolved through a registry cannot be typed without
+//! consulting it.
+//! Registered Functions use an exact remote version plus a schema-level
+//! Function binding; unknown newer kinds remain readable and fail closed
+//! before mutation.
 //!
 //! [`computed_columns`] and [`computed_column_from_field`] read declarations
 //! back off a schema.
 
-use std::collections::{BTreeSet, HashMap};
+use std::collections::{BTreeSet, HashMap, HashSet};
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use arrow_schema::{DataType, Field as ArrowField, Fields, Schema as ArrowSchema, SchemaRef};
-use datafusion_common::tree_node::TreeNode;
+use datafusion_common::{ScalarValue, tree_node::TreeNode};
+use datafusion_expr::Expr;
 use datafusion_physical_plan::PhysicalExpr;
 use lance::dataset::NewColumnTransform;
+use lance_arrow::FieldExt;
+use lance_core::datatypes::{BLOB_V2_DESC_FIELD, format_field_path_minimal, parse_field_path};
 use lance_datafusion::planner::Planner;
 use lance_namespace::models::{JsonArrowDataType, JsonArrowField, JsonArrowSchema};
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use serde_json::Value;
 
 use crate::function::{FunctionApplication, FunctionBinding};
+use crate::utils::resolve_arrow_field_path;
 use crate::{Error, Result};
 
 /// Field metadata key marking a column as computed. The value is `"true"`.
@@ -1106,15 +1112,20 @@ pub(crate) fn ensure_no_foreign_declarations<'a>(
     fields: impl IntoIterator<Item = &'a Arc<ArrowField>>,
 ) -> Result<()> {
     for field in fields {
-        if field.metadata().keys().any(|k| is_declaration_key(k)) {
-            return Err(Error::InvalidInput {
-                message: format!(
-                    "field '{}' carries computed-column metadata; declare computed columns \
-                     with add_columns().computed()",
-                    field.name()
-                ),
-            });
-        }
+        ensure_no_foreign_declaration(field)?;
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn ensure_no_foreign_declaration(field: &ArrowField) -> Result<()> {
+    if field.metadata().keys().any(|k| is_declaration_key(k)) {
+        return Err(Error::InvalidInput {
+            message: format!(
+                "field '{}' carries computed-column metadata; declare computed columns \
+                 with add_columns().computed()",
+                field.name()
+            ),
+        });
     }
     Ok(())
 }
@@ -1162,15 +1173,154 @@ pub(crate) struct BoundExpression {
     /// The columns the expression names, as written; nested inputs keep
     /// their dotted path.
     pub inputs: Vec<String>,
-    /// The top-level columns evaluation reads, in [`Self::read_schema`]
-    /// order. A nested input appears through its root.
+    /// The top-level columns evaluation reads, in physical-expression order.
+    /// A nested input appears through its root.
     pub roots: Vec<String>,
-    /// The projected schema evaluation runs against.
-    pub read_schema: SchemaRef,
     /// The compiled expression.
     pub physical: Arc<dyn PhysicalExpr>,
     /// The type the expression yields.
     pub data_type: DataType,
+    /// Blob v2 leaves the scan must materialize as `LargeBinary`.
+    pub blob_paths: Vec<String>,
+    /// A directly projected Blob v2 field whose semantics the output inherits.
+    projected_blob_field: Option<ArrowField>,
+}
+
+fn is_direct_field_projection(expr: &Expr) -> bool {
+    match expr {
+        Expr::Column(_) => true,
+        Expr::ScalarFunction(function)
+            if function.name() == "get_field" && function.args.len() == 2 =>
+        {
+            is_direct_field_projection(&function.args[0])
+                && matches!(
+                    &function.args[1],
+                    Expr::Literal(ScalarValue::Utf8(Some(_)), _)
+                )
+        }
+        _ => false,
+    }
+}
+
+fn projected_blob_field(schema: &ArrowSchema, expr: &Expr) -> Result<Option<ArrowField>> {
+    if !is_direct_field_projection(expr) {
+        return Ok(None);
+    }
+    let paths = Planner::column_names_in_expr(expr);
+    let [path] = paths.as_slice() else {
+        return Ok(None);
+    };
+    let (_, field) = resolve_arrow_field_path(schema, path)?;
+    Ok(field.is_blob_v2().then_some(field))
+}
+
+fn collect_blob_paths(field: &ArrowField, parent: &[String], paths: &mut Vec<Vec<String>>) {
+    let mut path = parent.to_vec();
+    path.push(field.name().clone());
+    if field.is_blob_v2() {
+        paths.push(path);
+        return;
+    }
+    match field.data_type() {
+        DataType::Struct(children) => {
+            for child in children {
+                collect_blob_paths(child, &path, paths);
+            }
+        }
+        DataType::List(child)
+        | DataType::LargeList(child)
+        | DataType::FixedSizeList(child, _)
+        | DataType::Map(child, _) => collect_blob_paths(child, &path, paths),
+        _ => {}
+    }
+}
+
+fn schema_blob_paths(schema: &ArrowSchema) -> Vec<Vec<String>> {
+    let mut paths = Vec::new();
+    for field in schema.fields() {
+        collect_blob_paths(field, &[], &mut paths);
+    }
+    paths
+}
+
+fn transform_blob_field(
+    field: &ArrowField,
+    parent: &[String],
+    materialized: &HashSet<Vec<String>>,
+) -> ArrowField {
+    let mut path = parent.to_vec();
+    path.push(field.name().clone());
+    if field.is_blob_v2() {
+        if materialized.contains(&path) {
+            return ArrowField::new(field.name(), DataType::LargeBinary, field.is_nullable());
+        }
+        return ArrowField::new(
+            field.name(),
+            BLOB_V2_DESC_FIELD.data_type().clone(),
+            field.is_nullable(),
+        )
+        .with_metadata(BLOB_V2_DESC_FIELD.metadata().clone());
+    }
+
+    let data_type = match field.data_type() {
+        DataType::Struct(children) => DataType::Struct(
+            children
+                .iter()
+                .map(|child| Arc::new(transform_blob_field(child, &path, materialized)))
+                .collect(),
+        ),
+        DataType::List(child) => {
+            DataType::List(Arc::new(transform_blob_field(child, &path, materialized)))
+        }
+        DataType::LargeList(child) => {
+            DataType::LargeList(Arc::new(transform_blob_field(child, &path, materialized)))
+        }
+        DataType::FixedSizeList(child, size) => DataType::FixedSizeList(
+            Arc::new(transform_blob_field(child, &path, materialized)),
+            *size,
+        ),
+        DataType::Map(child, sorted) => DataType::Map(
+            Arc::new(transform_blob_field(child, &path, materialized)),
+            *sorted,
+        ),
+        _ => return field.clone(),
+    };
+    ArrowField::new(field.name(), data_type, field.is_nullable())
+        .with_metadata(field.metadata().clone())
+}
+
+fn blob_runtime_schema(schema: &ArrowSchema, materialized: &HashSet<Vec<String>>) -> SchemaRef {
+    Arc::new(ArrowSchema::new_with_metadata(
+        schema
+            .fields()
+            .iter()
+            .map(|field| Arc::new(transform_blob_field(field, &[], materialized)))
+            .collect::<Fields>(),
+        schema.metadata().clone(),
+    ))
+}
+
+fn referenced_blob_paths(schema: &ArrowSchema, inputs: &[String]) -> Result<Vec<Vec<String>>> {
+    let input_paths = inputs
+        .iter()
+        .map(|input| {
+            parse_field_path(input).map_err(|error| Error::InvalidInput {
+                message: format!("invalid computed-column input path '{input}': {error}"),
+            })
+        })
+        .collect::<Result<Vec<_>>>()?;
+    Ok(schema_blob_paths(schema)
+        .into_iter()
+        .filter(|blob_path| {
+            input_paths.iter().any(|input_path| {
+                input_path.len() <= blob_path.len()
+                    && input_path
+                        .iter()
+                        .zip(blob_path)
+                        .all(|(input, blob)| input == blob)
+            })
+        })
+        .collect())
 }
 
 /// Parse, resolve and compile `expression` against `schema`.
@@ -1185,10 +1335,18 @@ pub(crate) fn bind(schema: SchemaRef, column: &str, expression: &str) -> Result<
         message,
     };
 
-    let planner = Planner::new(schema.clone());
+    // Blob v2 is a semantic type whose runtime expression ABI is
+    // `LargeBinary`. Parse against that ABI first so a direct Blob reference
+    // is not mistaken for its storage descriptor struct.
+    let all_blob_paths = schema_blob_paths(schema.as_ref())
+        .into_iter()
+        .collect::<HashSet<_>>();
+    let parsing_schema = blob_runtime_schema(schema.as_ref(), &all_blob_paths);
+    let planner = Planner::new(parsing_schema);
     let parsed = planner
         .parse_expr(expression)
         .map_err(|e| invalid(e.to_string()))?;
+    let projected_blob_field = projected_blob_field(schema.as_ref(), &parsed)?;
 
     // A declaration is evaluated more than once -- staging and writing are
     // separate passes, and a refresh years later replays the same text -- so
@@ -1218,13 +1376,19 @@ pub(crate) fn bind(schema: SchemaRef, column: &str, expression: &str) -> Result<
     inputs.sort();
     inputs.dedup();
 
+    let blob_paths = referenced_blob_paths(schema.as_ref(), &inputs)?;
+    let runtime_schema = blob_runtime_schema(
+        schema.as_ref(),
+        &blob_paths.iter().cloned().collect::<HashSet<_>>(),
+    );
+
     // A nested input is recorded by its path but read through its root
     // column; Schema::index_of resolves top-level names only. Resolved here
     // rather than left to the planner so an unknown column names itself in
     // the error instead of surfacing as a plan failure.
     let mut indices = Vec::with_capacity(inputs.len());
     for input in &inputs {
-        let index = schema
+        let index = runtime_schema
             .index_of(root(input))
             .map_err(|_| invalid(format!("unknown column '{input}'")))?;
         if !indices.contains(&index) {
@@ -1237,7 +1401,7 @@ pub(crate) fn bind(schema: SchemaRef, column: &str, expression: &str) -> Result<
     // compiles the expression has to be built on the projected schema
     // evaluation will actually read.
     let read_schema = Arc::new(
-        schema
+        runtime_schema
             .project(&indices)
             .map_err(|e| invalid(e.to_string()))?,
     );
@@ -1247,7 +1411,8 @@ pub(crate) fn bind(schema: SchemaRef, column: &str, expression: &str) -> Result<
         .map(|field| field.name().clone())
         .collect();
 
-    let optimized = planner
+    let runtime_planner = Planner::new(runtime_schema);
+    let optimized = runtime_planner
         .optimize_expr(parsed)
         .map_err(|e| invalid(e.to_string()))?;
     let physical = Planner::new(read_schema.clone())
@@ -1260,9 +1425,16 @@ pub(crate) fn bind(schema: SchemaRef, column: &str, expression: &str) -> Result<
     Ok(BoundExpression {
         inputs,
         roots,
-        read_schema,
         physical,
         data_type,
+        blob_paths: blob_paths
+            .iter()
+            .map(|path| {
+                let segments = path.iter().map(String::as_str).collect::<Vec<_>>();
+                format_field_path_minimal(&segments)
+            })
+            .collect(),
+        projected_blob_field,
     })
 }
 
@@ -1278,7 +1450,7 @@ pub(crate) fn bind(schema: SchemaRef, column: &str, expression: &str) -> Result<
 /// batch may declare `a` and then `b = a + 1` in one commit. Refresh order
 /// then matters, and refresh enforces it: `b` is refused while `a` still has
 /// unfilled rows.
-pub(crate) fn plan(schema: SchemaRef, columns: &[(String, String)]) -> Result<Vec<ArrowField>> {
+fn plan_declarations(schema: SchemaRef, columns: &[(String, String)]) -> Result<Vec<ArrowField>> {
     if columns.is_empty() {
         return Err(Error::InvalidInput {
             message: "at least one computed column is required".into(),
@@ -1290,15 +1462,28 @@ pub(crate) fn plan(schema: SchemaRef, columns: &[(String, String)]) -> Result<Ve
 
     for (name, expression) in columns {
         if schema.field_with_name(name).is_ok() {
-            return Err(Error::ColumnAlreadyExists { name: name.clone() });
+            return Err(Error::ColumnAlreadyExists {
+                name: name.to_string(),
+            });
         }
 
         let bound = bind(schema.clone(), name, expression)?;
 
         // Declared columns start entirely null, so nullability is a property
         // of the declaration rather than of what the expression yields.
-        let field = ArrowField::new(name, bound.data_type, true)
-            .with_metadata(computed_column_metadata(expression, &bound.inputs));
+        let computed_metadata = computed_column_metadata(expression, &bound.inputs);
+        let field = match bound.projected_blob_field {
+            Some(source) => {
+                let mut metadata = source.metadata().clone();
+                metadata.retain(|key, _| !is_declaration_key(key));
+                metadata.extend(computed_metadata);
+                source
+                    .with_name(name)
+                    .with_nullable(true)
+                    .with_metadata(metadata)
+            }
+            None => ArrowField::new(name, bound.data_type, true).with_metadata(computed_metadata),
+        };
         schema = Arc::new(ArrowSchema::new_with_metadata(
             schema
                 .fields()
@@ -1314,6 +1499,10 @@ pub(crate) fn plan(schema: SchemaRef, columns: &[(String, String)]) -> Result<Ve
     Ok(fields)
 }
 
+pub(crate) fn plan(schema: SchemaRef, columns: &[(String, String)]) -> Result<Vec<ArrowField>> {
+    plan_declarations(schema, columns)
+}
+
 /// Run the schema-level checks of
 /// [`AddColumnsBuilder::computed`](super::AddColumnsBuilder::computed) against
 /// `schema` without committing: the Function-binding guard and the planning of
@@ -1352,7 +1541,7 @@ pub(crate) fn declare(
     schema: SchemaRef,
     columns: &[(String, String)],
 ) -> Result<NewColumnTransform> {
-    let fields = plan(schema, columns)?;
+    let fields = plan_declarations(schema, columns)?;
     Ok(NewColumnTransform::AllNulls(Arc::new(ArrowSchema::new(
         fields,
     ))))
@@ -1478,6 +1667,44 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_direct_blob_projection_inherits_semantics() {
+        let schema = Arc::new(ArrowSchema::new(vec![crate::blob("image", false)]));
+        let fields = plan(
+            schema,
+            &[
+                ("first".to_string(), "image".to_string()),
+                ("second".to_string(), "first".to_string()),
+            ],
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+        for field in &fields {
+            assert!(field.is_blob_v2());
+            assert!(field.is_nullable());
+        }
+        assert_eq!(
+            fields[1]
+                .metadata()
+                .get(EXPRESSION_META_KEY)
+                .map(String::as_str),
+            Some("first")
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_blob_expression_transformation_does_not_inherit_semantics() {
+        let schema = Arc::new(ArrowSchema::new(vec![crate::blob("image", true)]));
+        let fields = plan(
+            schema,
+            &[("payload".to_string(), "coalesce(image, image)".to_string())],
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+
+        assert!(!fields[0].is_blob_v2());
+        assert_eq!(fields[0].data_type(), &DataType::LargeBinary);
+    }
+
     /// The binding reaches the schema only if `AllNulls` carries per-field
     /// metadata through the commit. The whole representation rests on it.
     #[tokio::test]

rust/lancedb/src/table/refresh.rs

@@ -29,10 +29,14 @@
 //! inputs masked to null first, so a poison value in a row nobody is filling
 //! cannot fail the refresh.
 
+use std::collections::HashSet;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
-use arrow_array::{ArrayRef, BooleanArray, RecordBatch, RecordBatchOptions};
-use arrow_schema::Schema as ArrowSchema;
+use arrow_array::{
+    Array, ArrayRef, BooleanArray, LargeBinaryArray, RecordBatch, RecordBatchOptions, StructArray,
+    new_null_array,
+};
+use arrow_schema::{DataType, Field as ArrowField, Schema as ArrowSchema};
 use datafusion_expr::ColumnarValue;
 use futures::{Stream, StreamExt, TryStreamExt};
 use lance::Dataset;
@@ -40,7 +44,7 @@ use lance::dataset::WriteDestination;
 use lance::dataset::fragment::FileFragment;
 use lance::dataset::transaction::Operation;
 use lance_core::ROW_ID;
-use lance_core::datatypes::Schema as LanceSchema;
+use lance_core::datatypes::{BlobHandling, Schema as LanceSchema};
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
 use super::computed_columns::{BoundExpression, ComputedColumnKind, computed_column_from_field};
@@ -104,6 +108,7 @@ async fn execute_refresh_column_with_source(
         fields: vec![field.clone()],
         metadata: Default::default(),
     };
+    let output_is_blob = field.is_blob_v2();
 
     let mut rows_filled = 0u64;
     let mut replacements = Vec::new();
@@ -113,7 +118,8 @@ async fn execute_refresh_column_with_source(
             continue;
         }
         rows_filled += gained;
-        let values = fill_stream(&dataset, &fragment, bound.clone(), column).await?;
+        let values =
+            fill_stream(&dataset, &fragment, bound.clone(), column, output_is_blob).await?;
         replacements.push(fragment.write_columns(values, &column_schema).await?);
     }
 
@@ -294,12 +300,15 @@ fn evaluation_batch(
     mask_out: Option<&BooleanArray>,
 ) -> lance_core::Result<RecordBatch> {
     let mut columns = Vec::with_capacity(bound.roots.len());
+    let mut fields = Vec::with_capacity(bound.roots.len());
     for name in &bound.roots {
-        let column = batch.column_by_name(name).ok_or_else(|| {
+        let index = batch.schema_ref().index_of(name).map_err(|_| {
             lance_core::Error::invalid_input(format!(
                 "refreshing a computed column read no {name} column"
             ))
         })?;
+        let column = batch.column(index);
+        fields.push(batch.schema_ref().field(index).clone());
         // Rows outside the mask must not reach the expression: a value in a
         // deleted or already-filled row can be one it would choke on.
         columns.push(match mask_out {
@@ -308,7 +317,7 @@ fn evaluation_batch(
         });
     }
     Ok(RecordBatch::try_new_with_options(
-        bound.read_schema.clone(),
+        Arc::new(ArrowSchema::new(fields)),
         columns,
         &RecordBatchOptions::new().with_row_count(Some(batch.num_rows())),
     )?)
@@ -329,6 +338,99 @@ fn evaluate(bound: &BoundExpression, batch: &RecordBatch) -> lance_core::Result<
     }
 }
 
+fn materialized_blob_ids(schema: &LanceSchema, paths: &[String]) -> Result<HashSet<u32>> {
+    paths
+        .iter()
+        .map(|path| {
+            let field = schema
+                .resolve(path)
+                .and_then(|fields| fields.last().copied())
+                .ok_or_else(|| Error::InvalidInput {
+                    message: format!("computed Blob input '{path}' no longer exists"),
+                })?;
+            if !field.is_blob_v2() {
+                return Err(Error::InvalidInput {
+                    message: format!("computed Blob input '{path}' is no longer Blob v2"),
+                });
+            }
+            u32::try_from(field.id).map_err(|_| Error::InvalidInput {
+                message: format!(
+                    "computed Blob input '{path}' has invalid field id {}",
+                    field.id
+                ),
+            })
+        })
+        .collect()
+}
+
+fn configure_blob_inputs(
+    scanner: &mut lance::dataset::scanner::Scanner,
+    schema: &LanceSchema,
+    bound: &BoundExpression,
+    extra_blob_id: Option<u32>,
+) -> Result<()> {
+    let mut ids = materialized_blob_ids(schema, &bound.blob_paths)?;
+    ids.extend(extra_blob_id);
+    scanner.blob_handling(BlobHandling::SomeBlobsBinary(ids));
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn blob_array_from_binary(
+    array: &ArrayRef,
+    target_field: &ArrowField,
+) -> lance_core::Result<ArrayRef> {
+    let values = array
+        .as_any()
+        .downcast_ref::<LargeBinaryArray>()
+        .ok_or_else(|| {
+            lance_core::Error::invalid_input(format!(
+                "a Blob v2 computed output produced {}, expected LargeBinary",
+                array.data_type()
+            ))
+        })?;
+    let mut builder = lance::blob::BlobArrayBuilder::new(values.len());
+    for index in 0..values.len() {
+        if values.is_null(index) {
+            builder.push_null()?;
+        } else {
+            builder.push_bytes(values.value(index))?;
+        }
+    }
+    let minimal = builder.finish()?;
+    let minimal = minimal
+        .as_any()
+        .downcast_ref::<StructArray>()
+        .ok_or_else(|| lance_core::Error::internal("Blob builder returned a non-struct array"))?;
+    let DataType::Struct(target_fields) = target_field.data_type() else {
+        return Err(lance_core::Error::invalid_input(format!(
+            "Blob v2 output field '{}' has non-struct type {}",
+            target_field.name(),
+            target_field.data_type()
+        )));
+    };
+    let columns = target_fields
+        .iter()
+        .map(|field| match field.name().as_str() {
+            "data" | "uri" => minimal
+                .column_by_name(field.name())
+                .cloned()
+                .ok_or_else(|| {
+                    lance_core::Error::internal(format!("Blob builder omitted '{}'", field.name()))
+                }),
+            "position" | "size" => Ok(new_null_array(field.data_type(), minimal.len())),
+            name => Err(lance_core::Error::invalid_input(format!(
+                "Blob v2 output field '{}' has unsupported logical child '{name}'",
+                target_field.name()
+            ))),
+        })
+        .collect::<lance_core::Result<Vec<_>>>()?;
+    Ok(Arc::new(StructArray::try_new(
+        target_fields.clone(),
+        columns,
+        minimal.nulls().cloned(),
+    )?))
+}
+
 /// How many rows of one fragment would gain a value.
 ///
 /// Scans only the unfilled live rows -- deleted rows never reach the
@@ -347,6 +449,7 @@ async fn count_fragment_gains(
         .with_row_id()
         .filter(&format!("{} IS NULL", quote_identifier(column)))?
         .project(&bound.roots)?;
+    configure_blob_inputs(&mut scanner, dataset.schema(), bound, None)?;
 
     let mut gained = 0u64;
     let mut batches = scanner.try_into_stream().await?;
@@ -368,6 +471,7 @@ async fn fill_stream(
     fragment: &FileFragment,
     bound: Arc<BoundExpression>,
     column: &str,
+    output_is_blob: bool,
 ) -> Result<impl Stream<Item = lance_core::Result<RecordBatch>> + Send + use<>> {
     let mut projection: Vec<String> = bound.roots.clone();
     projection.push(column.to_string());
@@ -377,6 +481,20 @@ async fn fill_stream(
         .with_row_id()
         .include_deleted_rows()
         .project(&projection)?;
+    let output_blob_id = output_is_blob
+        .then(|| {
+            dataset
+                .schema()
+                .field(column)
+                .and_then(|field| u32::try_from(field.id).ok())
+        })
+        .flatten();
+    configure_blob_inputs(
+        &mut scanner,
+        dataset.schema(),
+        bound.as_ref(),
+        output_blob_id,
+    )?;
 
     let projected = Arc::new(ArrowSchema::new(vec![
         ArrowSchema::from(dataset.schema())
@@ -412,6 +530,11 @@ async fn fill_stream(
 
         let computed = evaluate(&bound, &evaluation_batch(&batch, &bound, Some(&keep))?)?;
         let merged = arrow_select::zip::zip(&fill, &computed, existing)?;
+        let merged = if output_is_blob {
+            blob_array_from_binary(&merged, projected.field(0))?
+        } else {
+            merged
+        };
         Ok(RecordBatch::try_new(projected.clone(), vec![merged])?)
     }))
 }
@@ -420,8 +543,12 @@ async fn fill_stream(
 mod tests {
     use std::sync::Arc;
 
-    use arrow_array::{Int32Array, record_batch};
+    use arrow_array::{
+        Array, ArrayRef, Int32Array, LargeBinaryArray, RecordBatch, StructArray, record_batch,
+    };
+    use arrow_schema::Field as ArrowField;
     use futures::TryStreamExt;
+    use lance_core::ROW_ID;
 
     use crate::connect;
     use crate::query::{ExecutableQuery, QueryBase, Select};
@@ -477,6 +604,25 @@ mod tests {
         table.add(batch).execute().await.unwrap();
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_blob_output_matches_complete_logical_field() {
+        let values: ArrayRef = Arc::new(LargeBinaryArray::from(vec![
+            Some(b"hello".as_slice()),
+            None,
+        ]));
+        let field = ArrowField::new(
+            "image",
+            lance_core::datatypes::BLOB_V2_LOGICAL_TYPE.clone(),
+            true,
+        );
+
+        let output = super::blob_array_from_binary(&values, &field).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(output.data_type(), field.data_type());
+        let output = output.as_any().downcast_ref::<StructArray>().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(output.column_by_name("position").unwrap().null_count(), 2);
+        assert_eq!(output.column_by_name("size").unwrap().null_count(), 2);
+    }
+
     /// The gate's reproducer: `b = coalesce(a, 0)` refreshed before `a`
     /// must not bake zeros from `a`'s placeholder null. It is refused, and
     /// names the input, until `a` is filled -- after every append too.
@@ -1164,4 +1310,366 @@ mod tests {
         let err = table.refresh_column("embedding").await.unwrap_err();
         assert!(matches!(err, Error::NotSupported { message } if message.contains("udf")));
     }
+
+    fn blob_batch(ids: Vec<i32>, payloads: Vec<Option<&[u8]>>) -> RecordBatch {
+        use arrow_array::Int32Array;
+        use arrow_schema::{Field, Schema};
+
+        let mut builder = lance::blob::BlobArrayBuilder::new(payloads.len());
+        for payload in payloads {
+            match payload {
+                Some(payload) => builder.push_bytes(payload).unwrap(),
+                None => builder.push_null().unwrap(),
+            }
+        }
+        RecordBatch::try_new(
+            Arc::new(Schema::new(vec![
+                Field::new("id", arrow_schema::DataType::Int32, false),
+                crate::blob("image", true),
+            ])),
+            vec![Arc::new(Int32Array::from(ids)), builder.finish().unwrap()],
+        )
+        .unwrap()
+    }
+
+    async fn create_blob_table(path: &std::path::Path, batch: RecordBatch) -> Table {
+        let conn = connect(path.to_str().unwrap()).execute().await.unwrap();
+        conn.create_table("blobs", batch).execute().await.unwrap()
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_refresh_inherits_and_publishes_blob_output() {
+        use arrow_array::UInt64Array;
+        use lance_arrow::{
+            BLOB_DEDICATED_SIZE_THRESHOLD_META_KEY, BLOB_INLINE_SIZE_THRESHOLD_META_KEY,
+        };
+        use lance_core::datatypes::BlobKind;
+
+        use crate::table::schema_evolution::FieldMetadataUpdate;
+
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let table = create_blob_table(
+            tmp.path(),
+            blob_batch(
+                vec![1, 2, 3, 4],
+                vec![Some(b"hello"), Some(b"ab"), Some(b""), None],
+            ),
+        )
+        .await;
+        table
+            .add_columns()
+            .computed("image_copy", "image")
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        table
+            .update_field_metadata(&[FieldMetadataUpdate::new("image_copy")
+                .set(BLOB_INLINE_SIZE_THRESHOLD_META_KEY, "1")
+                .set(BLOB_DEDICATED_SIZE_THRESHOLD_META_KEY, "4")])
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+
+        let first_refresh = table.refresh_column("image_copy").await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(first_refresh.rows_filled, 3);
+        assert_eq!(
+            table.blob_columns().await.unwrap(),
+            vec!["image".to_string(), "image_copy".to_string()]
+        );
+
+        let batches = table
+            .query()
+            .with_row_id()
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .try_collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let batch = arrow_select::concat::concat_batches(&batches[0].schema(), &batches).unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            batch
+                .column_by_name("image_copy")
+                .unwrap()
+                .as_any()
+                .is::<arrow_array::StructArray>()
+        );
+        let row_ids = batch
+            .column_by_name(ROW_ID)
+            .unwrap()
+            .as_any()
+            .downcast_ref::<UInt64Array>()
+            .unwrap()
+            .values()
+            .to_vec();
+        let original = table.fetch_blobs("image", &row_ids).await.unwrap();
+        let copied = table.fetch_blobs("image_copy", &row_ids).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(original, copied);
+        let ids = batch
+            .column_by_name("id")
+            .unwrap()
+            .as_any()
+            .downcast_ref::<Int32Array>()
+            .unwrap();
+        let files = table
+            .fetch_blob_files("image_copy", &row_ids)
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let mut layouts = ids
+            .values()
+            .iter()
+            .copied()
+            .zip(files)
+            .map(|(id, file)| (id, file.and_then(|file| file.kind())))
+            .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+        layouts.sort_by_key(|(id, _)| *id);
+        assert_eq!(
+            layouts,
+            vec![
+                (1, Some(BlobKind::Dedicated)),
+                (2, Some(BlobKind::Packed)),
+                (3, Some(BlobKind::Inline)),
+                (4, None),
+            ]
+        );
+
+        table
+            .add(blob_batch(vec![5], vec![Some(b"appended")]))
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        table
+            .optimize(crate::table::OptimizeAction::Compact {
+                options: crate::table::CompactionOptions::default(),
+                remap_options: None,
+            })
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(
+            table
+                .refresh_column("image_copy")
+                .await
+                .unwrap()
+                .rows_filled,
+            1
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            table
+                .refresh_column("image_copy")
+                .await
+                .unwrap()
+                .rows_filled,
+            0
+        );
+
+        table.checkout(first_refresh.version).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(table.count_rows(None).await.unwrap(), 4);
+        assert_eq!(
+            table.blob_columns().await.unwrap(),
+            vec!["image".to_string(), "image_copy".to_string()]
+        );
+        table.checkout_latest().await.unwrap();
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_refresh_inherits_nested_struct_blob_input() {
+        use arrow_array::{Int32Array, StructArray, UInt64Array};
+        use arrow_schema::{DataType, Field, Fields, Schema};
+
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let mut blob_builder = lance::blob::BlobArrayBuilder::new(2);
+        blob_builder.push_bytes(b"nested").unwrap();
+        blob_builder.push_null().unwrap();
+        let blob_field = crate::blob("image", true);
+        let metadata_fields = Fields::from(vec![blob_field.clone()]);
+        let metadata = StructArray::new(
+            metadata_fields.clone(),
+            vec![blob_builder.finish().unwrap()],
+            None,
+        );
+        let batch = RecordBatch::try_new(
+            Arc::new(Schema::new(vec![
+                Field::new("id", DataType::Int32, false),
+                Field::new("metadata", DataType::Struct(metadata_fields), true),
+            ])),
+            vec![Arc::new(Int32Array::from(vec![1, 2])), Arc::new(metadata)],
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+        let table = create_blob_table(tmp.path(), batch).await;
+        table
+            .add_columns()
+            .computed("payload_copy", "metadata.image")
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            table
+                .refresh_column("payload_copy")
+                .await
+                .unwrap()
+                .rows_filled,
+            1
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            table.blob_columns().await.unwrap(),
+            vec!["metadata.image".to_string(), "payload_copy".to_string()]
+        );
+        let batches = table
+            .query()
+            .with_row_id()
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .try_collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let row_ids = batches[0]
+            .column_by_name(ROW_ID)
+            .unwrap()
+            .as_any()
+            .downcast_ref::<UInt64Array>()
+            .unwrap()
+            .values();
+        let payloads = table.fetch_blobs("payload_copy", row_ids).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(payloads.value(0), b"nested");
+        assert!(payloads.is_null(1));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_refresh_preserves_list_shape_when_materializing_blob_input() {
+        use arrow_array::{Int32Array, ListArray};
+        use arrow_buffer::{OffsetBuffer, ScalarBuffer};
+        use arrow_schema::{DataType, Field, Schema};
+
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let mut blob_builder = lance::blob::BlobArrayBuilder::new(3);
+        blob_builder.push_bytes(b"a").unwrap();
+        blob_builder.push_bytes(b"bb").unwrap();
+        blob_builder.push_null().unwrap();
+        let item = Arc::new(crate::blob("item", true));
+        let images = ListArray::new(
+            item.clone(),
+            OffsetBuffer::new(ScalarBuffer::from(vec![0, 2, 3])),
+            blob_builder.finish().unwrap(),
+            None,
+        );
+        let batch = RecordBatch::try_new(
+            Arc::new(Schema::new(vec![
+                Field::new("id", DataType::Int32, false),
+                Field::new("images", DataType::List(item), true),
+            ])),
+            vec![Arc::new(Int32Array::from(vec![1, 2])), Arc::new(images)],
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+        let table = create_blob_table(tmp.path(), batch).await;
+        table
+            .add_columns()
+            .computed("image_payloads", "images")
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            table
+                .refresh_column("image_payloads")
+                .await
+                .unwrap()
+                .rows_filled,
+            2
+        );
+        let batches = table
+            .query()
+            .select(Select::columns(&["image_payloads"]))
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .try_collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let output = batches[0]
+            .column_by_name("image_payloads")
+            .unwrap()
+            .as_any()
+            .downcast_ref::<ListArray>()
+            .unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(output.value_offsets(), &[0, 2, 3]);
+        assert!(output.values().as_any().is::<LargeBinaryArray>());
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn test_refresh_inherits_external_blob_input() {
+        use arrow_array::{Int32Array, StringArray, UInt64Array};
+        use arrow_schema::{DataType, Field, Schema};
+
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let payload = b"external-payload";
+        let path = tmp.path().join("payload.bin");
+        std::fs::write(&path, payload).unwrap();
+        let uri = url::Url::from_file_path(path).unwrap().to_string();
+        let conn = connect(tmp.path().join("db").to_str().unwrap())
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let table = conn
+            .create_empty_table(
+                "external",
+                Arc::new(Schema::new(vec![
+                    Field::new("id", DataType::Int32, false),
+                    crate::blob("image", true),
+                ])),
+            )
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let batch = RecordBatch::try_new(
+            Arc::new(Schema::new(vec![
+                Field::new("id", DataType::Int32, false),
+                Field::new("image", DataType::Utf8, true),
+            ])),
+            vec![
+                Arc::new(Int32Array::from(vec![1])),
+                Arc::new(StringArray::from(vec![Some(uri)])),
+            ],
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+        table
+            .add(batch)
+            .allow_external_blob_outside_bases(true)
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        table
+            .add_columns()
+            .computed("payload_copy", "image")
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            table
+                .refresh_column("payload_copy")
+                .await
+                .unwrap()
+                .rows_filled,
+            1
+        );
+        let batches = table
+            .query()
+            .with_row_id()
+            .execute()
+            .await
+            .unwrap()
+            .try_collect::<Vec<_>>()
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+        let row_ids = batches[0]
+            .column_by_name(ROW_ID)
+            .unwrap()
+            .as_any()
+            .downcast_ref::<UInt64Array>()
+            .unwrap()
+            .values();
+        let payloads = table.fetch_blobs("payload_copy", row_ids).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(payloads.value(0), payload);
+    }
 }