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lancedb/docs/web/basics/naming.mdx
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Will JonesandClaude Opus 5.5 4d7a64712f docs: adopt Embedded/Distributed terminology across docs and SDKs (#4713)
## Summary

Adopts the product terminology guide across the docs site pages, SDK
docstrings and error messages. "LanceDB OSS" and local mode become
**LanceDB Embedded**. "Remote" as the execution model becomes **LanceDB
Distributed**, which LanceDB Enterprise provides. Where free vs paid is
the point, pages contrast "LanceDB Embedded (open source)" with "LanceDB
Enterprise". This is a first trial of the Embedded name, so reviewers
can judge it in context.

- **Embedded vs Distributed** for where execution runs (`optimize()`,
consistency, branching, maintenance). Main pages define it once:
"LanceDB Enterprise runs LanceDB Distributed: …"
- **LanceDB Cloud** is kept only for legacy-Cloud specifics (`db://`
region, the brute-force KNN limit) and marked legacy. "Cloud and
Enterprise" becomes Enterprise or Distributed.
- **Plan executor** becomes "executor" or the fleet name.
- **Error messages** change, e.g. `optimize is not supported for remote
tables.` → `... in LanceDB Distributed.` Tests that match on them are
updated.
- **Vale rules** (`EmbeddedName`, `OSSProduct`, `RemoteExecution`,
`DistributedEnterprise`, `LegacyCloud`, `InternalNames`) enforce the
terms in prose.

Unchanged: identifiers (`availability.oss`, the `remote` module and
feature, `RemoteTable`, `db://`), heading anchors, internal code
comments, and Geneva.

## Evidence

- Rust lib tests for the changed messages and the Python tests in
`test_remote_db.py`, `test_materialized_views.py` and `test_table.py`
pass locally.
- Not run locally:
- The Node tests: `remote.test.ts` and `table.test.ts` have updated
assertions.
  - Vale.
  - The `experimental_functions`-marked materialized-view tests.
- `docs/src` API reference was hand-edited to match the docstrings
rather than regenerated.

## Merge Risk

**Door:** two-way; prose and message text only.
**Blast Radius:** `docs`, `error-messages`: callers matching on old
error strings would break.

Companion PRs: lancedb/docs (assembler labels, STYLE.md) and sophon
(Enterprise pages).

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

---------

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-10-28 14:04:41 -07:00

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---
title: "Naming rules"
sidebarTitle: "Naming Rules"
description: "Choose portable names for your data objects and namespace paths."
icon: signature
keywords: ["names", "naming", "table name", "namespace", "identifier", "limits"]
---
## Naming rules {#rules}
<span id="objects" />
Databases, namespaces, tables, views and branches all have names. Choose names
that describe their purpose, such as `documents`, `prod` or `training_2026`.
Consistent names make data easier to find and application code easier to read.
Use the following rules for names that work across LanceDB Embedded and LanceDB Enterprise.
| Object | Characters | Length |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Table, materialized view, view | ASCII letters and digits, `-`, `_`, `.` | 1 to 128 characters |
| Namespace component | ASCII letters and digits, `-`, `_`, `.` | 1 to 64 characters; at most 10 components in a path |
| Database | ASCII letters and digits, `-`, `_`, `.`, with `/` between components | 1 to 64 characters for the whole name |
| Branch | Avoid `$` and `:`; use ASCII letters, digits, `-` and `_` for portability | Keep to 1 to 64 characters |
- Names and individual namespace or database components must not be empty.
- Table, view, namespace and database components cannot be `.` or `..`.
- Avoid `$` and `:` because they separate parts of qualified identifiers.
- A namespace path beginning with `public` cannot contain another component.
{/*
Draft for the Functions release. Add these rows to the end of the table above:
| Secret | ASCII letters and digits, `-`, `_`, `.` | 1 to 128 characters |
| Function | ASCII letters and digits, `_` | 1 to 128 characters |
Add this item to the list above, after the rule for `.` and `..`:
- Secret names cannot be `.` or `..`.
*/}
## Namespace paths {#paths}
A namespace path is a list of names. `["prod", "search"]` identifies the
`search` namespace within `prod`. A table named `documents` belongs to that
namespace; its table name remains `documents`.
Use the SDK's namespace-path argument to supply the list. A period inside an
SDK name is a character in that name, not a separator that creates another
namespace. SQL uses its own qualified-name syntax; see
[SQL namespace paths](/sql/dql/select#namespaces).
The empty path `[]` identifies the root namespace.
## Examples {#examples}
| Name or path | Guidance |
| --- | --- |
| `documents`, `user-events.v2`, `train_2026` | Portable table names |
| `["prod", "search"]` | A two-component namespace path |
| `my table` | Use `my_table` instead of a space |
| `orders$2026` | Use `orders_2026`; `$` is reserved |
| `résumés` | Use an ASCII name such as `resumes` |
| `["public", "search"]` | Invalid nesting under `public`; use a different parent namespace |
<span id="which-versions-check-them" />
## Learn more {#next}
- [Namespaces](/management/namespace): create namespaces and address tables.
- [Branches](/tables/branching): name and manage separate lines of table history.
- [Limits](/basics/limits): check other constraints before designing your schema.