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lancedb/docs/web/sql/refresh.mdx
T
Jack Ye 734eb39dc3 docs: make every sidebar label a capitalized noun
Six groups were verbs -- Manage, Ingest, Train, Operate, Secure, Deploy -- and
now name the thing rather than the action. Four more were sentence case.

The page labels that were verb phrases follow: Add Computed Column becomes
Computed Columns, Refresh Column becomes Column Refresh, Configuring Storage
becomes Configuration, and Explain becomes Query Plans, which is also more
accurate now that the page covers analyze as well.

SQL statement pages take the keyword -- SELECT, DDL, DML, REFRESH, SHOW, EXPLAIN
-- because a statement name is a noun and lowercase Select and Show read as
instructions. Concept pages there keep noun phrases: Joins, Window Functions,
Subqueries, Operators.

Two duplicate labels are resolved on the way. Reranking sat in Semantic Search
labelled Overview despite being the only page on its subject, and the Enterprise
client page sat in SQL Reference labelled SQL next to the reference Overview; it
is Client Connection now.

Title case leaves prepositions and articles lowercase, so Needle in a Haystack
and Hybrid Search on BEIR are already correct and unchanged.
2026-09-14 01:16:43 -07:00

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---
title: "REFRESH"
sidebarTitle: "REFRESH"
description: "Filling computed columns and bringing materialized views up to date."
icon: arrows-rotate
keywords: ["refresh column", "refresh materialized view", "backfill", "cascade"]
---
<Badge color="red">Enterprise</Badge> [SQL runs on a deployment.](/sql)
LanceDB extensions with no DataFusion equivalent. They are what makes
[feature engineering](/feature-engineering) reachable from SQL: a column
declared by [DDL](/sql/ddl#computed-column) starts empty, and a refresh fills it.
## REFRESH COLUMN {#refresh-column}
```sql
REFRESH COLUMN <column> ON [TABLE] <table>
[WHERE <predicate>]
[WITH (<option> = <value> [, ...])]
```
```sql
REFRESH COLUMN doubled ON my_table
REFRESH COLUMN embedding ON documents WHERE created_at > '2026-01-01'
```
A refresh gives values to rows that lack them and **leaves filled rows alone**.
That makes it idempotent, cheap to repeat as data arrives, and resumable after a
failure -- re-running costs only the rows that did not complete.
`WHERE` scopes the refresh, which is how you fill a slice and check it before
committing to the whole table.
### Options {#refresh-column-options}
| Option | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `num_workers` | how many workers to use |
| `cpu_millis` | CPU budget per worker |
| `memory_bytes` | memory budget per worker |
| `gpu_count` | GPUs per worker |
| `batch_size` | rows a worker takes at a time |
| `error_policy` | `'skip'` continues past failing rows instead of failing the job |
```sql
REFRESH COLUMN embedding ON documents
WITH (cpu_millis = 8000, memory_bytes = 17179869184, gpu_count = 2)
```
`num_workers` sets a count; the budget options size each worker. They are
alternatives rather than a pair.
<Note>
`error_policy` and `num_workers` are refused for a column filled by a registered
[function](/management/function) with its own resource budget -- use the CPU,
memory and GPU options there.
</Note>
## REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW {#refresh-materialized-view}
```sql
REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW <name> [WITH (<option> = <value>)]
```
```sql
REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW chunks
REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW chunks WITH (full = true)
```
By default a refresh is **incremental** -- it processes what the source has
added since the last one. `full = true` recomputes every row, which is what you
want after changing something the view's rows depend on.
<Warning>
`CASCADE` parses but is **not implemented**. A view built on another view is
refreshed by refreshing each in dependency order yourself.
</Warning>
## Watching a refresh {#watching}
Both statements submit work that outlives the call. Track it with
[`SHOW JOBS`](/sql/show#jobs), and diagnose failures with
[`SHOW ERRORS`](/sql/show#errors).
## See also {#see-also}
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Refresh a column" icon="arrows-rotate" href="/feature-engineering/refresh-column">
The same operation from the SDKs, and what a refresh guarantees.
</Card>
<Card title="DDL" icon="pen-ruler" href="/sql/ddl#columns">
Declaring the columns this fills.
</Card>
</CardGroup>