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