Unable to Roll Back to Previous Version After CREATE OR REPLACE with REST Catalog

[ofirNakdai]

Apache Iceberg version

1.5.0

Query engine

Trino

Please describe the bug 🐞

Description

When using the CREATE OR REPLACE command in Apache Iceberg with the REST catalog after a table has already been created, it’s not possible to revert to a version prior to the CREATE OR REPLACE command. This issue has been observed when using both Trino and Spark as execution engines.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Set up a table using the REST catalog.
2. Create an Iceberg table and add some data, making several commits.
3. Execute a CREATE OR REPLACE statement on the table.
4. Attempt to roll back to a version from before the CREATE OR REPLACE command.

Expected Behavior

It should be possible to roll back to any previous version of the table, including versions created before the CREATE OR REPLACE operation.

Actual Behavior

After the CREATE OR REPLACE operation, all previous versions from before this command are inaccessible, blocking rollbacks to earlier states.

Environment

• Apache Iceberg Version: 1.5.0
• Execution Engines Tested: Trino-464, Spark 3.5.1
• Catalog Type: REST catalog
• Storage: S3-compatible

Additional Context

This bug occurs specifically when using the REST catalog. The issue persists across both Trino and Spark, suggesting it may be specific to how the REST catalog handles versioning with CREATE OR REPLACE.

Willingness to contribute

• I would be willing to contribute a fix for this bug with guidance from the Iceberg community
• I can contribute a fix for this bug independently
• I cannot contribute a fix for this bug at this time