Reference
Version · 6.0
Change Automation Reference

Alter Standard Table - Overview

Last updated: August 12, 2026

Alters properties of an existing Snowflake standard table. This change supports a wide range of table modifications including renaming, swapping, clustering, data retention, change tracking, schema evolution, policies, tags, contacts, and search optimization.

Known limitations:

This change type does not support automatic rollback.
Snowflake snapshots created with Liquibase Secure 5.1 are incompatible with earlier versions due to enhanced object type detection for TABLES and VIEWS. Regenerate all snapshots with 5.1 after upgrading to avoid false differences in diff and diff-changelog operations.

Available Attributes

Attribute	Type	Description	Required
catalogName	String	Name of the catalog (database) containing the table	No
schemaName	String	Name of the schema containing the table	No
tableName	String	Name of the table to alter	Yes
ifExists	Boolean	If true, only alters if the table exists using `IF EXISTS`	No

Available Operations

You can specify one or more of the following nested elements to perform different alter operations. Multiple operations can be combined in a single change.

Table Management

renameTo - Rename the table or move it to a different schema/catalog
swapWith- Swap the table with another table

Performance Optimization

alterClustering - Modify clustering key configuration
alterSearchOptimization - Add or drop search optimization

Data Retention

alterDataRetention - Modify data retention settings for Time Travel

Change Tracking and Evolution

alterChangeTracking- Enable or disable change data capture (CDC)
alterSchemaEvolution - Enable or disable flexible schema changes

Metadata and Governance

alterComment - Update or remove table comment
alterCollation - Modify default DDL collation
alterContacts - Add or remove contact associations
alterTags - Add or remove tag associations

Security Policies

alterRowAccessPolicy- Modify row-level security policy
alterAggregationPolicy- Modify privacy-preserving aggregation policy
alterJoinPolicy - Modify join policy

Data Metrics

alterDataMetricSchedule - Modify data metric schedule
alterDataMetricFunction - Add, modify, or drop data metric functions

Validation Rules

tableName is required and cannot be empty
For each alter operation, mutually exclusive options cannot be used together
Referenced objects (contacts, tags, policies) must exist before they can be associated

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<databaseChangeLog
        xmlns="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog"
        xmlns:pro-snowflake="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro-snowflake"
        xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog/dbchangelog-latest.xsd
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro-snowflake
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro-snowflake/liquibase-pro-snowflake-latest.xsd">

    <!-- Multiple operations in a single change -->
    <changeSet id="comprehensive-alter" author="examples">
        <pro-snowflake:alterStandardTable tableName="COMPREHENSIVE_TABLE" ifExists="true">
            <!-- Update comment -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterComment newComment="Updated comprehensive table with governance"/>

            <!-- Modify clustering -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterClustering clusterBy="TIMESTAMP, REGION"/>

            <!-- Update data retention -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterDataRetention
                newDataRetentionTimeInDays="60"
                newMaxDataExtensionTimeInDays="14"/>

            <!-- Enable change tracking and schema evolution -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterChangeTracking newChangeTracking="true"/>
            <pro-snowflake:alterSchemaEvolution newEnableSchemaEvolution="true"/>

            <!-- Add governance tags -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterTags>
                <pro-snowflake:setTags>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="environment" value="production"/>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="compliance" value="sox"/>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="data_classification" value="confidential"/>
                </pro-snowflake:setTags>
            </pro-snowflake:alterTags>

            <!-- Add contacts -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterContacts>
                <pro-snowflake:setContacts>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="steward" value="data.governance@company.com"/>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="support" value="platform.support@company.com"/>
                </pro-snowflake:setContacts>
            </pro-snowflake:alterContacts>

            <!-- Add row access policy -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterRowAccessPolicy
                policyName="TABLE_ACCESS_POLICY"
                on="USER_ID"/>
        </pro-snowflake:alterStandardTable>
    </changeSet>

</databaseChangeLog>

{
  "databaseChangeLog": [
    {
      "changeSet": {
        "id": "comprehensive-alter",
        "author": "examples",
        "changes": [
          {
            "alterStandardTable": {
              "tableName": "COMPREHENSIVE_TABLE",
              "ifExists": true,
              "alterComment": {
                "newComment": "Updated comprehensive table with governance"
              },
              "alterClustering": {
                "clusterBy": "TIMESTAMP, REGION"
              },
              "alterDataRetention": {
                "newDataRetentionTimeInDays": 60,
                "newMaxDataExtensionTimeInDays": 14
              },
              "alterChangeTracking": {
                "newChangeTracking": true
              },
              "alterSchemaEvolution": {
                "newEnableSchemaEvolution": true
              },
              "alterTags": {
                "setTags": {
                  "entries": [
                    {"entry": {"key": "environment", "value": "production"}},
                    {"entry": {"key": "compliance", "value": "sox"}},
                    {"entry": {"key": "data_classification", "value": "confidential"}}
                  ]
                }
              },
              "alterContacts": {
                "setContacts": {
                  "entries": [
                    {"entry": {"key": "steward", "value": "data.governance@company.com"}},
                    {"entry": {"key": "support", "value": "platform.support@company.com"}}
                  ]
                }
              },
              "alterRowAccessPolicy": {
                "policyName": "TABLE_ACCESS_POLICY",
                "on": "USER_ID"
              }
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

databaseChangeLog:
  - changeSet:
      id: comprehensive-alter
      author: examples
      changes:
        - alterStandardTable:
            tableName: COMPREHENSIVE_TABLE
            ifExists: true
            alterComment:
              newComment: "Updated comprehensive table with governance"
            alterClustering:
              clusterBy: "TIMESTAMP, REGION"
            alterDataRetention:
              newDataRetentionTimeInDays: 60
              newMaxDataExtensionTimeInDays: 14
            alterChangeTracking:
              newChangeTracking: true
            alterSchemaEvolution:
              newEnableSchemaEvolution: true
            alterTags:
              setTags:
                entries:
                  - entry:
                      key: environment
                      value: production
                  - entry:
                      key: compliance
                      value: sox
                  - entry:
                      key: data_classification
                      value: confidential
            alterContacts:
              setContacts:
                entries:
                  - entry:
                      key: steward
                      value: data.governance@company.com
                  - entry:
                      key: support
                      value: platform.support@company.com
            alterRowAccessPolicy:
              policyName: TABLE_ACCESS_POLICY
              on: USER_ID

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<databaseChangeLog
        xmlns="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog"
        xmlns:pro-snowflake="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro-snowflake"
        xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog/dbchangelog-latest.xsd
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro-snowflake
        http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro-snowflake/liquibase-pro-snowflake-latest.xsd">

    <!-- Multiple operations in a single change -->
    <changeSet id="comprehensive-alter" author="examples">
        <pro-snowflake:alterStandardTable tableName="COMPREHENSIVE_TABLE" ifExists="true">
            <!-- Update comment -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterComment newComment="Updated comprehensive table with governance"/>

            <!-- Modify clustering -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterClustering clusterBy="TIMESTAMP, REGION"/>

            <!-- Update data retention -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterDataRetention
                newDataRetentionTimeInDays="60"
                newMaxDataExtensionTimeInDays="14"/>

            <!-- Enable change tracking and schema evolution -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterChangeTracking newChangeTracking="true"/>
            <pro-snowflake:alterSchemaEvolution newEnableSchemaEvolution="true"/>

            <!-- Add governance tags -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterTags>
                <pro-snowflake:setTags>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="environment" value="production"/>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="compliance" value="sox"/>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="data_classification" value="confidential"/>
                </pro-snowflake:setTags>
            </pro-snowflake:alterTags>

            <!-- Add contacts -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterContacts>
                <pro-snowflake:setContacts>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="steward" value="data.governance@company.com"/>
                    <pro-snowflake:entry key="support" value="platform.support@company.com"/>
                </pro-snowflake:setContacts>
            </pro-snowflake:alterContacts>

            <!-- Add row access policy -->
            <pro-snowflake:alterRowAccessPolicy
                policyName="TABLE_ACCESS_POLICY"
                on="USER_ID"/>
        </pro-snowflake:alterStandardTable>
    </changeSet>

</databaseChangeLog>

{
  "databaseChangeLog": [
    {
      "changeSet": {
        "id": "comprehensive-alter",
        "author": "examples",
        "changes": [
          {
            "alterStandardTable": {
              "tableName": "COMPREHENSIVE_TABLE",
              "ifExists": true,
              "alterComment": {
                "newComment": "Updated comprehensive table with governance"
              },
              "alterClustering": {
                "clusterBy": "TIMESTAMP, REGION"
              },
              "alterDataRetention": {
                "newDataRetentionTimeInDays": 60,
                "newMaxDataExtensionTimeInDays": 14
              },
              "alterChangeTracking": {
                "newChangeTracking": true
              },
              "alterSchemaEvolution": {
                "newEnableSchemaEvolution": true
              },
              "alterTags": {
                "setTags": {
                  "entries": [
                    {"entry": {"key": "environment", "value": "production"}},
                    {"entry": {"key": "compliance", "value": "sox"}},
                    {"entry": {"key": "data_classification", "value": "confidential"}}
                  ]
                }
              },
              "alterContacts": {
                "setContacts": {
                  "entries": [
                    {"entry": {"key": "steward", "value": "data.governance@company.com"}},
                    {"entry": {"key": "support", "value": "platform.support@company.com"}}
                  ]
                }
              },
              "alterRowAccessPolicy": {
                "policyName": "TABLE_ACCESS_POLICY",
                "on": "USER_ID"
              }
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

databaseChangeLog:
  - changeSet:
      id: comprehensive-alter
      author: examples
      changes:
        - alterStandardTable:
            tableName: COMPREHENSIVE_TABLE
            ifExists: true
            alterComment:
              newComment: "Updated comprehensive table with governance"
            alterClustering:
              clusterBy: "TIMESTAMP, REGION"
            alterDataRetention:
              newDataRetentionTimeInDays: 60
              newMaxDataExtensionTimeInDays: 14
            alterChangeTracking:
              newChangeTracking: true
            alterSchemaEvolution:
              newEnableSchemaEvolution: true
            alterTags:
              setTags:
                entries:
                  - entry:
                      key: environment
                      value: production
                  - entry:
                      key: compliance
                      value: sox
                  - entry:
                      key: data_classification
                      value: confidential
            alterContacts:
              setContacts:
                entries:
                  - entry:
                      key: steward
                      value: data.governance@company.com
                  - entry:
                      key: support
                      value: platform.support@company.com
            alterRowAccessPolicy:
              policyName: TABLE_ACCESS_POLICY
              on: USER_ID

PreviousAlterStageTags NextAlter standard table - change tracking

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <databaseChangeLog xmlns="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog" xmlns:pro-snowflake="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro-snowflake" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/dbchangelog/dbchangelog-latest.xsd http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro-snowflake http://www.liquibase.org/xml/ns/pro-snowflake/liquibase-pro-snowflake-latest.xsd">  <changeSet id="comprehensive-alter" author="examples"> <pro-snowflake:alterStandardTable tableName="COMPREHENSIVE_TABLE" ifExists="true">  <pro-snowflake:alterComment newComment="Updated comprehensive table with governance"/>  <pro-snowflake:alterClustering clusterBy="TIMESTAMP, REGION"/>  <pro-snowflake:alterDataRetention newDataRetentionTimeInDays="60" newMaxDataExtensionTimeInDays="14"/>  <pro-snowflake:alterChangeTracking newChangeTracking="true"/> <pro-snowflake:alterSchemaEvolution newEnableSchemaEvolution="true"/>  <pro-snowflake:alterTags> <pro-snowflake:setTags> <pro-snowflake:entry key="environment" value="production"/> <pro-snowflake:entry key="compliance" value="sox"/> <pro-snowflake:entry key="data_classification" value="confidential"/> </pro-snowflake:setTags> </pro-snowflake:alterTags>  <pro-snowflake:alterContacts> <pro-snowflake:setContacts> <pro-snowflake:entry key="steward" value="data.governance@company.com"/> <pro-snowflake:entry key="support" value="platform.support@company.com"/> </pro-snowflake:setContacts> </pro-snowflake:alterContacts>  <pro-snowflake:alterRowAccessPolicy policyName="TABLE_ACCESS_POLICY" on="USER_ID"/> </pro-snowflake:alterStandardTable> </changeSet> </databaseChangeLog>