> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.open-metadata.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Update a Table

> Update table properties using JSON Patch

# Update a Table

Update a table's properties using JSON Merge Patch. You can update by ID or by fully qualified name.

## Update by ID

<ParamField path="id" type="string" required>
  UUID of the table to update.
</ParamField>

## Update by Name

Use `PATCH /v1/tables/name/{fqn}` to update by fully qualified name.

<ParamField path="fqn" type="string" required>
  Fully qualified name of the table (e.g., `snowflake_prod.analytics.public.customers`).
</ParamField>

## Body Parameters

Send a JSON object with the fields to update. Only provided fields are changed.

<ParamField body="description" type="string">
  Updated description in Markdown format.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="displayName" type="string">
  Updated display name.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="owners" type="array">
  Updated list of owner references.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="id" type="string">
      UUID of the owner entity.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="type" type="string">
      Type of owner entity (e.g., `user`, `team`).
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="tags" type="array">
  Updated classification tags.

  <Expandable title="properties">
    <ParamField body="tagFQN" type="string" required>
      Fully qualified name of the tag.
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="labelType" type="string">
      Type of label (e.g., `Manual`, `Derived`, `Propagated`).
    </ParamField>

    <ParamField body="state" type="string">
      State of the tag (e.g., `Suggested`, `Confirmed`).
    </ParamField>
  </Expandable>
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="retentionPeriod" type="string">
  Updated retention period in ISO 8601 duration format.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="columns" type="array">
  Updated column definitions. Use this to update column descriptions, tags, or add new columns.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="domain" type="string">
  Updated domain FQN.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="extension" type="object">
  Updated custom property values.
</ParamField>

<RequestExample dropdown>
  ```python PATCH /v1/tables/{id} theme={null}
  from metadata.sdk import configure
  from metadata.sdk.entities import Tables

  configure(
      host="https://your-company.open-metadata.org/api",
      jwt_token="your-jwt-token"
  )

  # Retrieve, modify, and update
  table = Tables.retrieve("a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890")
  table.description = "Updated customer master data table with PII fields"
  updated = Tables.update(table)

  print(f"Updated to version {updated.version}")
  ```

  ```java PATCH /v1/tables/{id} theme={null}
  import static org.openmetadata.sdk.fluent.Tables.*;

  // Retrieve, modify, and update
  Table table = Tables.retrieve("a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890");
  table.setDescription("Updated customer master data table with PII fields");
  Table updated = Tables.update(table);
  ```

  ```bash PATCH /v1/tables/{id} theme={null}
  # Update by ID
  curl -X PATCH "{base_url}/api/v1/tables/455e3d9d-dbbf-455e-b3be-7191daa825f3" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json-patch+json" \
    -d '[
      {"op": "replace", "path": "/description", "value": "Updated agent performance summary with new metrics."}
    ]'

  # Update by name
  curl -X PATCH "{base_url}/api/v1/tables/name/sample_data.ecommerce_db.shopify.agent_performance_summary" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json-patch+json" \
    -d '[
      {"op": "replace", "path": "/description", "value": "Updated agent performance summary with new metrics."}
    ]'
  ```
</RequestExample>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json Response theme={null}
  {
    "id": "455e3d9d-dbbf-455e-b3be-7191daa825f3",
    "name": "agent_performance_summary",
    "fullyQualifiedName": "sample_data.ecommerce_db.shopify.agent_performance_summary",
    "description": "Updated agent performance summary with new metrics.",
    "version": 0.2,
    "updatedAt": 1769982700000,
    "updatedBy": "admin",
    "href": "http://localhost:8585/api/v1/tables/455e3d9d-dbbf-455e-b3be-7191daa825f3",
    "tableType": "Regular",
    "columns": [
      {
        "name": "agent_id",
        "dataType": "VARCHAR",
        "dataLength": 100,
        "dataTypeDisplay": "varchar",
        "description": "Agent identifier",
        "fullyQualifiedName": "sample_data.ecommerce_db.shopify.agent_performance_summary.agent_id",
        "tags": [],
        "ordinalPosition": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "performance_score",
        "dataType": "DECIMAL",
        "dataTypeDisplay": "decimal",
        "description": "Overall performance score",
        "fullyQualifiedName": "sample_data.ecommerce_db.shopify.agent_performance_summary.performance_score",
        "tags": [],
        "ordinalPosition": 2
      }
    ],
    "owners": [],
    "databaseSchema": {
      "id": "4dd30184-009c-4792-b296-9562eaed651f",
      "type": "databaseSchema",
      "name": "shopify",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "sample_data.ecommerce_db.shopify",
      "displayName": "shopify",
      "deleted": false
    },
    "database": {
      "id": "0be090de-0941-48c4-af49-a6157c91cda0",
      "type": "database",
      "name": "ecommerce_db",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "sample_data.ecommerce_db",
      "displayName": "ecommerce_db",
      "deleted": false
    },
    "service": {
      "id": "fd2193af-fe09-4366-92b7-1e0d01cd8c09",
      "type": "databaseService",
      "name": "sample_data",
      "fullyQualifiedName": "sample_data",
      "displayName": "sample_data",
      "deleted": false
    },
    "serviceType": "BigQuery",
    "tags": [],
    "deleted": false
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>

***

## Returns

Returns the updated table object with the new version number.

## Response

<ResponseField name="id" type="string">
  Unique identifier for the table (UUID format).
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="name" type="string">
  Table name.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="fullyQualifiedName" type="string">
  Fully qualified name in format `service.database.schema.table`.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="description" type="string">
  Updated description.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="version" type="number">
  Incremented version number.
</ResponseField>

***

## Error Handling

| Code  | Error Type     | Description                                |
| ----- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| `400` | `BAD_REQUEST`  | Invalid JSON patch or malformed request    |
| `401` | `UNAUTHORIZED` | Invalid or missing authentication token    |
| `403` | `FORBIDDEN`    | User lacks permission to update this table |
| `404` | `NOT_FOUND`    | Table with given ID or FQN does not exist  |
| `409` | `CONFLICT`     | Concurrent modification detected           |