MinIO AIStor Tables API Reference
MinIO AIStor Tables implements native Apache Iceberg tables support directly within MinIO AIStor object storage, eliminating dependencies on external catalog services or metadata databases. The MinIO AIStor Tables API provides a RESTful interface compatible with the Iceberg REST Catalog specification.
Iceberg clients typically require a base path consisting of the MinIO AIStor endpoint and catalog API path (https://aistor.example.net:9000/_iceberg).
Refer to the documentation for your preferred client, library, or application for specific behaviors around endpoint construction.
All API requests use the following base path:
http://example.net:9000/_iceberg/v1
Replace example.net with your MinIO AIStor server hostname or IP address.
Authentication
All requests require AWS Signature Version 4 (SigV4) authentication with the service name s3tables.
Requests must include standard AWS SigV4 headers:
Authorization- AWS SigV4 signatureX-Amz-Date- Request timestampX-Amz-Content-SHA256- Payload hash
Example authentication flow
To authenticate a request:
- Create an HTTP request with method, URL, headers, and body.
- Calculate the payload hash (SHA256 of request body).
- Generate the SigV4 signature using your access key and secret key.
- Add the signature to the
Authorizationheader.
Most AWS SDKs and libraries provide built-in SigV4 signing functionality.
For example, the following Python code uses boto3and botocore:
from botocore.auth import SigV4Auth
from botocore.awsrequest import AWSRequest
import boto3
session = boto3.Session(
aws_access_key_id='your-access-key',
aws_secret_access_key='your-secret-key'
)
request = AWSRequest(
method='POST',
url='http://localhost:9000/_iceberg/v1/warehouses',
data='{"name":"analytics"}',
headers={'Content-Type': 'application/json'}
)
SigV4Auth(session.get_credentials(), 's3tables', 'region').add_auth(request)
Warehouse operations
Warehouses serve as the root container for all tables and namespaces.
Create warehouse
Create a new warehouse for storing tables and namespaces.
POST /_iceberg/v1/warehouses
Request body:
{
"name": "analytics",
"upgrade-existing": false
}
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name |
string | Yes | Warehouse name (3-63 chars, lowercase/numbers/hyphens). |
upgrade-existing |
boolean | No | Allow upgrading existing bucket to warehouse (default: false). |
Response: 200 OK
{
"name": "analytics"
}
Action: s3tables:CreateWarehouse
Warehouse versioning
MinIO AIStor creates the underlying warehouse bucket with versioning enabled and purge-on-delete configured. Iceberg relies on versioning to recover from failed transactions and to expire snapshots safely, so this configuration is applied automatically at warehouse creation. When you upgrade an existing bucket to a warehouse, the same versioning configuration is applied.
Because warehouse buckets require versioning, you cannot suspend versioning on a warehouse bucket. A PUT bucket-versioning request that attempts to set the Suspended state (or that supplies excluded prefixes) on a warehouse bucket is rejected with HTTP 400 Bad Request and the S3 error code InvalidBucketState (“This bucket is a Tables warehouse, versioning cannot be suspended.”).
List warehouses
Return all warehouses accessible to the authenticated user or service.
GET /_iceberg/v1/warehouses
Query parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
pageToken |
string | Pagination token from previous response. |
pageSize |
integer | Maximum number of results to return. |
search |
string | Case-insensitive substring filter applied to warehouse names. |
stats |
boolean | Set to true to return aggregate statistics and switch to index-based pagination. See Listing with search and statistics. |
Response: 200 OK
{
"warehouses": ["analytics", "dev", "staging"],
"next-page-token": "token-for-next-page"
}
Action: s3tables:ListWarehouses
Get warehouse
Retrieve metadata for a specific warehouse.
GET /_iceberg/v1/warehouses/{warehouse}
Response: 200 OK
{
"name": "analytics",
"bucket": "mybucket",
"uuid": "9c12d441-03fe-4693-9a96-a0705ddf69c1",
"created-at": "2025-10-22T10:30:00Z",
"properties": {
"owner": "data-team",
"description": "Data science tables",
"environment": "production"
}
}
Action: s3tables:GetWarehouse
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}
Delete warehouse
Remove a warehouse. The warehouse must be empty (no namespaces) before deletion.
DELETE /_iceberg/v1/warehouses/{warehouse}
Query parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
preserve-bucket |
boolean | Keep underlying storage bucket (default: false). |
Response: 204 No Content
Action: s3tables:DeleteWarehouse
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}
Namespace operations
Namespaces organize tables within a warehouse and support custom properties.
Create namespace
Create a new namespace within a warehouse.
POST /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces
Request body:
{
"namespace": ["data_science"],
"properties": {
"owner": "data-team",
"description": "Data science tables",
"environment": "production"
}
}
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
namespace |
array[string] | Yes | Array with one or more namespace names (max 10). |
properties |
object | No | Key-value properties (each key/value max 2KB). |
Response: 200 OK
{
"namespace": ["data_science"],
"properties": {
"owner": "data-team",
"description": "Data science tables",
"environment": "production"
}
}
Action: s3tables:CreateNamespace
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}
List namespaces
Return all namespaces in a warehouse.
GET /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces
Query parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
pageToken |
string | Pagination token from previous response. |
pageSize |
integer | Maximum number of results to return. |
parent |
string | Parent namespace for hierarchical listing. |
search |
string | Case-insensitive substring filter applied to namespace names. |
stats |
boolean | Set to true to return aggregate statistics and switch to index-based pagination. See Listing with search and statistics. |
Response: 200 OK
{
"namespaces": [
["data_science"],
["engineering"],
["marketing"]
],
"next-page-token": "token-for-next-page"
}
Action: s3tables:ListNamespaces
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}
Get namespace
Retrieve namespace properties.
GET /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}
Response: 200 OK
{
"namespace": ["data_science"],
"properties": {
"owner": "data-team",
"description": "Data science tables"
}
}
Action: s3tables:GetNamespace
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}
Update namespace properties
Update or add namespace properties.
POST /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/properties
Request body:
{
"updates": {
"owner": "new-team",
"description": "Updated description"
},
"removals": ["environment"]
}
Response: 200 OK
{
"updated": ["owner", "description"],
"removed": ["environment"],
"missing": []
}
Action: s3tables:UpdateNamespaceProperties
Delete namespace
Remove a namespace. The namespace must be empty (no tables) before deletion.
DELETE /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}
Response: 204 No Content
Action: s3tables:DeleteNamespace
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}
Table operations
Tables are Apache Iceberg tables with schema, partitioning, and transaction support.
Create table
Create a new table with specified schema and optional partitioning.
POST /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/tables
Request body:
{
"name": "orders",
"schema": {
"type": "struct",
"fields": [
{
"id": 1,
"name": "order_id",
"type": "long",
"required": true
},
{
"id": 2,
"name": "customer_id",
"type": "long",
"required": true
},
{
"id": 3,
"name": "order_date",
"type": "date",
"required": true
},
{
"id": 4,
"name": "amount",
"type": "decimal(10,2)",
"required": true
}
]
},
"partition-spec": [
{
"name": "order_date_year",
"transform": "year",
"source-id": 3,
"field-id": 1000
}
],
"properties": {
"owner": "orders-team",
"description": "Order transactions"
}
}
| Field | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name |
string | Yes | Table name (1-250 chars, lowercase/numbers/underscores) |
schema |
object | Yes | Iceberg schema with field definitions |
partition-spec |
array | No | Partition specification (default: unpartitioned) |
write-order |
object | No | Sort order for data files |
properties |
object | No | Table properties (max 2KB each) |
stage-create |
boolean | No | Create staged table for atomic commits |
Restrictions:
- MinIO AIStor manages table locations, you cannot specify a custom
location. - Properties cannot begin with
write.data.path. - Most
write.metadata.*properties are not supported.
Response: 200 OK
{
"metadata": {
"format-version": 2,
"table-uuid": "9c12d441-03fe-4693-9a96-a0705ddf69c1",
"location": "s3://analytics/data_science/orders",
"current-schema-id": 0,
"schemas": [...],
"partition-specs": [...],
"properties": {...}
},
"metadata-location": "s3://analytics/.aistor-tables/data_science/orders/metadata/v1.metadata.json",
"config": {}
}
Action: s3tables:CreateTable
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}/table/*
Conditions:
s3tables:namespace- Restrict by namespace names3tables:tableName- Restrict by table name
Staged table creation
Setting stage-create to true creates the table as a draft. A staged table:
- Is invisible to List tables and cannot be loaded with Get table metadata.
- Returns a
nullmetadata-locationin the create response, which signals that the table is a draft without a final, queryable metadata location.
Finalize a staged table with a subsequent commit to the table endpoint (see Commit table changes). The commit marks the table as live, populates its metadata-location, and makes it visible to List tables. Staging lets you atomically create a table together with its first data commit.
List tables
Return all tables in a namespace.
GET /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/tables
Query parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
pageToken |
string | Pagination token from previous response. |
pageSize |
integer | Maximum number of results to return. |
search |
string | Case-insensitive substring filter applied to table names. |
stats |
boolean | Set to true to return aggregate statistics and switch to index-based pagination. See Listing with search and statistics. |
Response: 200 OK
{
"identifiers": [
{
"namespace": ["data_science"],
"name": "orders"
},
{
"namespace": ["data_science"],
"name": "customers"
}
],
"next-page-token": "token-for-next-page"
}
Action: s3tables:ListTables
Get table metadata
Retrieve complete table metadata including schema, partitioning, and snapshots.
GET /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/tables/{table}
Response: 200 OK
{
"metadata": {
"format-version": 2,
"table-uuid": "9c12d441-03fe-4693-9a96-a0705ddf69c1",
"location": "s3://analytics/data_science/orders",
"last-updated-ms": 1698854400000,
"current-schema-id": 0,
"schemas": [...],
"current-snapshot-id": 3051729675574597004,
"snapshots": [...],
"partition-specs": [...],
"properties": {...}
},
"metadata-location": "s3://analytics/.aistor-tables/data_science/orders/metadata/v3.metadata.json"
}
Action: s3tables:GetTable
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}/table/*
You can also use a HEAD request to check if a table exists without returning metadata.
HEAD /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/tables/{table}
Response:
200 OK- Table exists404 Not Found- Table does not exist
Commit table changes
Atomically commit changes to a table using optimistic concurrency control.
POST /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/tables/{table}
Request body:
{
"identifier": {
"namespace": ["data_science"],
"name": "orders"
},
"requirements": [
{
"type": "assert-table-uuid",
"uuid": "9c12d441-03fe-4693-9a96-a0705ddf69c1"
},
{
"type": "assert-last-assigned-field-id",
"last-assigned-field-id": 4
}
],
"updates": [
{
"action": "append",
"manifest-list": "s3://analytics/data_science/orders/metadata/snap-3051729675574597004.avro"
}
]
}
Commit requirements:
Requirements validate preconditions before applying updates. Common types include:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
assert-table-uuid |
Verify table UUID matches expected value. |
assert-ref-snapshot-id |
Verify branch/tag points to expected snapshot. |
assert-last-assigned-field-id |
Verify schema field ID counter. |
assert-current-schema-id |
Verify active schema version. |
assert-last-assigned-partition-id |
Verify partition spec ID counter. |
Commit updates:
Updates modify table state atomically. Common actions include:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
append |
Add new data files via manifest list. |
set-properties |
Update table properties. |
remove-properties |
Delete table properties. |
upgrade-format-version |
Upgrade to newer Iceberg format. |
add-schema |
Register new schema version. |
set-current-schema |
Change active schema. |
add-snapshot |
Add new snapshot to table. |
set-snapshot-ref |
Update branch or tag reference. |
Response: 200 OK
{
"metadata": {...},
"metadata-location": "s3://analytics/.aistor-tables/data_science/orders/metadata/v4.metadata.json"
}
Action: s3tables:UpdateTable
Rename table
Move a table to a different namespace or change its name.
POST /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/tables/rename
Request body:
{
"source": {
"namespace": ["data_science"],
"name": "orders"
},
"destination": {
"namespace": ["analytics"],
"name": "order_history"
}
}
Response: 204 No Content
Action: s3tables:RenameTable
Delete table
Remove a table from the catalog.
DELETE /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/tables/{table}
Query parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
purgeRequested |
boolean | true | Delete metadata and data files. |
Response: 204 No Content
Purge Behavior:
purgeRequested=true(default) - Remove both catalog metadata and table data files.purgeRequested=false- Remove only catalog entry, preserving data files.
MinIO AIStor Tables defaults purgeRequested to true, which differs from the standard Iceberg default of false. This is a deliberate choice for Spark compatibility.
The Iceberg Java client omits the purgeRequested parameter entirely when requesting a drop without purge (dropTable(identifier, false)). Because the parameter is omitted, the server applies its default of true, so dropping a table through Spark or the Java client deletes the data files even when the client intended to preserve them.
To drop a table without purging data files, explicitly pass purgeRequested=false in the query string:
DELETE /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/tables/{table}?purgeRequested=false
The standard Iceberg Java client cannot send this parameter. Applications that require drop-without-purge should use PyIceberg or make a direct REST API call.
The catalog also advertises s3.delete-enabled=false through the Get catalog configuration endpoint to signal well-behaved clients not to attempt client-side file deletion.
Action: s3tables:DeleteTable
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}/table/*
Preview table data
Return a sample of rows from the current snapshot of a table without a query engine. Rows are read directly from the table’s Parquet data files using an Iceberg scan, so no external engine is required.
GET /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/tables/{table}/preview
Query parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
limit |
integer | 100 | Maximum number of rows to return. Must be a positive integer and cannot exceed 1000. |
Response: 200 OK
{
"schema": [
{ "name": "order_id", "type": "int64" },
{ "name": "amount", "type": "decimal128(10, 2)" }
],
"rows": [
[1001, "42.50"],
[1002, "17.00"]
],
"row_count": 2
}
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
schema |
array[object] | Column definitions, each with a name and a type. |
rows |
array[array] | Row values in the same column order as schema. |
row_count |
integer | Number of rows returned in this response. |
A request for a table that does not exist returns 404 Not Found with error type NoSuchTableException.
Action: s3tables:GetTableData
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}/table/*
Get table maintenance job status
Return the last execution status of each automated maintenance job for a table.
GET /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/namespaces/{namespace}/tables/{table}/maintenance-job-status
Response: 200 OK
{
"tableARN": "arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/analytics/table/9c12d441-03fe-4693-9a96-a0705ddf69c1",
"status": {
"icebergSnapshotManagement": {
"status": "Successful",
"lastRunTimestamp": "2026-07-24T10:30:00Z"
},
"icebergCompaction": {
"status": "Failed",
"lastRunTimestamp": "2026-07-24T09:15:00Z",
"failureMessage": "compaction aborted"
},
"icebergUnreferencedFileRemoval": {
"status": "Not_Yet_Run"
}
}
}
The status object contains one entry per maintenance type that is configured on the table: icebergSnapshotManagement, icebergCompaction, and icebergUnreferencedFileRemoval. Each entry has the following fields:
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
status |
string | Last execution status - one of Successful, Failed, Disabled, or Not_Yet_Run. |
lastRunTimestamp |
string | RFC 3339 timestamp of the last run. Omitted when the job has not run. |
failureMessage |
string | Error detail for a failed run. Omitted when the last run did not fail. |
A maintenance type reports Disabled when it is turned off in the table or warehouse configuration, or when the corresponding maintenance feature is disabled cluster-wide. A type that is enabled but has never executed reports Not_Yet_Run.
You can retrieve the same information from the command line with mc table maintenance status.
Action: s3tables:GetTableMaintenanceJobStatus
Resource: arn:aws:s3tables:::bucket/{warehouse}/table/*
Listing with search and statistics
The List warehouses, List namespaces, and List tables operations support a case-insensitive substring search filter and an optional statistics mode intended for console and UI use.
Search filter
Add search to any list request to return only the entries whose name contains the given substring, matched case-insensitively. The filter works with both the default token-based pagination and the statistics mode described below.
GET /_iceberg/v1/analytics/namespaces/data_science/tables?search=order
Statistics mode
Add stats=true to a list request to include aggregate statistics for each returned entry and switch from token-based pagination to index-based pagination.
GET /_iceberg/v1/warehouses?stats=true&page=0&page_size=100&sort=size&sort_order=desc
Query parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
stats |
boolean | false | Set to true to enable statistics mode. Required to use the page, page_size, sort, sort_order, and ui_token parameters; when set, the index-based page/page_size parameters replace the default token-based pageToken/pageSize. The search filter works in both modes. |
page |
integer | 0 | Zero-based page index. The item offset is page * page_size. |
page_size |
integer | 100 | Number of items per page. Values above 1000 are capped at 1000. |
sort |
string | name | Statistic field to sort by. See the allowed values below. When omitted, entries are ordered by name. |
sort_order |
string | asc | Sort direction - asc or desc. |
search |
string | - | Case-insensitive substring filter applied to entry names. |
ui_token |
string | - | Routing token returned by a previous response. Pass it back on subsequent page requests. |
The allowed sort values depend on the entity being listed:
| Operation | Allowed sort values |
|---|---|
| List warehouses | namespaces, tables, records, size |
| List namespaces | tables, records, size |
| List tables | records, size |
When sort is omitted, entries are ordered by name.
Response headers:
| Header | Description |
|---|---|
X-Minio-Ui-List-Token |
Routing token for the cached listing. Pass it back as ui_token on subsequent page requests so they reach the node that holds the cache. |
X-Minio-Ui-Total-Count |
Total number of items matching the current search filter, for calculating the total page count. |
In statistics mode, the response body adds a stats object keyed by entry name alongside the normal listing fields:
{
"warehouses": ["analytics", "dev"],
"stats": {
"analytics": {
"namespaces": 3,
"tables": 12,
"records": 4500000,
"size": 892000000
}
}
}
Advanced operations
Multi-table transactions
Commit changes to multiple tables atomically.
POST /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/transactions/commit
Request body:
{
"table-changes": [
{
"identifier": {
"namespace": ["data_science"],
"name": "orders"
},
"requirements": [...],
"updates": [...]
},
{
"identifier": {
"namespace": ["data_science"],
"name": "customers"
},
"requirements": [...],
"updates": [...]
}
]
}
Response: 200 OK
The transaction succeeds only if all table commits succeed. If any table commit fails, the entire transaction is rolled back.
Get catalog configuration
Retrieve catalog-level configuration and capabilities.
GET /_iceberg/v1/{warehouse}/config?warehouse={warehouse}
Response: 200 OK
{
"defaults": {
"s3.endpoint": "http://localhost:9000",
"s3.delete-enabled": "false"
},
"overrides": {}
}
The catalog returns s3.delete-enabled=false to signal clients not to attempt client-side deletion of table data files. Deletion is handled server-side by the catalog when a table is dropped with purge. See Delete table for details.
Get global statistics
Return system-wide aggregate statistics across all warehouses. This is a MinIO AIStor extension with no AWS S3 Tables equivalent.
GET /_iceberg/v1/stats
Response: 200 OK
{
"warehouses": 3,
"namespaces": 12,
"tables": 148,
"records": 4500000,
"size": 892000000,
"updated_at": "2026-07-24T10:30:00Z"
}
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
warehouses |
integer | Total number of warehouses in the system. |
namespaces |
integer | Total number of namespaces across all warehouses. |
tables |
integer | Total number of tables across all warehouses. |
records |
integer | Total number of records across all tables. |
size |
integer | Total size in bytes across all tables. |
updated_at |
string | RFC 3339 timestamp of when the aggregate statistics were last computed. |
Each of the numeric count and size fields is omitted from the response when its value is zero. The updated_at field is always present; before any statistics have been computed it serializes as 0001-01-01T00:00:00Z.
Action: s3tables:ListWarehouses
Additional information
Error responses
All errors return JSON responses with the following structure:
{
"error": {
"code": 409,
"type": "IcebergTableAlreadyExists",
"message": "The specified table already exists."
}
}
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
code |
integer | HTTP status code. |
type |
string | Error type identifier for programmatic handling. |
message |
string | Human-readable error description. |
Common error types:
| HTTP Status | Error Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 400 | BadRequest |
Invalid request format or parameters. |
| 404 | NoSuchTableException |
Specified table does not exist. |
| 404 | IcebergNamespaceNotFound |
Specified namespace does not exist. |
| 404 | IcebergWarehouseNotFound |
Specified warehouse does not exist. |
| 409 | IcebergTableAlreadyExists |
Table with this name already exists. |
| 409 | IcebergNamespaceAlreadyExists |
Namespace with this name already exists. |
| 409 | IcebergWarehouseAlreadyExists |
Warehouse with this name already exists. |
| 409 | CommitFailedException |
Table commit failed due to conflict or lock. |
| 409 | IcebergNamespaceNotEmptyError |
Cannot delete namespace containing tables. |
| 409 | IcebergWarehouseNotEmpty |
Cannot delete warehouse containing namespaces. |
| 500 | InternalError |
Internal server error occurred. |
| 501 | IcebergPurgeNotSupported |
Purge operation failed. |
| 503 | TableRecoveryInProgress |
Table is recovering from failed transaction. |
Naming constraints
Entity names must follow these rules:
| Entity | Length | Allowed Characters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warehouse | 3-63 chars | Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens | Cannot contain periods. |
| Namespace | 1-250 chars | Lowercase letters, numbers, underscores | May be multilevel, max 10. |
| Table | 1-250 chars | Lowercase letters, numbers, underscores |
Additional constraints:
- Multi-level namespaces: Maximum 10 nested namespaces.
- Custom table locations: Not allowed (MinIO AIStor manages locations).
- Property size: Each property key and value limited to 2KB.
Rate limits
MinIO AIStor Tables does not impose hard rate limits but implements best-effort concurrency control:
- Concurrent commits to the same table use optimistic locking.
- Failed commits due to conflicts should be retried with exponential backoff.
- Maximum transaction timeout is configurable per deployment.
AWS S3 Tables compatibility
MinIO AIStor Tables is compatible with the AWS S3 Tables API, so tools and clients built for AWS S3 Tables work with minimal or no changes:
/bucketsis an alias for/warehouses. AWS S3 Tables usesTableBucketfor the concept that MinIO AIStor calls a warehouse.- Policy actions accept both
s3tables:CreateWarehouseands3tables:CreateTableBucketas equivalents. See Controlling access to MinIO AIStor Tables. - The ARN format matches the AWS S3 Tables specification.