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Ray Data

This requires ray to be installed.

pypaimon.ray exposes a top-level read_paimon / write_paimon facade that takes a table identifier and catalog options directly, mirroring the shape of Ray's built-in Iceberg integration. The lower-level TableRead.to_ray() and TableWrite.write_ray() entry points remain available for callers that have already resolved a (read_builder, splits) pair or constructed a table_write via the regular pypaimon API.

If your application uses Daft DataFrames and only needs Ray as Daft's execution backend, see Running Daft on Ray.

Read​

from pypaimon.ray import read_paimon

ray_dataset = read_paimon(
    "database_name.table_name",
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
)

print(ray_dataset)
# MaterializedDataset(num_blocks=1, num_rows=9, schema={f0: int32, f1: string})

print(ray_dataset.take(3))
# [{'f0': 1, 'f1': 'a'}, {'f0': 2, 'f1': 'b'}, {'f0': 3, 'f1': 'c'}]

print(ray_dataset.to_pandas())
#    f0 f1
# 0   1  a
# 1   2  b
# 2   3  c
# 3   4  d
# ...

read_paimon opens its own catalog and resolves the table, so it is the single-call equivalent of the four-step CatalogFactory.create → get_table → new_read_builder → to_ray boilerplate.

Projection and limit:

ray_dataset = read_paimon(
    "database_name.table_name",
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    projection=["id", "score"],
    limit=1000,
)

Distribution / scheduling:

ray_dataset = read_paimon(
    "database_name.table_name",
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    override_num_blocks=4,
    ray_remote_args={"num_cpus": 2, "max_retries": 3},
    concurrency=8,
)

Time travel:

# Read a specific snapshot.
ray_dataset = read_paimon(
    "database_name.table_name",
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    snapshot_id=42,
)

# Read a tagged snapshot.
ray_dataset = read_paimon(
    "database_name.table_name",
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    tag_name="release-2026-04",
)

snapshot_id and tag_name are mutually exclusive.

Parameters:

  • table_identifier: full table name, e.g. "db_name.table_name".
  • catalog_options: kwargs forwarded to CatalogFactory.create(), e.g. {"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"}.
  • filter: optional Predicate to push down into the scan.
  • projection: optional list of column names to read.
  • limit: optional row limit applied at scan planning time.
  • snapshot_id: optional snapshot id to time-travel to. Mutually exclusive with tag_name.
  • tag_name: optional tag name to time-travel to. Mutually exclusive with snapshot_id.
  • override_num_blocks: optional override for the number of output blocks. Must be >= 1.
  • ray_remote_args: optional kwargs passed to ray.remote() in read tasks (e.g. {"num_cpus": 2, "max_retries": 3}).
  • concurrency: optional max number of Ray tasks to run concurrently.
  • **read_args: additional kwargs forwarded to ray.data.read_datasource (e.g. per_task_row_limit in Ray 2.52.0+).

TableRead.to_ray() (lower-level)​

If you already have a read_builder and splits, you can convert them to a Ray Dataset directly:

table_read = read_builder.new_read()
splits = read_builder.new_scan().plan().splits()
ray_dataset = table_read.to_ray(
    splits,
    override_num_blocks=4,
    ray_remote_args={"num_cpus": 2, "max_retries": 3},
)

to_ray() accepts the same override_num_blocks, ray_remote_args, concurrency, and **read_args parameters as read_paimon.

Ray Block Size Configuration​

If you need to configure Ray's block size (e.g., when Paimon splits exceed Ray's default 128MB block size), set it on the DataContext before calling either read_paimon or to_ray:

from ray.data import DataContext

ctx = DataContext.get_current()
ctx.target_max_block_size = 256 * 1024 * 1024  # 256MB (default is 128MB)

See the Ray Data API documentation for more details.

Write​

import ray
from pypaimon.ray import write_paimon

ray_dataset = ray.data.read_json("/path/to/data.jsonl")

write_paimon(
    ray_dataset,
    "database_name.table_name",
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
)

write_paimon opens its own catalog, resolves the table, and commits the write through Ray's Datasink API — there is no separate prepare_commit or close step to run.

Overwrite mode:

write_paimon(
    ray_dataset,
    "database_name.table_name",
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    overwrite=True,
)

Distribution / scheduling:

write_paimon(
    ray_dataset,
    "database_name.table_name",
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    concurrency=4,
    ray_remote_args={"num_cpus": 2},
)

HASH_FIXED pre-clustering:

HASH_FIXED rows are always assigned to the correct Paimon bucket by the writer. For append-only tables, pre-clustering is only a file-count optimization. Primary-key tables additionally require one writer per (partition_keys..., bucket) group to generate ordered sequence numbers.

By default, write_paimon writes append-only HASH_FIXED tables without pre-clustering. This avoids Ray groupby().map_groups() materializing an entire (partition_keys..., bucket) group on one Ray node.

HASH_FIXED primary-key tables reject the default/off mode. Direct Ray writes can send the same bucket to multiple writer tasks, and those writers can allocate overlapping sequence numbers. The explicit map_groups mode avoids this by running one writer for each complete (partition_keys..., bucket) group.

If every (partition_keys..., bucket) group fits in memory on a single Ray node, you can opt in to the legacy small-file optimization:

write_paimon(
    ray_dataset,
    "database_name.table_name",
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    hash_fixed_precluster="map_groups",
)

hash_fixed_precluster="map_groups" groups rows by (partition_keys..., bucket). For primary-key tables, the Paimon writer runs inside that map_groups() task and returns serialized commit messages for the driver to commit. Ray output block splitting therefore cannot create multiple writers for the same group. The mode inherits Ray's map_groups() memory bound. Large append-only buckets or hot append-only partitions should use the default mode or hash_fixed_precluster="off".

For non-HASH_FIXED append-only tables, the dataset is written as-is. Postpone-bucket primary-key tables (bucket = -2) are also written as-is to the bucket-postpone directory. HASH_DYNAMIC and CROSS_PARTITION primary-key Ray writes are not supported and fail fast, including the default dynamic-bucket primary-key table (bucket = -1). Ray write tasks create independent Paimon writers, which can assign overlapping buckets or sequence numbers for those modes.

Parameters:

  • dataset: the Ray Dataset to write.
  • table_identifier: full table name, e.g. "db_name.table_name".
  • catalog_options: kwargs forwarded to CatalogFactory.create().
  • overwrite: if True, overwrite existing data in the table.
  • concurrency: optional max number of Ray write tasks to run concurrently. For HASH_FIXED primary-key map_groups writes, this limits the group writer tasks.
  • ray_remote_args: optional kwargs passed to ray.remote() in write tasks (e.g. {"num_cpus": 2}). For HASH_FIXED primary-key map_groups writes, these options apply to the group writer tasks.
  • hash_fixed_precluster: HASH_FIXED pre-clustering mode. "auto" and "off" write append-only HASH_FIXED tables directly and reject HASH_FIXED primary-key tables. "map_groups" enables the legacy small-file optimization for append-only tables and runs one writer per HASH_FIXED primary-key group. Each (partition_keys..., bucket) group must fit in memory on one Ray node. This option does not enable Ray writes for HASH_DYNAMIC or CROSS_PARTITION primary-key tables.

TableWrite.write_ray() (lower-level)​

If you have already constructed a table_write from a write builder, you can hand a Ray Dataset directly to it. write_ray() uses the same HASH_FIXED pre-clustering modes and safety checks as the top-level write_paimon() API. It commits through the Ray Datasink API, so there is no prepare_commit / commit step to run for the Ray write itself — just close the writer when you are done with it:

import ray

table = catalog.get_table('database_name.table_name')

# 1. Create table write.
table_write = table.new_batch_write_builder().new_write()

# 2. Write Ray Dataset
ray_dataset = ray.data.read_json("/path/to/data.jsonl")
table_write.write_ray(
    ray_dataset,
    overwrite=False,
    concurrency=2,
    hash_fixed_precluster="auto",
    static_partition=None,
)
# Parameters:
#   - dataset: Ray Dataset to write
#   - overwrite: Whether to overwrite existing data (default: False)
#   - concurrency: Optional max number of concurrent Ray tasks
#   - ray_remote_args: Optional kwargs passed to ray.remote() (e.g., {"num_cpus": 2})
#   - hash_fixed_precluster: Same HASH_FIXED modes and primary-key safety
#     checks as write_paimon()
#   - static_partition: Optional partition spec to overwrite. When set,
#     write_ray() runs in overwrite mode for this partition.

# 3. Close resources
table_write.close()

Overwrite​

The top-level write_paimon() API supports whole-table overwrite with the overwrite=True flag above. With the lower-level write_ray() API, you can use overwrite=True for whole-table overwrite and static_partition={...} for partition overwrite:

table_write.write_ray(ray_dataset, overwrite=True)
table_write.write_ray(ray_dataset, static_partition={'dt': '2024-01-01'})

When using the lower-level builder API, you can also configure overwrite mode on the write builder itself. The resulting table_write carries the overwrite partition into write_ray(). A static_partition argument passed directly to write_ray() overrides the builder-level partition:

# overwrite whole table
table_write = table.new_batch_write_builder().overwrite().new_write()
table_write.write_ray(ray_dataset)

# overwrite partition 'dt=2024-01-01'
table_write = (
    table.new_batch_write_builder()
    .overwrite({'dt': '2024-01-01'})
    .new_write()
)
table_write.write_ray(ray_dataset)

Bucket Join​

bucket_join joins two co-bucketed tables (same bucket count and the same bucket-key) on the bucket-key, with no global shuffle: the same key lands in the same bucket on both sides, so each bucket is read and joined in its own Ray task. It returns a ray.data.Dataset whose results stay distributed (never pulled into the driver).

A common use is looking up a global _ROW_ID for a batch of keys without a shuffle join against a large table: keep a small co-bucketed (key, _ROW_ID) side table, bucket_join the incoming keys against it, then feed the resulting row ids into a row-id update.

from pypaimon.ray import bucket_join

ds = bucket_join(
    left="database_name.incoming_keys",   # co-bucketed table identifier
    right="database_name.key_rowid",       # co-bucketed table identifier
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    on="url",                              # must equal the bucket-key
    left_projection=["url"],               # optional; must keep the join key
    right_projection=["url", "row_id"],    # optional; must keep the join key
)
# ds: ray.data.Dataset of the joined rows, e.g. {"url": ..., "row_id": ...}

Parameters:

  • left / right: identifiers of the two co-bucketed tables to join.
  • on: the join key(s). Must be exactly the bucket-key — equal keys only co-locate by bucket when joining on the bucket-key.
  • left_projection / right_projection: optional column projections applied on read. If given, each must include the join key.
  • join_type: only "inner" is supported (an outer join would need the union of buckets, which per-bucket intersection cannot produce).
  • ray_remote_args: Ray remote options applied to each per-bucket join task.

Returns: a ray.data.Dataset of the joined rows.

Notes:

  • Both tables must be fixed-bucket (bucket > 0) with the same bucket count and the same bucket-key (same column names, order, and types); otherwise bucket_join raises. For primary-key tables that do not set bucket-key explicitly, the bucket-key resolves to the (partition-trimmed) primary key.
  • The two sides must not share columns other than the join key, or the underlying pyarrow join would collide; project them away with left_projection / right_projection first.
  • Each side is planned at its own latest snapshot, and one bucket is joined by a single Ray task that reads the whole bucket into memory. Choose a bucket count that spreads keys evenly to avoid skewed, memory-heavy tasks.
  • Partitioned tables are not supported yet (bucket ids are per-partition).

Merge Into​

merge_into updates or deletes matched rows and optionally inserts unmatched rows of a data-evolution table from a source, like SQL MERGE INTO. Matched rows are updated in place by _ROW_ID; only the touched columns are rewritten. Matched delete clauses are written through deletion vectors. Requires ray >= 2.50 and a target table with 'data-evolution.enabled' and 'row-tracking.enabled' set. If you use matched delete clauses, the target must also enable 'deletion-vectors.enabled'.

from pypaimon.ray import merge_into, WhenMatched, WhenNotMatched

metrics = merge_into(
    target="database_name.table_name",
    source=ray_dataset,          # ray.data.Dataset / pa.Table / pandas / table-name str
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    on=["id"],                   # or {"target_col": "source_col"} for renamed keys
    when_matched=[WhenMatched.update("*")],
    when_not_matched=[WhenNotMatched(insert="*")],             # optional
)
print(metrics)   # {"num_matched": 3, "num_inserted": 2, "num_unchanged": 0}

Conditional clauses filter which matched/unmatched rows are acted on:

merge_into(
    target="db.table",
    source=source_ds,
    catalog_options=catalog_options,
    on=["id"],
    when_matched=[WhenMatched.update("*", condition="s.age > t.age")],
    when_not_matched=[WhenNotMatched(insert="*", condition="s.age > 18")],
)

Use WhenMatched.delete() to delete matched rows:

merge_into(
    target="db.table",
    source=source_ds,
    catalog_options=catalog_options,
    on=["id"],
    when_matched=[
        WhenMatched.delete(condition="s.deleted = TRUE"),
        WhenMatched.update("*"),
    ],
)

Conditions use SQL-style expressions with s. (source) and t. (target) column prefixes. WhenNotMatched conditions may only reference source columns (s.*). Condition evaluation uses DataFusion through the PyPaimon SQL extra. Install the extra before using conditions: pip install pypaimon[sql].

  • update / delete / insert: WhenMatched.update(...) updates matched rows, WhenMatched.delete() deletes matched rows, and WhenNotMatched(insert=...) inserts unmatched rows. "*" updates/inserts all columns from source, including blob columns. A mapping selects specific columns: 
    from pypaimon.ray import source_col, target_col, lit

    WhenMatched.update({"age": source_col("age"), "name": target_col("name")})
    WhenMatched.delete()
    WhenNotMatched(insert={"id": source_col("id"), "status": lit("new")})
    "s.<col>" / "t.<col>" shorthands also work (t.* only in update). Use lit() for literals starting with s. or t..
  • condition: an optional SQL-style boolean expression. Use s.<col> and t.<col> to reference source and target columns.
  • Multiple clauses are evaluated in order; the first matching condition wins: 
    when_matched=[
        WhenMatched.update("*", condition="s.ts > t.ts"),
        WhenMatched.update("*"),  # fallback for unmatched rows
    ]

Parameters:

  • source: a ray.data.Dataset, pyarrow.Table, pandas.DataFrame, or a Paimon table identifier string. When a string is passed, it reads the table from the same catalog_options at the latest snapshot.
  • on: key columns, or {target_col: source_col} for renamed keys.
  • num_partitions: shuffle parallelism for the join and the write; defaults to max(1, cluster_cpus * 2). Raise it for large merges on big clusters.
  • ray_remote_args: Ray remote options applied to the merge's map/group tasks (update/delete transform, group write, insert transform).
  • concurrency: scheduling for the insert sink.

Returns: {"num_matched", "num_inserted", "num_unchanged"}. num_matched counts the rows actually updated or deleted (after condition filtering). num_unchanged is 0 in the current implementation.

For an end-to-end feature update workflow on Blob tables, see Distributed Feature Backfill with Ray.

Notes:

  • Partition key columns cannot be updated by matched update clauses, because cross-partition row movement is not implemented. Matched delete clauses and matched updates of non-partition columns work on partitioned tables. Not-matched inserts into partitioned tables work normally.
  • Matched delete clauses require deletion-vectors.enabled = true.
  • Blob columns can be updated and inserted by merge_into. With update="*" or insert="*", the source must include the corresponding blob columns. If an insert mapping omits a blob column, that column is written as NULL.

Update By Row Id​

update_by_row_id updates columns of a data-evolution table straight from a source that already carries _ROW_ID and the new values. Each row is routed to the data file that owns its row id and only those files are rewritten — the target is never fully read and there is no join against it (unlike merge_into(on=["_ROW_ID"]), which reads and shuffle-joins the whole target). It pairs with bucket_join, which produces the row ids without a shuffle. Requires ray >= 2.50 and a target with data-evolution.enabled and row-tracking.enabled.

from pypaimon.ray import update_by_row_id

metrics = update_by_row_id(
    target="database_name.table_name",
    source=ray_dataset,          # ray.data.Dataset / pa.Table / pandas, carrying _ROW_ID
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    update_cols=["feature"],     # non-blob columns to overwrite
)
print(metrics)   # {"num_updated": 50}

Parameters:

  • source: a ray.data.Dataset, pyarrow.Table, or pandas.DataFrame carrying the target _ROW_ID and every column in update_cols; extra columns are ignored, and values are cast to the target column types. A table-name source is not accepted: a table's system _ROW_ID is its own and cannot address the target's rows.
  • update_cols: the non-blob columns to overwrite. Must be non-empty.
  • num_partitions: parallelism for grouping the update rows by target file; defaults to max(1, cluster_cpus * 2).
  • ray_remote_args: Ray remote options applied to the update tasks.

Returns: {"num_updated": <rows>}.

Notes:

  • The row ids must exist in the target's current snapshot; a stale or foreign _ROW_ID raises rather than silently writing.
  • Multiple source rows mapping to the same _ROW_ID is rejected — deduplicate first.
  • Blob columns cannot be updated through this path.
  • Partition columns cannot be updated (in-place rewrite can't move a row across partitions).
  • Deletion-vectors-enabled tables are not supported yet: a DV-deleted row still lives in its data file, so it can't be told apart from a live row without reading the target.

Read By Row Id​

read_by_row_id is the read-side mirror of update_by_row_id: it reads columns (including blob) of a data-evolution table for a set of _ROW_IDs, without scanning or joining the whole target. Each row id is routed to the data file that owns it and only those files — and only the matched rows — are read. It pairs with bucket_join (which produces the row ids) and feeds update_by_row_id: match by key → read the matched rows → transform → write back by row id. Requires ray >= 2.50 and a target with data-evolution.enabled and row-tracking.enabled.

from pypaimon.ray import read_by_row_id

ds = read_by_row_id(
    target="database_name.table_name",
    row_ids=locator_ds,          # ray.data.Dataset / pa.Table / pandas, carrying the row ids
    catalog_options={"warehouse": "/path/to/warehouse"},
    projection=["image", "feature"],   # columns to read; may include blob columns
    row_id_col="row_id",         # source column holding the row ids (default "_ROW_ID")
)
# ds: ray.data.Dataset of (image, feature, _ROW_ID) for the matched rows

Parameters:

  • row_ids: a ray.data.Dataset, pyarrow.Table, or pandas.DataFrame carrying the target row ids in column row_id_col; other columns are ignored. A table-name source is not accepted (a table's system _ROW_ID is its own and cannot address the target).
  • projection: top-level columns to read (nested paths are not supported). Blob columns are resolved to their payloads, unless overridden via dynamic_options. Must be non-empty.
  • row_id_col: the source column holding the row ids (default _ROW_ID); set e.g. row_id_col="row_id" to consume a bucket_join locator directly.
  • dynamic_options: read options applied via table.copy, e.g. {"blob-as-descriptor": "true"} to read blob columns as small BlobDescriptor bytes (resolved later with map_with_blobs), or scan.snapshot-id / scan.tag-name to read a specific snapshot. Options that flip table invariants (data-evolution.enabled, row-tracking.enabled, deletion-vectors.enabled) are rejected.
  • num_partitions: parallelism for grouping the row ids by target file; defaults to max(1, cluster_cpus * 2).
  • ray_remote_args: Ray remote options applied to the read tasks.

Returns: a ray.data.Dataset of (*projection, _ROW_ID).

Notes:

  • Lookup/set semantics, like SQL ... WHERE _ROW_ID IN (...): one row per distinct matched row id (duplicates deduplicated), input order not preserved (rows come out grouped by owning file). An empty source yields an empty but correctly-typed Dataset.
  • The row ids must exist in the resolved target snapshot (latest, or the one selected via dynamic_options); a foreign _ROW_ID raises.
  • Deletion-vectors-enabled tables are not supported yet, for the same reason as update_by_row_id.
  • For a non-empty target, the row_ids source is consumed lazily by the downstream action, not read here. A lazy source missing row_id_col raises when the read runs (a materialized source raises up front).