High severitysql
Power BI Refresh Error:
DELTA_METADATA_CHANGED
What does this error mean?
A concurrent transaction changed the metadata of the Delta table (schema, partitioning, or table properties) while another write was in progress. The in-progress write is aborted because its assumptions about the table structure are no longer valid.
Common causes
- 1An ALTER TABLE operation (add column, change column type, rename column) was executed concurrently with a write job
- 2A WRITE with schema evolution (mergeSchema=true) was triggered at the same time as another write
- 3A dbt full-refresh or CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE ran while a streaming job was appending to the table
- 4Table properties were updated via TBLPROPERTIES while a job was writing
How to fix it
- 1Retry the failed write — the metadata change is already committed and the retry will see the current schema.
- 2Coordinate schema changes: pause streaming jobs before running ALTER TABLE and resume after.
- 3If using schema evolution, ensure only one job at a time can trigger mergeSchema to avoid conflicts.
- 4For dbt full-refresh scenarios, stop upstream streaming writes before running dbt and resume after.