ALTER SNAPSHOT

ALTER SNAPSHOT renames a snapshot or removes its name. The only supported option is snapshot_name.

Syntax

ALTER SNAPSHOT <snapshot_selector> SET snapshot_name = '<new_name>';

Snapshot selector

Snapshot selectors resolve within a database. If you don't qualify the database, the current database (set with USE) is used.

<snapshot_selector> :=
  <database_name>.<snapshot_name>
| <snapshot_name>
| '<snapshot_id_or_name>'

• <database_name>.<snapshot_name> targets a snapshot by name on a specific database. Use this when you want to rename a snapshot without switching databases.
• <snapshot_name> targets a snapshot by name on the current database (set with USE). Unquoted names must be valid SQL identifiers (letters, digits, and underscores). Use double quotes for names with spaces or punctuation (single quotes are reserved for the UUID-or-name form).
• '<snapshot_id_or_name>' targets a snapshot UUID or a snapshot name on the current database. MotherDuck first tries to resolve the value as a snapshot UUID. If no snapshot is found, it falls back to resolving it as a snapshot name. This form does not accept a database qualifier, so use USE first if needed. If a snapshot name looks like a UUID, use the identifier form (unquoted or double-quoted) to avoid UUID resolution.

Options

Option	Type	Description
snapshot_name	STRING	New name for the snapshot (string literal). Use '' to remove the name. When set, names must be 1-255 characters and unique per user across all databases.

Considerations

• Named snapshots are available on the Business plan only. ALTER SNAPSHOT will error on plans that do not support named snapshots.
• This command applies only to MotherDuck databases (not DuckLake databases or shares).
• To list snapshots, query md_information_schema.database_snapshots (for example, filter by owner_name).
• Removing a snapshot name makes it subject to snapshot_retention_days. See the snapshots guide.
• snapshot_name only accepts a string literal. Expressions and NULL are not supported.

Example usage

-- Rename a snapshot in the current database
USE my_db;
ALTER SNAPSHOT nightly_backup SET snapshot_name = 'nightly_backup_2025_02_01';

-- Rename a snapshot using a database-qualified name
ALTER SNAPSHOT analytics.month_end SET snapshot_name = 'fy2025_q4_close';

-- Rename a snapshot by UUID
USE my_db;
ALTER SNAPSHOT '3f2504e0-4f89-11d3-9a0c-0305e82c3301' SET snapshot_name = 'pre_migration';

-- Rename a snapshot that has spaces or special characters in its name
USE my_db;
ALTER SNAPSHOT 'month end (final)' SET snapshot_name = 'month_end_final';

-- Remove a snapshot name (unset)
USE my_db;
ALTER SNAPSHOT '3f2504e0-4f89-11d3-9a0c-0305e82c3301' SET snapshot_name = '';