A schema change is a single structural modification to your data - a column added, removed, or renamed; a data type changed; a table created or dropped. Each change is an individual record detected by schema drift monitoring, the feature that compares successive asset discoveries to find structural differences over time. These modifications can break downstream systems like dbt models, dashboards, and reports if not caught early. AnomalyArmor detects changes by comparing discovery runs. When a column disappears or a type changes, you get alerted before your pipelines fail.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.anomalyarmor.ai/llms.txt
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Change Types
| Change | Risk Level | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Column removed | High | Breaks queries referencing it |
| Table removed | High | Breaks all dependent queries |
| Column renamed | High | Old name no longer works |
| Type changed | Medium | May affect aggregations |
| Column added | Low | Usually safe |
| Table added | Low | Informational |
Common Questions
What kinds of schema changes does AnomalyArmor detect?
Column added, removed, renamed, or type-changed; nullability changes; default-value changes; constraint changes (primary key, unique, foreign key); new and dropped tables and views. The full list is tracked at schema drift. AnomalyArmor does not diff stored procedures, triggers, or database-engine-level objects.How does AnomalyArmor detect a rename versus a drop-and-add?
By default it’s conservative: a column disappearing followed by one appearing with the same type is logged as drop+add, not rename. Most database catalogs don’t preserve rename history, so we can’t always distinguish. If you run a deliberate rename, annotate the alert so it doesn’t page your team twice.Can I acknowledge schema changes so they stop alerting?
Yes. Each change has an Acknowledge action that marks it as reviewed and suppresses downstream notifications on that specific change. The change is retained in history for audit - acknowledging doesn’t delete it. See alert best practices for patterns.How fast does AnomalyArmor detect a schema change after it happens?
Detection latency equals your discovery cadence. Default daily discovery means up to 24-hour detection; hourly discovery detects within the hour. For databases where schema changes happen frequently (active migration projects), increase the cadence to hourly or run manual discovery immediately after known deploys.Next Steps
View Change History
See what changed and when
Set Up Alerts
Get notified of breaking changes