Can change a delta table, but not its schema

[NW1000]

Is it possible to let a group in databricks to change a delta table, but not the table’s schema in UC? i.e., they can add or remove rows of the delta table, but cannot change the name or the format of the columns.

[Ashwin_DSA]

Hi @NW1000,

No, Unity Catalog doesn’t let you separate change rows from change schema that finely. 

To let a group insert/update/delete rows on a table, you must give them MODIFY on that table. MODIFY also allows ALTER TABLE operations like ADD/DROP/ALTER COLUMN, so they can change the schema. They still can’t rename the table or change ownership without MANAGE or being the owner.

If you truly need row-only changes with a fixed schema, the usual pattern is... keep MODIFY on the base table for a service principal or pipeline only, expose data to users via views (SELECT only), and route all writes through controlled jobs.

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