# apache/polaris

Apache Polaris, the interoperable, open source catalog for Apache Iceberg

Repository: https://github.com/apache/polaris
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/apache-polaris
Homepage: https://polaris.apache.org/
Language: Java
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: iceberg, apache, polaris, catalog, lakehouse, metadata, opencatalog
Last push: 2026-08-26T11:42:14+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 84, longevity 59
- inputs: {"age_days": 826, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 31, "gap_med": 39, "n_releases_24m": 10}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2043, forks 510 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:08.737283+00:00)

## What it is
Apache Polaris is an open-source, fully-featured catalog for Apache Iceberg tables that implements the Iceberg REST catalog API. It provides centralized, secure read and write access to Iceberg tables across REST-compatible query engines such as Spark, Flink, Trino, Dremio, StarRocks, and Doris.

## Use cases
- manage a central catalog for Apache Iceberg tables across multiple query engines
- self-host an Iceberg REST catalog backed by S3, Azure, or GCS storage
- give Spark, Trino, and Flink interoperable read/write access to the same lakehouse tables
- sync external Iceberg catalogs like Glue or Snowflake into a unified catalog
- organize Iceberg tables into nested namespaces with centralized access control
- run an open catalog for data and AI assets on a lakehouse

## When to choose
- you use Apache Iceberg tables and need a vendor-neutral, open source REST catalog
- multiple engines (Spark, Trino, Flink, StarRocks, Doris) must access the same tables
- you want centralized, secure access control over lakehouse tables on S3, Azure, or GCS
- you need to unify internal and external Iceberg catalogs under one catalog service

## When to avoid
- your tables are not in Apache Iceberg format
- you need a full query engine rather than a metadata catalog
- you want a fully managed service and prefer a commercial offering over self-hosting
- your storage is not on S3, Azure Blob/ADLS, or Google Cloud Storage

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: active
- function: database, api-framework, auth, authorization, search-engine
- domain: databases, big-data, analytics, cloud-computing, self-hosted
- platform: jvm, cloud, self-hosted
- tags: apache-iceberg, iceberg-rest-catalog, lakehouse, table-catalog, metadata-management, multi-engine-interoperability, open-table-format, data-engineering, docker

## Member repositories
- apache/polaris (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:08.737283+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:58:06.442835+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/apache/polaris (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:08.737283+00:00, sha c438189ffcee)
  - homepage: https://polaris.apache.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T10:38:24.607897+00:00, sha aa3aa804e624)
  - site_page: https://polaris.apache.org/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T10:38:24.616940+00:00, sha 6a1289d25107)
  - site_page: https://polaris.apache.org/releases/latest (fetched 2026-08-29T10:38:24.618711+00:00, sha a60cd6fd435a)
  - site_page: https://polaris.apache.org/releases/1.7.0 (fetched 2026-08-29T10:38:24.620654+00:00, sha a60cd6fd435a)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.