{
  "slug": "rocksdb-checkpoint",
  "term": "RocksDB checkpoint",
  "aliases": [
    "CreateCheckpoint"
  ],
  "definition": "A RocksDB checkpoint is a captured database directory that can be opened separately from the source database.",
  "note": "On the same filesystem, SST and blob files use hard links; other required files are copied. Files are copied when crossing filesystems. By default, log_size_for_flush is zero and all column families are flushed. Raising it can omit unflushed no-WAL writes. [checkpoint-api]\n\nA different pathname is not a separate failure domain. A checkpoint sharing the source filesystem cannot by itself survive loss of that filesystem. This follows from the shared-file layout, not a measured recovery probability.",
  "related": [
    "rocksdb-read-snapshot",
    "rocksdb-backup-engine",
    "hard-link",
    "rocksdb-column-family",
    "write-ahead-log",
    "backup",
    "restore-test"
  ],
  "citations": [
    {
      "id": "checkpoint-api",
      "title": "RocksDB v10.10.1. checkpoint.h: file capture and flush threshold.",
      "url": "https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb/blob/v10.10.1/include/rocksdb/utilities/checkpoint.h",
      "accessed": "2026-10-17"
    },
    {
      "id": "hesela",
      "title": "Hesela: RocksDB capture and recovery boundaries.",
      "url": "https://hesela.com/analyses/rocksdb-wal-flush-manifest-boundaries/#capture-boundaries",
      "accessed": "2026-10-17"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": [
    "RocksDB v10.10.1 API contract; same-filesystem failure dependence is an inference. No crash experiment or performance benchmark."
  ],
  "status": "shipping",
  "advantages": [],
  "limitations": [],
  "supersedes": [],
  "supersededBy": [],
  "firstSeen": null,
  "lastSeen": null,
  "updated": "2026-10-17"
}