The Spark 3.4 removal PR has been merged! (
https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14122)
Spark 3.4 is now considered "End of Life",
https://iceberg.apache.org/multi-engine-support/#apache-spark
And the last Iceberg support is version 1.11.0

Thanks everyone!

On Thu, Jan 8, 2026 at 6:49 PM Manu Zhang <[email protected]> wrote:

> Totally agreed. I'd propose we formalize this process in the doc.
>
> 1. Mark Spark X / Flink Y as deprecated for Iceberg Z in multi-engine
> support doc[1].
> 2. Release Z with Spark X / Flink Y.
> 3. Remove Spark X / Flink Y support as part of post action of release Z.
> 4. Update multi-engine support doc accordingly.
>
> Regards,
> Manu
>
> On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 3:19 AM Kevin Liu <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Hey folks,
>>
>> Picking this thread up again. I've gathered feedback from the community,
>> and here's what I think is the best course of action.
>>
>>
>> *Current State*We've already marked Spark 3.4 as "Deprecated" at
>> https://iceberg.apache.org/multi-engine-support/#apache-spark. This
>> means Spark 3.4 is no longer actively maintained as of 1.10.x. Backports
>> can still be added, but the *community will not invest effort in
>> achieving feature parity*. We recommend users move to a newer version:
>> Spark 3.5 or Spark 4.x.
>>
>> Since the 1.10 release, there have been 34 backport PRs [1] currently on
>> the main branch. Since Spark 3.4 is already marked as "Deprecated," *there's
>> no obligation for the community to ensure all changes are backported to
>> Spark 3.4.* I propose we release 1.11 with the available changes and
>> fully remove Spark 3.4 support after the release. If further changes are
>> needed for Spark 3.4 afterward, they can go into the 1.11.x branch as patch
>> releases.
>>
>>
>> *Proposed Actions*1. Allow Spark 3.4 backports with no obligation to
>> ensure all features are backported
>> 2. Release 1.11 with Spark 3.4 support
>> 3. Fully remove the `spark/v3.4` folder immediately after 1.11
>> 4. Mark Spark 3.4 as "End-of-life" with 1.11 as the last supported version
>>
>> Please share your thoughts. I'll also link this to the vote thread
>> on removing Spark 3.4.
>>
>> Best,
>> Kevin Liu
>>
>>
>> [1] git log --pretty=oneline apache-iceberg-1.10.1..main -- spark/v3.4/ |
>> nl
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 13, 2025 at 10:03 PM huaxin gao <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Instead of removing Spark 3.4 in 1.11, could we keep it for a couple
>>> more versions?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Huaxin
>>>
>>> On Mon, Oct 13, 2025 at 9:57 AM Parth Chandra <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm wondering if it is too late to request just one more release of
>>>> Iceberg with Spark 3.4 support? I have a PR open
>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/13786 that addresses a whole
>>>> host of issues with using Comet and Iceberg. This completes the work
>>>> started by Huaxin in https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/13378.
>>>> At the moment Comet still supports Spark 3.4 and the PR accordingly
>>>> updates the Spark 3.4 module as well. If we deprecate Spark 3.4, users of
>>>> Spark 3.4 who want to use Comet will have to build their own. It's not the
>>>> end of the world, Comet already provides a patch and instructions on how to
>>>> do this. It is, however, less than ideal.
>>>> I know that voting has already started (and is practically over) on
>>>> this issue, but I figured it doesn't hurt to try.
>>>>
>>>> Parth
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Oct 7, 2025 at 7:49 AM Kevin Liu <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The PR has been merged (https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099),
>>>>> and I can see the change reflected on the website,
>>>>> https://iceberg.apache.org/multi-engine-support/#apache-spark
>>>>> Thanks everyone for the review.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'll start a separate thread for removing spark 3.4 from the repo.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, Oct 6, 2025 at 3:03 PM Kevin Liu <[email protected]>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hey folks,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> All (except 1) recent contributors to spark/v3.4 have responded on
>>>>>> the slack thread above and support removing spark 3.4. The last 
>>>>>> contributor
>>>>>> has not responded yet.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If there are no objections, I plan to merge this PR to change the
>>>>>> status for Spark 3.4 from "Maintained" -> "Deprecated" .
>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099
>>>>>> Thanks Eduard for the review.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Mon, Sep 29, 2025 at 9:52 AM Kevin Liu <[email protected]>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Started a slack thread,
>>>>>>> https://apache-iceberg.slack.com/archives/C03LG1D563F/p1759163920874249
>>>>>>> Based on the recently commit activities, I messaged (on slack and
>>>>>>> pr) 4 contributors who are actively backporting Spark 3.4.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Mon, Sep 29, 2025 at 9:32 AM Kevin Liu <[email protected]>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Bumping this thread.
>>>>>>>> Since there's consensus to mark Spark 3.4 as deprecated, let's
>>>>>>>> merge this PR to change the status on the docs,
>>>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099
>>>>>>>> I'll start a new thread for the decision to mark Spark 3.4 as
>>>>>>>> end-of-life and for removal from the codebase.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Mon, Sep 22, 2025 at 11:13 AM Steve Loughran
>>>>>>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> making hadoop 3.4.1 the base hadoop version has sort of made
>>>>>>>>> iceberg incompatible with spark 3.4, it just doesn't surface very 
>>>>>>>>> much.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> My PR, https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/10233 , which uses
>>>>>>>>> a hadoop 3.4.1 BulkDelete call not in the spark 3.4 classpath flags 
>>>>>>>>> this:
>>>>>>>>> the spark 3.4 tests fail with classpath errors.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Fri, 19 Sept 2025 at 22:02, Kevin Liu <[email protected]>
>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Thanks Anton and Eduard. I'm ok with being more aggressive with
>>>>>>>>>> the deprecation schedule.
>>>>>>>>>> Looking at the git history for `spark/v3.4/`
>>>>>>>>>> <https://github.com/apache/iceberg/commits/main/spark/v3.4>,
>>>>>>>>>> there are 5 new commits since the 1.10 release. Only 1 commit (
>>>>>>>>>> 3bbdee9
>>>>>>>>>> <https://github.com/apache/iceberg/commit/3bbdee97b0f33794df091c3292de8d54a05dcc1e>)
>>>>>>>>>> is to backport specifically for Spark 3.4.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> From Engine Version Lifecycle
>>>>>>>>>> <https://iceberg.apache.org/multi-engine-support/#engine-version-lifecycle>
>>>>>>>>>> ,
>>>>>>>>>> > Deprecated: an engine version is no longer actively
>>>>>>>>>> maintained. People who are still interested in the version can 
>>>>>>>>>> backport any
>>>>>>>>>> necessary feature or bug fix from newer versions, but the community 
>>>>>>>>>> will
>>>>>>>>>> not spend effort in achieving feature parity. Iceberg recommends 
>>>>>>>>>> users to
>>>>>>>>>> move towards a newer version. Contributions to a deprecated version 
>>>>>>>>>> is
>>>>>>>>>> expected to diminish over time, so that eventually no change is 
>>>>>>>>>> added to a
>>>>>>>>>> deprecated version.
>>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>>> > End-of-life: a vote can be initiated in the community to fully
>>>>>>>>>> remove a deprecated version out of the Iceberg repository to mark as 
>>>>>>>>>> its
>>>>>>>>>> end of life.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Let's change the status for Spark 3.4 to "Deprecated". I have
>>>>>>>>>> prepared a PR already
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I can start another vote thread for removal of Spark 3.4 in the
>>>>>>>>>> upcoming 1.11 release and mark it as "End-of-life". I already 
>>>>>>>>>> prepared a PR
>>>>>>>>>> to fully remove Spark 3.4 from the codebase,
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14122
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 11:29 AM Eduard Tudenhöfner <
>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> I agree with Anton and I would be in favor of just removing it
>>>>>>>>>>> in the next release. By updating the docs now we can already signal
>>>>>>>>>>> immediately that Spark 3.4 is deprecated and people can always use 
>>>>>>>>>>> Iceberg
>>>>>>>>>>> 1.10 when needing Spark 3.4 support.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 7:06 PM Anton Okolnychyi <
>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> I know we followed this rule of deprecating a Spark version in
>>>>>>>>>>>> one release and then removing it in the next one. Shall we ask 
>>>>>>>>>>>> ourselves
>>>>>>>>>>>> whether it is still the model we want to follow?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> My problem like before is that we release a new Iceberg jar
>>>>>>>>>>>> that is supposed to contain the latest and greatest features but 
>>>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>>>> functionality for older Spark versions is severely lagging.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> We initially kept older Spark modules in main to give folks in
>>>>>>>>>>>> the community a place to maintain these older integrations and 
>>>>>>>>>>>> collaborate.
>>>>>>>>>>>> I don’t see a lot of interest in that, if I am being honest. 
>>>>>>>>>>>> Instead, it
>>>>>>>>>>>> became a liability for devs as all major format features now have 
>>>>>>>>>>>> to work
>>>>>>>>>>>> with those old Spark integrations. It is hurting the velocity of 
>>>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>>>> project and recent row ID work is an example of that.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> - Anton
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 6:33 PM Kevin Liu <
>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> > why not just remove Spark 3.4 for the next 1.11 release? Or
>>>>>>>>>>>>> do we usually wait for one more release and remove it in the 1.12 
>>>>>>>>>>>>> release
>>>>>>>>>>>>> after marking 3.4 as deprecated in the engine status doc page?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> My preference is to mark as deprecated for one release and
>>>>>>>>>>>>> remove in the following.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> To quote JB:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>  "announce" the deprecation in 1.11 and remove 1.12, it gives
>>>>>>>>>>>>> time for users to "adapt".
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 9:26 AM Steven Wu <
>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Following up on Manu's question, why not just remove Spark
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3.4 for the next 1.11 release? Or do we usually wait for one 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> more release
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> and remove it in the 1.12 release after marking 3.4 as 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> deprecated in the
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> engine status doc page?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 9:12 AM Kevin Liu <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Given the many +1's here, I've moved the PR to deprecate 3.4
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> to "ready for review",
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/pull/14099
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > Does it mean we will stop back-porting PRs to Spark 3.4
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> for 1.11?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Not necessarily. There's a lot of Spark 3.4 backports
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> already,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/apache/iceberg/commits/main/spark/v3.4
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I suggest we continue to backport for consistency and then
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> stop right after the 1.11 release.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 6:18 AM Amogh Jahagirdar <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Sep 19, 2025 at 2:03 AM Péter Váry <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Eduard Tudenhöfner <[email protected]> ezt írta
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (időpont: 2025. szept. 19., P, 8:56):
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1 on deprecating Spark 3.4
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Thu, Sep 18, 2025 at 8:36 AM Steve <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 22:52 Jean-Baptiste Onofré <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> +1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I agree about the plan to "announce" the deprecation in
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 1.11 and
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> remove 1.12, it gives time for users to "adapt".
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Regards
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> JB
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 10:31 PM Kevin Liu <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > Hi everyone,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > I’d like to bring up the topic of deprecating Spark
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3.4 in an upcoming release. Anton initially suggested this 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> during our
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> previous dev list discussion about maintaining feature 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> parity across the
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Spark versions we support for 1.10.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > Currently, we support two different Spark 3.x
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> versions, 3.4 and 3.5. Spark 3.4’s last maintenance 
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> release was in October
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 2024, and it is now considered end-of-life.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > What are your thoughts on marking Spark 3.4 as
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> deprecated in 1.11 and removing it in 1.12?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > For reference, here's the previous discussion thread
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> on deprecating Spark 3.3.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > Best,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> > Kevin Liu
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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