SpiceDB schema rollback safety after new relationship writes

Answer

No, a live SpiceDB instance cannot safely roll back a schema after new relationship writes without downtime, and rollback does not automatically resolve stale tuples across datastores.

Likely explanation

The system swaps the active schema without retaining versioned history, and all new relationship writes are validated against the current schema. When a relation is removed, existing tuples that reference the deleted relation definition may cause permission errors or be ignored, and the impact can differ between PostgreSQL and CockroachDB backends.

Confirmed facts

• SpiceDB replaces the active schema instantly; no versioned history is kept.
• New relationship writes are checked against the current schema at commit time.
• Removing a relation can leave tuples that reference a non‑existent relation definition, leading to permission‑check failures or silent ignores.
• Rollback is manual; the platform does not revert stale tuples automatically.
• Backend differences (PostgreSQL vs CockroachDB) affect how invalid references are handled.

Steps for safe rollback in this case

1. Pause all write operations to prevent new tuples that reference the removed relation.
2. Confirm that no active transactions are in progress that could be affected by the schema change.
3. Verify the previous schema definition is still available for redeployment (check schema version metadata).
4. Run a query to list all relationship tuples that reference the now‑deleted relation ID and ensure they are either removed or still valid under the new schema.
5. Redeploy the previous schema version.
6. Execute permission‑evaluation tests on affected resources to confirm no errors occur.

Missing diagnostic detail

Are there any active writes or ongoing transactions that could be impacted by the schema rollback?