> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/apache/iceberg/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# DeleteFile

> Reference for Apache Iceberg DeleteFile metadata used by row-level deletes

# DeleteFile

`DeleteFile` describes a delete artifact tracked by an Iceberg table. Delete files let engines represent row-level deletes without rewriting every underlying data file immediately.

## Delete file types

### Position deletes

Position deletes identify rows by data-file path and row position.

### Equality deletes

Equality deletes identify rows by matching one or more column values.

## Common usage

You usually encounter `DeleteFile` when working with `RowDelta`, merge workflows, and maintenance tasks that rewrite or compact delete files.

```java theme={null}
DeleteFile deletes = FileMetadata.deleteFileBuilder(table.spec())
    .ofPositionDeletes()
    .withPath("s3://warehouse/db/table/delete-file.parquet")
    .withFileSizeInBytes(4_096L)
    .withRecordCount(25L)
    .build();
```

## Related

* [RowDelta](/api/write/row-delta) - Apply row-level changes
* [DeleteFiles](/api/write/delete-files) - Remove tracked data files from a table
* [Table Interface](/api/table) - Core table operations