Why Can't I Enable History Mode for Connections Using XMIN?

Question

Why can't I enable history mode for my connections that use XMIN as the incremental sync method?

Environment

• Connector: PostgreSQL
• Incremental sync method: XMIN

Answer

XMIN relies on a hidden system column that acts as a last_modified column but does not track row deletions. When a row is deleted at the source, it disappears entirely, preventing us from detecting it. For more information, see our PostgreSQL XMIN system column documentation.

As a result, it's not possible to enable history mode when you use the XMIN incremental update method. To track deletions and use history mode, you must use a different update method. To learn more, see our Updating PostgreSQL data documentation.