# events

One row per event: a marked moment or interval, such as a manoeuvre, an anomaly, or a phase boundary.

Metadata table, so no `dataset_rid` predicate is required.

For what an event marks, see [Events](https://dev.nominal.io/platform/data-model.md#events) in the data model.

## Columns

| Column | Type | Nullable | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `event_rid` | `VARCHAR` | No | Resource ID. |
| `name` | `VARCHAR` | No | Event name. |
| `description` | `VARCHAR` | No | Free-text description. |
| `type` | `VARCHAR` | No | Event type. |
| `start_time` | `TIMESTAMP` | No | When the event began. |
| `duration_seconds` | `DOUBLE` | No | Length of the event. Zero for an instantaneous event. |
| `created_by` | `VARCHAR` | Yes | Who created the event. Null for events created automatically. |
| `labels` | `ARRAY` | No | Labels applied to the event. |
| `properties` | `MAP` | No | Key-value properties applied to the event. Read a value with `properties['<key>']['value']`. See [Properties](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-reference/schema/assets.md#asset-properties). |
| `data_review_rids` | `ARRAY` | Yes | Data reviews associated with the event. |

Note that events carry `duration_seconds` rather than an end timestamp, so add the duration to `start_time` when you need the closing bound.

> **Warning**
>
> **The Events table does not filter by dataset.** Be cautious when querying this table, as results span your entire workspace and this may result in high query times. A query that reads too many event rows fails, so filter by time or type and add a `LIMIT`.

## Examples

Most recent events:

```sql
SELECT event_rid, name, type, start_time, duration_seconds
FROM events
ORDER BY start_time DESC
LIMIT 20
```

Instantaneous events only:

```sql
SELECT name, type, start_time
FROM events
WHERE duration_seconds = 0
ORDER BY start_time DESC
```

Events of one type in a window:

```sql
SELECT name, start_time, duration_seconds
FROM events
WHERE type = '<event type>'
  AND start_time > TIMESTAMP '2026-07-17 00:00:00'
  AND start_time < TIMESTAMP '2026-07-18 00:00:00'
ORDER BY start_time
```

Automatically created events, which have no author:

```sql
SELECT name, type, start_time
FROM events
WHERE created_by IS NULL
ORDER BY start_time DESC
LIMIT 20
```

## Next steps

- [runs](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-reference/schema/runs.md): the periods events sit within.
- [Writing queries](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/writing-queries.md): scoping and query patterns.