> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://netter.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Edit rows

> Insert, update, or delete entity rows without rewriting the pipeline. Edits live as overlays on top of the source data.

Pipelines write rows; humans correct them. The ontology supports **row overlays**—admin-authored edits stored on top of the source data—so you don't have to change a pipeline to fix one bad row.

## How overlays work

Every entity has a source table (what the pipeline produced) and an overlay (what humans changed). When the platform reads the entity, the two are merged: overlay rows win on the entity's primary key.

| Overlay operation | What it does                                               |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Insert**        | Adds a row that isn't in the source.                       |
| **Update**        | Replaces specific column values on an existing source row. |
| **Delete**        | Hides a source row from all readers.                       |

Overlays are stored separately from the source Parquet, so re-running the pipeline never destroys them.

## Who can edit

* **Direct** ontology row edits require **admin** or **owner** on the company.
* **Viewers** can edit rows indirectly via an [Application](/docs/applications/overview) whose entity binding has `write` or `readwrite` mode. The app's Action endpoint enforces row-level security; the underlying ontology operation does the write.

## Clear overlays

To revert an entity to its pipeline-produced state, use **Clear overlays** on the entity detail page. The source data is untouched—only the overlay table is reset.

## Row identity

* **Step-backed entities** use `_row_key`, the row identity column the platform stamps when the pipeline writes.
* **File-backed entities** (CSV uploads) use the column you picked as primary key when you promoted the database.

You don't manage `_row_key` directly—the platform generates and stamps it.