Missing MSchange_tracking_history Table in SQL Server: Causes, Cleanup Behavior
Change Tracking (CT) in SQL Server is a lightweight mechanism for tracking data changes without the overhead of full auditing or CDC. However, when troubleshooting CT cleanup behavior, one issue that often surprises engineers is the absence of the MSchange_tracking_history table—a system table expected to exist when auto-cleanup is running normally. In this blog, we walk through the scenarios that can lead to a missing history table, what to validate in your environment, and how to collect the right data for deeper investigation. Confirming Whether Auto-Cleanup Has Run Successfully When diagnosing Change Tracking cleanup issues, the first step is verifying whether the auto‑cleanup process has executed at least once on the affected database. Here are key questions to ask: ✔ Was the auto‑cleanup process ever triggered? SQL Server's CT cleanup runs automatically in the background based on internal scheduling. You should validate whether it has executed at least once since CT was enabled (or re‑enabled). ✔ Were there rows outside the retention period at the time cleanup ran? The cleanup task only deletes rows older than the configured retention period. If no such rows existed, cleanup may have run—but removed nothing. ✔ Did the cleanup task complete successfully? It’s important to know whether cleanup: Started, Scanned eligible rows, Deleted entries, and Completed without interruption. If cleanup is running but not making progress, SQL Server provides internal diagnostics that can help determine whether the process is blocked, paused, or skipped. Why the MSchange_tracking_history Table May Be Missing Microsoft’s Product Team has clarified an important behavioral detail: ➡ The MSchange_tracking_history table is created only by the auto-cleanup process. This means the table may be missing if: 🔸 CT was disabled previously If Change Tracking was turned off at any point, SQL Server removes internal structures associated with CT. 🔸 CT was later re-enabled, but auto-cleanup never ran Re‑enabling CT does not immediately recreate the history table. It will only be created once auto-cleanup executes naturally for the first time. 🔸 Only manual cleanup was performed Manual cleanup (using internal stored procedures or scripts) does not generate the MSchange_tracking_history table. Only the automated engine-driven cleanup does. ➡ Resolution: Ensuring that the auto-cleanup process runs at least once is typically enough to recreate the missing history table. How to Collect Deeper Diagnostics: SQL Server Profiler Trace For deeper analysis—especially when the cleanup process appears stalled, not deleting rows, or not creating the history table—you should collect a SQL Server Profiler trace that captures a full auto-cleanup cycle. What the trace helps with: Verifying which CT internal procedures are being executed. Determining whether the cleanup scans and deletion operations occur. Identifying blocking, timeouts, or internal errors. Confirming if the engine attempts to initialize or update the history table. When to collect the trace: Run it during an auto-cleanup cycle. Ensure that the cycle actually deletes records, not just scans without action. This allows the Product Team or DBA staff to analyze real cleanup behavior from the engine side. T‑SQL: Check Change Tracking Cleanup Status These queries help you verify whether auto‑cleanup has been running, whether it’s enabled, and whether there are expired records (outside your retention window) still present in CT side tables or syscommittab. The approach aligns with Microsoft’s troubleshooting guidance. Is auto‑cleanup enabled? What’s the retention? -- Run in the target database SELECT db.database_id, DB_NAME(db.database_id) AS database_name, db.is_auto_cleanup_on, -- 1 = ON, 0 = OFF db.retention_period, db.retention_period_units -- 1 = MINUTES, 2 = HOURS, 3 = DAYS FROM sys.change_tracking_databases AS db WHERE db.database_id = DB_ID(); This view reports whether auto‑cleanup is ON and shows the retention. 2) Has auto‑cleanup run recently? (History table) -- History is created only when auto‑cleanup runs SELECT TOP (1000) start_time, end_time, cleanup_version, -- engine cleanup version recorded comments FROM dbo.MSchange_tracking_history ORDER BY start_time DESC; If dbo.MSchange_tracking_history doesn’t exist or is empty, auto‑cleanup most likely has never run (or hasn’t run since CT was re‑enabled). The table itself is created by the auto‑cleanup process. Note: The missing MSchange_tracking_history table can occur if CT was disabled and re‑enabled but auto‑cleanup hasn’t run since; manual cleanup alone won’t create it. A single successful auto‑cleanup cycle will create the table. 3) Are there rows outside the retention window? (Per‑table scan) The following script checks each CT‑enabled table and estimates whether its side table contains rows older than the current min valid version (i.e., candidates for cleanup): /* This script enumerates CT-enabled tables, derives the min_valid_version, and checks whether rows exist with SYS_CHANGE_VERSION < min_valid_version. It uses dynamic SQL because each CT side table is an internal table named: change_tracking_<object_id> See Microsoft guidance on CT side tables. */ SET NOCOUNT ON; DECLARE @sql NVARCHAR(MAX) = N''; DECLARE @CRLF NCHAR(2) = NCHAR(13) + NCHAR(10); ;WITH ct AS ( SELECT t.object_id, QUOTENAME(OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(t.object_id)) + N'.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME(t.object_id)) AS table_name, t.min_valid_version FROM sys.change_tracking_tables AS t ) SELECT @sql = STRING_AGG(CONVERT(NVARCHAR(MAX), N' BEGIN TRY DECLARE SYSNAME = N''' + table_name + N'''; DECLARE @oid INT = ' + CAST(object_id AS NVARCHAR(20)) + N'; DECLARE @side SYSNAME = N''change_tracking_'' + CAST(@oid AS NVARCHAR(20)); DECLARE @minver BIGINT = ' + CAST(min_valid_version AS NVARCHAR(20)) + N'; -- Build dynamic statement to count expired rows in the side table DECLARE @dyn NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'' SELECT ''''''+@tbl+'''''' AS ct_table, ''''''+@side+'''''' AS side_table, @minver AS min_valid_version, COUNT(*) AS expired_rows FROM '' + QUOTENAME(@side) + N'' WHERE SYS_CHANGE_VERSION < @minver''; DECLARE @params NVARCHAR(400) = N''@minver BIGINT''; EXEC sp_executesql @dyn, @params, @minver = @minver; END TRY BEGIN CATCH SELECT ''' + table_name + N''' AS ct_table, ERROR_NUMBER() AS error_number, ERROR_MESSAGE() AS error_message; END CATCH' ), @CRLF ) FROM ct; -- Execute the generator EXEC sys.sp_executesql @sql; How it works: CT stores changes in internal “side tables” (named change_tracking_<object_id>), and the minimum valid version per CT‑enabled table is tracked in sys.change_tracking_tables. Rows with SYS_CHANGE_VERSION below min_valid_version are eligible for cleanup and should be deleted by auto‑cleanup; the script surfaces a count of such rows. 4) Check the commit table for expired records (syscommittab) Auto‑cleanup also clears entries in the commit table (syscommittab) once they fall outside retention. This quick check compares the latest commit version with your tables’ min_valid_version to see if commit entries are lagging: -- Approximate commit backlog vs. min_valid_version SELECT DB_NAME() AS database_name, MAX(ctv.commit_ts) AS latest_commit_ts, MAX(ctv.commit_lsn) AS latest_commit_lsn FROM sys.syscommittab AS ctv; -- internal commit table used by CT If you see a large backlog in syscommittab relative to table min_valid_version, it can indicate cleanup isn’t keeping up or hasn’t run. (Microsoft’s troubleshooting doc lists syscommittab growth as a symptom when cleanup is stalled.) 5) Optional: Force a manual cleanup (diagnostics only) Use manual cleanup with caution and preferably when AUTO_CLEANUP = OFF, to avoid contention with the background task. -- Flush commit table in batches (example batch size = 100,000) EXEC sys.sp_flush_commit_table_on_demand _batch_size = 100000; -- Flush a specific CT internal table (replace with your user table name) EXEC sys.sp_flush_CT_internal_table_on_demand @table_name = N'dbo.YourTable'; Manual cleanup procedures are documented in community guidance and Microsoft KBs; prefer auto‑cleanup for normal operation. Relevant Behaviors & Known Issues History table creation: dbo.MSchange_tracking_history is created only by the auto‑cleanup process. If CT was disabled and later re‑enabled but only manual cleanup has run since, the history table won’t exist until one successful auto‑cleanup cycle completes. [learn.microsoft.com] “Auto‑cleanup runs but isn’t making progress”: Follow Microsoft’s troubleshooting flow; symptoms include many rows outside retention in side tables or syscommittab. [learn.microsoft.com] Fixes and trace flags: Certain builds of SQL Server 2016/2017/2019 had issues where cleanup versions could go negative or overflow INT in the history table. Microsoft provides KBs and guidance (e.g., TF 8290) to reset invalid cleanup versions and CU updates to fix history table datatype problems. If you suspect these issues, review the KBs and apply the relevant CUs Summary A missing MSchange_tracking_history table often indicates that Change Tracking was disabled at some point and auto-cleanup has not run since re-enabling it. Auto-cleanup is the only mechanism that creates this table—manual cleanup will not. To resolve or further investigate: Confirm that auto-cleanup has executed at least once. Validate whether cleanup deleted rows beyond the retention period. Capture a SQL Server Profiler trace for a successful cleanup cycle. This ensures complete visibility into the CT engine behavior and helps determine whether remediation is needed. Official Reference Microsoft Learn — Troubleshoot change tracking auto‑cleanup issues (status, history table, retention, syscommittab symptoms): learn.microsoft.com/sql/.../cleanup-and-troubleshoot-change-tracking-sql-server' Microsoft Support — KB4538365 (negative cleanup versions; TF 8290 guidance): support.microsoft.com/.../kb4538365 Microsoft Support — KB5007039 (INT overflow in MSchange_tracking_history cleanup_version; CU fix): support.microsoft.com/.../kb5007039 Community references explaining CT side tables and cleanup mechanics: mssqltips.com — Change Tracking performance troubleshooting Stack Overflow — manual cleanup examples & cautionsEnable auditing to identify Change Tracking history table drops using Extended Events (Azure SQL Db)
When Change Tracking is enabled, the system-maintained history table dbo.MSChange_tracking_history is a key place to look for cleanup progress and errors. For example, Microsoft’s troubleshooting guidance for Change Tracking auto-cleanup explicitly references querying the history table to validate whether cleanup is running and whether there are cleanup errors. In real-world environments, teams sometimes observe that dbo.MSChange_tracking_history “disappears” unexpectedly (for example, during cleanup troubleshooting), which then blocks visibility into cleanup progress and error history. When that happens, the most practical way to answer “who/what dropped the history table?” is to audit the DDL using Extended Events (XEvents)—a lightweight monitoring capability designed for troubleshooting. This post shows how to create a database-scoped XEvent session in Azure SQL Database that captures Change Tracking history table drops and related events, using the script you provided. Why Extended Events for this scenario? Extended Events are built to capture internal engine activities with relatively low overhead, and are supported across SQL Server and Azure SQL. In Azure SQL Database, XEvents are commonly used for investigation and troubleshooting when you need evidence of what happened and who initiated it. In this specific case, we want to capture: A history table drop event (Change Tracking-specific) A syscommittab truncate event (Change Tracking-specific) A generic object deletion event filtered to the history table name And we want to enrich each event with context (app, host, user, SQL text, stack, timestamps, etc.). The Extended Events session (copy/paste) Below is your script to create a database-scoped session named CTXEvent that audits the Change Tracking history table drop and related events: CREATE EVENT SESSION [CTXEvent] ON DATABASE ADD EVENT sqlserver.change_tracking_historytable_drop( ACTION(mdmtargetpkg.mdmget_TimeStampUTC,sqlserver.client_app_name,sqlserver.client_hostname,sqlserver.context_info,sqlserver.database_name,sqlserver.external_script_request_id,sqlserver.session_id,sqlserver.sql_text,sqlserver.transaction_id,sqlserver.tsql_stack,sqlserver.username)), ADD EVENT sqlserver.change_tracking_syscommittab_truncate( ACTION(mdmtargetpkg.mdmget_TimeStampUTC,sqlserver.client_app_name,sqlserver.client_hostname,sqlserver.context_info,sqlserver.database_name,sqlserver.external_script_request_id,sqlserver.session_id,sqlserver.sql_text,sqlserver.transaction_id,sqlserver.tsql_stack,sqlserver.username)), ADD EVENT sqlserver.object_deleted( ACTION(mdmtargetpkg.mdmget_TimeStampUTC,sqlserver.client_app_name,sqlserver.client_hostname,sqlserver.context_info,sqlserver.database_name,sqlserver.external_script_request_id,sqlserver.session_id,sqlserver.sql_text,sqlserver.transaction_id,sqlserver.tsql_stack,sqlserver.username) WHERE ([object_name]=N'MSchange_tracking_history')) WITH (MAX_MEMORY=16384 KB,EVENT_RETENTION_MODE=NO_EVENT_LOSS,MAX_DISPATCH_LATENCY=10 SECONDS,MAX_EVENT_SIZE=0 KB,MEMORY_PARTITION_MODE=NONE,TRACK_CAUSALITY=ON,STARTUP_STATE=OFF) GO Why these three events? sqlserver.change_tracking_historytable_drop: directly captures the Change Tracking “history table dropped” operation (purpose-built for this investigation). sqlserver.change_tracking_syscommittab_truncate: captures maintenance actions on syscommittab, which is central to Change Tracking’s internal state. sqlserver.object_deleted with a predicate on MSchange_tracking_history: provides a generic “safety net” if the drop manifests via generic DDL deletion paths. Why these actions? The actions you selected are the practical “who/what/where” context you usually need to attribute the operation: sqlserver.client_app_name / sqlserver.client_hostname: which app + which machine initiated the DDL sqlserver.username: identity executing the statement sqlserver.sql_text + sqlserver.tsql_stack: the statement and call stack (helpful if the drop occurs via a job, framework, or tooling) sqlserver.session_id / sqlserver.transaction_id: correlate activity across events TRACK_CAUSALITY=ON: enables correlation across related events within the session context. Starting and stopping the session Your session is created with STARTUP_STATE=OFF, meaning it does not start automatically. That’s typically a good practice for targeted investigations: enable it only during the window where you expect the issue. For Azure SQL Database, you can manage the session using SSMS or equivalent T-SQL workflows. Microsoft’s Extended Events QuickStart walks through creating sessions and working with session data, including the general workflow concepts. Tip (practical): Turn it on shortly before your expected “drop window,” reproduce/observe, then turn it off after you capture the event to minimize overhead. Where does the data go? Your script defines the events + actions + session options, but it does not define a target (for example, event_file). That’s OK for short, in-the-moment investigations, but for durable evidence and easy sharing, many teams prefer writing to an event file target. Option: Persist captured events to Azure Storage (recommended for multi-hour investigations) Microsoft provides a dedicated walkthrough for Azure SQL Database to create an event session with an event_file target stored in Azure Storage, including: creating a storage account + container granting access (RBAC or SAS) creating a database credential creating/starting the session viewing the event data If you choose this route, you can then read event files using sys.fn_xe_file_target_read_file (supported in Azure SQL Database, commonly used to consume XEL files from blob storage). How to interpret the results (what to look for) When the table drop happens, the captured event payload should allow you to confidently answer: Who initiated the operation? Look at sqlserver.username plus client_app_name and client_hostname. What executed the drop? Look at sql_text and tsql_stack. Was this tied to cleanup activity or another workflow? If you see change_tracking_syscommittab_truncate around the same time (and correlated via session/transaction/casuality identifiers), that can indicate the drop happened in proximity to Change Tracking maintenance behavior. Was the drop recurring or one-off? If you capture repeated events at a steady cadence, it points to an automated process (job, deployment pipeline, scheduled task, framework) rather than an ad-hoc human action. Why this matters: the history table is part of Change Tracking troubleshooting Microsoft’s Change Tracking cleanup troubleshooting guidance explicitly uses dbo.MSChange_tracking_history as the place to validate whether cleanup is running and whether errors are being logged. So if the history table is being dropped, you effectively lose an important “black box recorder” that you rely on to understand cleanup behavior—exactly why auditing the drop is so valuable. Operational tips (minimize noise, maximize signal) These are practical recommendations commonly used in incident investigations (treat them as operational guidance you can adapt to your environment): Run the session for a limited time window (enough to catch the drop). Keep actions focused (your list is already purpose-built for attribution). Prefer file target if you need durable evidence (especially when coordinating across teams). Document what “good” looks like before you enable the session (e.g., confirm whether the history table exists and whether it’s being written to), using the troubleshooting query from Microsoft docs. Common troubleshooting steps (when the audit session “doesn’t capture anything”) When you set up a targeted Extended Events session like CTXEvent, there are usually three places where things can go wrong: (1) Change Tracking state, (2) XEvent session scope/permissions, or (3) the target (storage/credential). The checklist below is written to help you isolate which layer is failing—quickly, and with minimal guesswork. 1) First, validate the Change Tracking baseline (so you’re not “tracing a ghost”) Does the history table exist—and is it expected to exist? Microsoft’s Change Tracking guidance uses dbo.MSChange_tracking_history as the first place to look for cleanup status and errors. If the table doesn’t exist, that can be a signal that auto-cleanup has never run (or hasn’t run since CT was re-enabled). Check whether auto-cleanup is enabled and whether it’s been running recently. The Change Tracking troubleshooting doc recommends checking sys.change_tracking_databases (to validate auto-cleanup is enabled) and querying the history table for recent entries (to validate cleanup is actually running). If dbo.MSChange_tracking_history is missing, confirm whether that’s due to CT lifecycle. A common “gotcha” is assuming the history table is created the moment CT is enabled. In practice, the table can be missing if CT was disabled and then re-enabled, or if only manual cleanup was used—because the history table is tied to auto-cleanup behavior. Why this matters: If the history table never existed (or is missing for expected reasons), your “history table drop” symptom might actually be a different behavior than a true DDL DROP—and you’ll want to confirm the CT lifecycle first before you rely on drop-auditing as the primary signal. 2) Confirm the Extended Events session is created in the right place (Azure SQL DB specifics) Make sure the session is database-scoped (Azure SQL Database requirement). In Azure SQL Database, Extended Events sessions are always database-scoped, and the event_file target writes to Azure Storage blobs (not local disk). If you accidentally create or manage the session as if it were server-scoped, you’ll hit confusing errors or see “no data.” Confirm you created the session in a user database (not master). Azure SQL Database doesn’t support creating database-scoped sessions from master. If you try, you can run into failures that look like target/session problems but are actually scope issues. Verify permissions: least privilege that still works. If the session creation/alter/start fails silently (or you can’t start it), confirm the principal has the right database permission. A practical minimum that works for managing DB-scoped sessions is ALTER ANY DATABASE EVENT SESSION (instead of granting broad CONTROL/db_owner). 3) If you’re using event_file: storage + credential is the most common failure point If the session starts but no .xel ever shows up, focus here first—because event_file in Azure SQL DB depends on a correct Storage setup. Validate the “happy path” prerequisites (in order): Storage account exists and a container exists. The Database Engine has access to that container either via RBAC (managed identity) or via a SAS token. A credential is created in the same database where the session is created. Microsoft’s event_file walkthrough is explicit about these steps, and missing any one of them can cause “target initialization” or “no output” symptoms. Quick diagnostic: temporarily switch to an in-memory target to prove events are firing. The Azure SQL Extended Events guidance notes you can use a ring_buffer target as a quick way to validate that the session is collecting events (without involving storage). If ring_buffer shows events but event_file does not, the issue is almost certainly storage/credential access. Common “it looks correct but still fails” causes (practical): You created the credential in the wrong database (or the session is in a different DB than the credential). The container permissions don’t actually include write access for the engine identity/token. The session was created correctly but never started (especially if STARTUP_STATE = OFF). 4) If you do capture events, but can’t attribute “who did it” Once the session is logging events, attribution usually comes down to having the right actions attached. The docs emphasize that Extended Events are designed to collect “as much or as little as necessary,” and in investigations you typically want the “who/what/where” context: app name, hostname, username, session_id, sql_text, etc. Practical tip: Start with your curated set of actions (like client_app_name, client_hostname, username, session_id, and sql_text), and only add more fields if you still can’t triangulate the origin. This keeps overhead and noise down while staying evidence driven. 5) If the table drop is periodic (hourly / scheduled), treat it like an automation clue In real customer scenarios, the symptom can be “history table disappears repeatedly,” which makes it especially important to correlate drops with client_app_name / hostname / username (and optionally transaction/session details) to determine whether this is a scheduled job, maintenance task, or application behavior. This is exactly the type of “pattern identification” where XEvents tends to outperform ad-hoc guessing. Quick “decision tree” summary History table missing? Start with CT lifecycle + auto-cleanup checks. Session exists but captures nothing? Confirm DB scope + permissions. Captures to ring_buffer but not to event_file? Storage/credential access problem. Captures events but no “who”? Add/verify the right actions (client_app_name/hostname/username/sql_text). References Extended Events QuickStart and overview (applies to Azure SQL Database). Change Tracking cleanup troubleshooting and history table usage (dbo.MSChange_tracking_history). Event File target for Azure SQL Database stored in Azure Storage + steps (RBAC/SAS + credential). Reading XEL output from blob using sys.fn_xe_file_target_read_file.
