# Warn when a table stops updating

A table that can quietly stop updating, given a check that warns instead of showing last week's numbers.

Category: Pipelines and warehouse
Source: https://letsship.ai/use-cases/add-freshness-checks
Published: 2026-08-25

## Goal

Add a freshness check to a table so staleness raises instead of rendering quietly.

## Acceptance criteria

- The check fails when the table is deliberately stalled
- The threshold matches the table's real update cadence
- It alerts an owner rather than only failing a job
- Downstream dashboards indicate staleness rather than showing old numbers as current

## What lands as proof

A deliberately stalled table failing the check, which proves the alarm is wired rather than merely configured.

## Prompt

Copy this to an agent to open the ticket:

```text
Create a Linear issue in my team and assign it to the SHIP agent.

Title: Add a freshness check to {table}

Description: Add a freshness check to a table so staleness raises instead of rendering quietly.

Acceptance criteria:
- The check fails when the table is deliberately stalled
- The threshold matches the table's real update cadence
- It alerts an owner rather than only failing a job
- Downstream dashboards indicate staleness rather than showing old numbers as current

Before you create the issue, list this repository's warehouse tables and their expected cadence, then replace {table} with the most-used one lacking a check.
```

## Questions

### What does the agent actually change?

The ticket is scoped to one outcome: add a freshness check to a table so staleness raises instead of rendering quietly. Work that serves that outcome is in scope, and anything outside it is left for a separate ticket, so the pull request stays reviewable.

### How do I know the work is done?

The pull request carries the evidence, not only the diff. Here that means the check fails against a deliberately stalled table, so a reviewer can confirm the result without reproducing the work locally.

### How much oversight does this need?

None is required before the run starts. Every claim this ticket makes can be checked by machine, so the agent works straight through and a person reviews the finished pull request like any other.