[BUG][Spark] Syntax Error with Convert to Delta with a Partitioned By on Timestamp Column, works on date

[kaushikjnayak]

Bug

Which Delta project/connector is this regarding?

• Spark
• Standalone
• Flink
• Kernel
• Other (fill in here)

Describe the problem

CONVERT TO DELTA fails with Syntax Error when we add a TIMESTAMP column in the PARTITIONED BY clause. When I change it to date it works.

Steps to reproduce

1. Copy parquet Files produced by Spark .write.format("parquet").partitionBy on a timestamp column into a folder in AWS S3. eg parquet_path/event_time_partition=2025-02-19 13%3A00%3A00
2. Run in spark.sql with Delta configurations.

CONVERT TO DELTA parquet.`s3://bucket/path/to/parquet_path` PARTITIONED BY ( event_timestamp timestamp)

3. Change timestamp to date, it works(not intended)

CONVERT TO DELTA parquet.`s3://bucket/path/to/parquet_path` PARTITIONED BY ( event_timestamp date)

Observed results

ParseException: 
[PARSE_SYNTAX_ERROR] Syntax error at or near 'CONVERT'.(line 1, pos 0)

== SQL ==
CONVERT TO DELTA parquet.`s3://bucket/path/to/parquet_path` PARTITIONED BY ( event_timestamp timestamp)
^^^

Expected results

I want to know if this is unsupported. If yes, it should be correctly indicated. Now it is confusing. Also, If I change timestamp to date type it works but that is not the expectation.

Further details

Environment information

• Delta Lake version: 3.2.0
• Spark version: 3.5.1
• Scala version: 2.12

Willingness to contribute

The Delta Lake Community encourages bug fix contributions. Would you or another member of your organization be willing to contribute a fix for this bug to the Delta Lake code base?

• Yes. I can contribute a fix for this bug independently.
• Yes. I would be willing to contribute a fix for this bug with guidance from the Delta Lake community.
• No. I cannot contribute a bug fix at this time.