diff --git a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/compact.go b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/compact.go
index acc4adc51..21b6ae75c 100644
--- a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/compact.go
+++ b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/compact.go
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ func (h *Handler) compactDataFiles(
 		}
 
 		mergedFileName := fmt.Sprintf("compact-%d-%d-%s-%d.parquet", snapshotID, newSnapID, artifactSuffix, binIdx)
-		mergedFilePath := path.Join("data", mergedFileName)
+		mergedFilePath := absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "data", mergedFileName)
 
 		var mergedData []byte
 		var recordCount int64
@@ -408,7 +408,7 @@ func (h *Handler) compactDataFiles(
 		var manifestBuf bytes.Buffer
 		manifestFileName := fmt.Sprintf("compact-%d-%s-spec%d.avro", newSnapID, artifactSuffix, se.specID)
 		newManifest, err := iceberg.WriteManifest(
-			path.Join("metadata", manifestFileName),
+			absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "metadata", manifestFileName),
 			&manifestBuf,
 			version,
 			ps,
@@ -470,7 +470,7 @@ func (h *Handler) compactDataFiles(
 	writtenArtifacts = append(writtenArtifacts, artifact{dir: metaDir, fileName: manifestListFileName})
 
 	// Commit: add new snapshot and update main branch ref
-	manifestListLocation := path.Join("metadata", manifestListFileName)
+	manifestListLocation := absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "metadata", manifestListFileName)
 	err = h.commitWithRetry(ctx, filerClient, bucketName, tablePath, metadataFileName, config, func(currentMeta table.Metadata, builder *table.MetadataBuilder) error {
 		// Guard: verify table head hasn't advanced since we planned.
 		cs := currentMeta.CurrentSnapshot()
diff --git a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/delete_rewrite.go b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/delete_rewrite.go
index 8e0c4f167..4b5e3fb81 100644
--- a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/delete_rewrite.go
+++ b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/delete_rewrite.go
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ func (h *Handler) rewritePositionDeleteFiles(
 			dfBuilder, err := iceberg.NewDataFileBuilder(
 				spec,
 				iceberg.EntryContentPosDeletes,
-				path.Join("data", fileName),
+				absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "data", fileName),
 				iceberg.ParquetFile,
 				group.Partition,
 				nil, nil,
@@ -512,7 +512,7 @@ func (h *Handler) rewritePositionDeleteFiles(
 			return "", nil, fmt.Errorf("partition spec %d not found", specID)
 		}
 		manifestName := fmt.Sprintf("rewrite-delete-%d-%s-spec%d.avro", newSnapID, artifactSuffix, specID)
-		manifestPath := path.Join("metadata", manifestName)
+		manifestPath := absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "metadata", manifestName)
 		mf, manifestBytes, err := writeManifestWithContent(
 			manifestPath,
 			version,
@@ -542,7 +542,7 @@ func (h *Handler) rewritePositionDeleteFiles(
 	}
 	writtenArtifacts = append(writtenArtifacts, artifact{dir: metaDir, fileName: manifestListName})
 
-	manifestListLocation := path.Join("metadata", manifestListName)
+	manifestListLocation := absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "metadata", manifestListName)
 	err = h.commitWithRetry(ctx, filerClient, bucketName, tablePath, metadataFileName, config, func(currentMeta table.Metadata, builder *table.MetadataBuilder) error {
 		cs := currentMeta.CurrentSnapshot()
 		if cs == nil || cs.SnapshotID != snapshotID {
diff --git a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/exec_test.go b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/exec_test.go
index 2ac29356e..c728766c5 100644
--- a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/exec_test.go
+++ b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/exec_test.go
@@ -766,6 +766,53 @@ func TestRewriteManifestsExecution(t *testing.T) {
 	if updates == 0 {
 		t.Error("expected at least one UpdateEntry call for xattr update")
 	}
+
+	// The spec requires absolute locations — strict readers (Spark/Trino via
+	// S3FileIO) reject scheme-less paths, so verify every written location.
+	wantPrefix := "s3://test-bucket/analytics/events/metadata/"
+	newMeta, _, err := loadCurrentMetadata(context.Background(), client, setup.BucketName, setup.tablePath())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("reload metadata: %v", err)
+	}
+	newSnap := newMeta.CurrentSnapshot()
+	if newSnap == nil || !strings.HasPrefix(newSnap.ManifestList, wantPrefix+"snap-") {
+		t.Fatalf("new snapshot manifest list should be absolute, got %+v", newSnap)
+	}
+	foundPreviousEntry := false
+	for mle := range newMeta.PreviousFiles() {
+		if mle.MetadataFile == wantPrefix+"v1.metadata.json" {
+			foundPreviousEntry = true
+		}
+	}
+	if !foundPreviousEntry {
+		t.Error("metadata-log should record the previous metadata file at its absolute location")
+	}
+	mlData, err := loadFileByIcebergPath(context.Background(), client, setup.BucketName, setup.tablePath(), newSnap.ManifestList)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("load new manifest list: %v", err)
+	}
+	newManifests, err := iceberg.ReadManifestList(bytes.NewReader(mlData))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("parse new manifest list: %v", err)
+	}
+	for _, mf := range newManifests {
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(mf.FilePath(), wantPrefix+"merged-") {
+			t.Errorf("merged manifest path should be absolute, got %q", mf.FilePath())
+		}
+	}
+	tableEntry := fs.getEntry(path.Join(s3tables.TablesPath, setup.BucketName, setup.Namespace), setup.TableName)
+	if tableEntry == nil {
+		t.Fatal("table entry missing")
+	}
+	var xattrMeta struct {
+		MetadataLocation string `json:"metadataLocation"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(tableEntry.Extended[s3tables.ExtendedKeyMetadata], &xattrMeta); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unmarshal table xattr: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(xattrMeta.MetadataLocation, wantPrefix+"v2-") {
+		t.Errorf("xattr metadataLocation should be absolute, got %q", xattrMeta.MetadataLocation)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestRewriteManifestsBelowThreshold(t *testing.T) {
@@ -3318,7 +3365,7 @@ func TestRewritePositionDeleteFilesExecution(t *testing.T) {
 	if len(liveDeletePaths) != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("expected 1 live rewritten delete file, got %v", liveDeletePaths)
 	}
-	if !strings.HasPrefix(liveDeletePaths[0], "data/rewrite-delete-") {
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(liveDeletePaths[0], "s3://tb/ns/tbl/data/rewrite-delete-") {
 		t.Fatalf("expected rewritten delete file path, got %q", liveDeletePaths[0])
 	}
 }
@@ -3545,7 +3592,7 @@ func TestRewritePositionDeleteFilesPreservesUnsupportedMultiTargetDeletes(t *tes
 	if posPaths[0] != "data/pd3.parquet" && posPaths[1] != "data/pd3.parquet" {
 		t.Fatalf("expected multi-target delete file to be preserved, got %v", posPaths)
 	}
-	if !strings.HasPrefix(posPaths[0], "data/rewrite-delete-") && !strings.HasPrefix(posPaths[1], "data/rewrite-delete-") {
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(posPaths[0], "s3://tb/ns/tbl/data/rewrite-delete-") && !strings.HasPrefix(posPaths[1], "s3://tb/ns/tbl/data/rewrite-delete-") {
 		t.Fatalf("expected rewritten delete file to remain live, got %v", posPaths)
 	}
 }
@@ -3614,7 +3661,7 @@ func TestRewritePositionDeleteFilesRebuildsMixedDeleteManifests(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	posPaths, eqPaths := loadLiveDeleteFilePaths(t, client, setup.BucketName, setup.tablePath())
-	if len(posPaths) != 1 || !strings.HasPrefix(posPaths[0], "data/rewrite-delete-") {
+	if len(posPaths) != 1 || !strings.HasPrefix(posPaths[0], "s3://tb/ns/tbl/data/rewrite-delete-") {
 		t.Fatalf("expected only the rewritten position delete file to remain live, got %v", posPaths)
 	}
 	if len(eqPaths) != 1 || eqPaths[0] != "data/eq1.parquet" {
diff --git a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/filer_io.go b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/filer_io.go
index 406ae4560..ba338f13f 100644
--- a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/filer_io.go
+++ b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/filer_io.go
@@ -251,6 +251,16 @@ func normalizeIcebergPath(icebergPath, bucketName, tablePath string) string {
 	return p
 }
 
+// absoluteIcebergPath is the inverse of normalizeIcebergPath: it builds the
+// absolute s3:// URI for a file under the table root. The Iceberg spec
+// requires absolute locations in metadata — strict readers (Spark/Trino via
+// S3FileIO) reject paths with no scheme. The base is derived from
+// bucketName/tablePath because that is where this package physically writes
+// every file, regardless of the location recorded in the table metadata.
+func absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath string, elem ...string) string {
+	return "s3://" + path.Join(append([]string{bucketName, tablePath}, elem...)...)
+}
+
 // saveFilerFile saves a file to the filer.
 func saveFilerFile(ctx context.Context, client filer_pb.SeaweedFilerClient, dir, fileName string, content []byte) error {
 	resp, err := client.CreateEntry(ctx, &filer_pb.CreateEntryRequest{
@@ -285,8 +295,9 @@ func deleteFilerFile(ctx context.Context, client filer_pb.SeaweedFilerClient, di
 // writing and passes the previous metadata xattr back to the filer as a
 // server-side precondition so concurrent writers fail with a retryable
 // metadata version conflict.
-// newMetadataLocation is the table-relative path to the new metadata file
-// (e.g. "metadata/v3.metadata.json").
+// newMetadataLocation is the absolute location of the new metadata file
+// (e.g. "s3://bucket/ns/table/metadata/v3.metadata.json"), matching the form
+// the S3 Tables catalog stores.
 func updateTableMetadataXattr(ctx context.Context, client filer_pb.SeaweedFilerClient, tableDir string, expectedVersion int, newFullMetadata []byte, newMetadataLocation string) error {
 	tableName := path.Base(tableDir)
 	parentDir := path.Dir(tableDir)
diff --git a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/operations.go b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/operations.go
index 8a946a2be..3430d7703 100644
--- a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/operations.go
+++ b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/operations.go
@@ -456,7 +456,7 @@ func (h *Handler) rewriteManifests(
 	for _, se := range specMap {
 		totalEntries += len(se.entries)
 		manifestFileName := fmt.Sprintf("merged-%d-%s-spec%d.avro", newSnapshotID, artifactSuffix, se.specID)
-		manifestPath := path.Join("metadata", manifestFileName)
+		manifestPath := absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "metadata", manifestFileName)
 
 		var manifestBuf bytes.Buffer
 		mergedManifest, err := iceberg.WriteManifest(
@@ -500,7 +500,7 @@ func (h *Handler) rewriteManifests(
 	writtenArtifacts = append(writtenArtifacts, artifact{dir: metaDir, fileName: manifestListFileName})
 
 	// Create new snapshot with the rewritten manifest list
-	manifestListLocation := path.Join("metadata", manifestListFileName)
+	manifestListLocation := absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "metadata", manifestListFileName)
 
 	err = h.commitWithRetry(ctx, filerClient, bucketName, tablePath, metadataFileName, config, func(currentMeta table.Metadata, builder *table.MetadataBuilder) error {
 		// Guard: verify table head hasn't advanced since we planned.
@@ -590,9 +590,9 @@ func (h *Handler) commitWithRetry(
 			return fmt.Errorf("load metadata (attempt %d): %w", attempt, err)
 		}
 
-		// Build new metadata — pass the current metadata file path so the
+		// Build new metadata — pass the current metadata file location so the
 		// metadata log correctly records where the previous version lives.
-		currentMetaFilePath := path.Join("metadata", metaFileName)
+		currentMetaFilePath := absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "metadata", metaFileName)
 		builder, err := table.MetadataBuilderFromBase(meta, currentMetaFilePath)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("create metadata builder (attempt %d): %w", attempt, err)
@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@ func (h *Handler) commitWithRetry(
 
 		// Update the table entry's xattr with new metadata (CAS on version)
 		tableDir := path.Join(s3tables.TablesPath, bucketName, tablePath)
-		newMetadataLocation := path.Join("metadata", newMetadataFileName)
+		newMetadataLocation := absoluteIcebergPath(bucketName, tablePath, "metadata", newMetadataFileName)
 		err = updateTableMetadataXattr(ctx, filerClient, tableDir, currentVersion, metadataBytes, newMetadataLocation)
 		if err != nil {
 			// Use a detached context for cleanup so staged files are removed
diff --git a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/where_filter_test.go b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/where_filter_test.go
index 46290648b..f62149a94 100644
--- a/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/where_filter_test.go
+++ b/weed/worker/tasks/iceberg/where_filter_test.go
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ func TestCompactDataFilesWhereFilter(t *testing.T) {
 	var compactedCount int
 	for _, p := range liveDataPaths {
 		switch {
-		case strings.HasPrefix(p, "data/compact-"):
+		case strings.HasPrefix(p, "s3://tb/ns/tbl/data/compact-"):
 			compactedCount++
 		case p == "data/eu-1.parquet", p == "data/eu-2.parquet":
 		default: