Control winner re-election after origin contributor detachment
Learn how Reltio reassigns the winner when the origin contributor is unmerged, and how to enable this behavior in your tenant configuration.
- The unmerge method (manual or automatic)
- The status of the
NEW_WINNER_ELECTED_ON_ORIGIN_DETACHMENTfeature flag
For new tenants, Reltio enables this feature by default and selects a new winner from the remaining contributors instead of creating a shell composite. Existing tenants retain their current setting.
Manual unmerge
When you manually detach the origin contributor, the outcome depends on the feature status:
- Feature enabled (default for new tenants): A new winner is elected from the remaining contributors.
- Feature disabled: A shell composite is created for the remaining contributors. This shell doesn't represent a real source record and can't exist outside the merge context.
Automatic unmerge
For new tenants, Reltio allows automatic detachment of the origin contributor by default and elects a new winner from the remaining contributors. Automatic detachment of the origin contributor requires winner re-election to be enabled. Existing tenants where winner re-election was never enabled, and any tenant that later disables it, cannot use automatic detachment.
Outcomes by unmerge method and flag status
| Feature | Operation | Resulting Objects | Winner after Unmerge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enabled (default for new tenants) | Manual Unmerge of E1 | Standalone E1 Composite (E2, E3, ...) | E2 is the new winner |
| Automatic Unmerge of E1 | Standalone E1 Composite (E2, E3, ...) | ||
| Disabled
(default for existing tenants) | Manual Unmerge of E1 (always allowed) | Standalone E1 E_shell (E2, E3, ...) | E_shell is the winner (contains only former losers) |
| Automatic Unmerge of E1 | Not allowed |
— |
Winner selection logic
enabled:- Only the origin is detached.
- The remaining contributors stay merged.
- The new winner is the one with the oldest
reltioLoadDate. - If there's a tie, the contributor with the lexicographically smallest ID wins.
- All others are marked as losers under the new winner.
By electing a real contributor as the new winner — instead of creating a shell — Reltio improves survivorship consistency, ensures data continuity, and increases reliability when unmerging profiles with complex contributor histories.
Tenant configuration
For new tenants, winner re-election is enabled by default. Existing tenants keep the value already configured for them. Contact Reltio Support to change the setting for your tenant.
InTenant Management, the read-only New winner elected on origin detachment field shows the current setting. Enabled means Reltio elects a new winner from the remaining contributors when the origin contributor is detached. Disabled means a shell composite is created for the remaining contributors.