Embodiments incrementally refresh a clone of a source PDB while the source PDB accepts write operations. Specifically, refreshing the PDB clone incorporates changes made to the source PDB since a refresh reference time stamp, which marks the time at which the PDB clone was created or, if the PDB clone has been previously refreshed, the time at which the PDB clone was last refreshed. A PDB clone is incrementally refreshed by incorporating, into the PDB clone data, those source data blocks that have changed since the refresh reference time stamp. Recovery is performed on the PDB clone, once the blocks are copied, to apply any changes made to the source PDB while the blocks were being copied, which recovery makes the PDB clone files consistent. This recovery is based on redo entries recorded for the source PDB during the time it took to copy the blocks to the PDB clone.