Creating partitioned tables
This page describes how to create partitioned tables in BigQuery. For an overview of partitioned tables, see Introduction to partitioned tables.
Before you begin
Grant Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles that give users the necessary permissions to perform each task in this document.
Required permissions
To create a table, you need the following IAM permissions:
bigquery.tables.create
bigquery.tables.updateData
bigquery.jobs.create
Additionally, you might require the bigquery.tables.getData
permission to
access the data that you write to the table.
Each of the following predefined IAM roles includes the permissions that you need in order to create a table:
roles/bigquery.dataEditor
roles/bigquery.dataOwner
roles/bigquery.admin
(includes thebigquery.jobs.create
permission)roles/bigquery.user
(includes thebigquery.jobs.create
permission)roles/bigquery.jobUser
(includes thebigquery.jobs.create
permission)
Additionally, if you have the bigquery.datasets.create
permission, you can
create and update tables in the datasets that you create.
For more information on IAM roles and permissions in BigQuery, see Predefined roles and permissions.
Create an empty partitioned table
The steps to create a partitioned table in BigQuery are similar to creating a standard table, except that you specify the partitioning options, along with any other table options.
Create a time-unit column-partitioned table
To create an empty time-unit column-partitioned table with a schema definition:
Console
In the Google Cloud console, go to the BigQuery page.
- In the Explorer pane, expand your project, and then select a dataset.
- In the Dataset info section, click Create table.
- In the Create table panel, specify the following details:
- In the Source section, select Empty table in the Create table from list.
- In the Destination section, specify the following details:
- For Dataset, select the dataset in which you want to create the table.
- In the Table field, enter the name of the table that you want to create.
- Verify that the Table type field is set to Native table.
- In the Schema section, enter the schema
definition.
The
schema must include a
DATE
,TIMESTAMP
, orDATETIME
column for the partitioning column. For more information, see Specifying a schema. You can enter schema information manually by using one of the following methods:- Option 1: Click Edit as text and paste the schema in the form of a
JSON array. When you use a JSON array, you generate the schema using the
same process as creating a JSON schema file.
You can view the schema of an existing table in JSON format by entering the following
command:
bq show --format=prettyjson dataset.table
- Option 2: Click Type, and Mode. Add field and enter the table schema. Specify each field's Name,
- Option 1: Click Edit as text and paste the schema in the form of a
JSON array. When you use a JSON array, you generate the schema using the
same process as creating a JSON schema file.
You can view the schema of an existing table in JSON format by entering the following
command:
- In the Partition and cluster settings section, in the
Partitioning list, select Partition by field, and then
choose the partitioning column. This option is only available if the
schema contains a
DATE
,TIMESTAMP
, orDATETIME
column. - Optional: To require a partition filter on all queries for this table, select the Require partition filter checkbox. A partition filter can reduce cost and improve performance. For more information, see Set partition filter requirements.
- Select the Partitioning type to choose daily, hourly, monthly, or yearly partitioning.
- Optional: In the Advanced options section, if you want to use a customer-managed encryption key, then select the Use a customer-managed encryption key (CMEK) option. By default, BigQuery encrypts customer content stored at rest by using a Google-owned and Google-managed key.
- Click Create table.
SQL
To create a time-unit column-partitioned table, use the
CREATE TABLE
DDL statement
with a PARTITION BY
clause.
The following example creates a table with daily partitions based on the
transaction_date
column:
In the Google Cloud console, go to the BigQuery page.
In the query editor, enter the following statement:
CREATE TABLE mydataset.newtable (transaction_id INT64, transaction_date DATE) PARTITION BY transaction_date OPTIONS ( partition_expiration_days = 3, require_partition_filter = TRUE);
Use the
OPTIONS
clause to set table options such as the partition expiration and the partition filter requirements.Click
Run.
For more information about how to run queries, see Run an interactive query.
The default partitioning type for DATE
columns is daily partitioning. To
specify a different partitioning type, include the
DATE_TRUNC
function in the PARTITION BY
clause. For example, the following query
creates a table with monthly partitions:
CREATE TABLE mydataset.newtable (transaction_id INT64, transaction_date DATE) PARTITION BY DATE_TRUNC(transaction_date, MONTH) OPTIONS ( partition_expiration_days = 3, require_partition_filter = TRUE);
You can also specify a TIMESTAMP
or DATETIME
column as the partitioning
column. In that case, include the TIMESTAMP_TRUNC
or DATETIME_TRUNC
function in the PARTITION BY
clause to specify the partition type. For
example, the following statement creates a table with daily partitions based
on a TIMESTAMP
column:
CREATE TABLE mydataset.newtable (transaction_id INT64, transaction_ts TIMESTAMP) PARTITION BY TIMESTAMP_TRUNC(transaction_ts, DAY) OPTIONS ( partition_expiration_days = 3, require_partition_filter = TRUE);
bq
-
In the Google Cloud console, activate Cloud Shell.
At the bottom of the Google Cloud console, a Cloud Shell session starts and displays a command-line prompt. Cloud Shell is a shell environment with the Google Cloud CLI already installed and with values already set for your current project. It can take a few seconds for the session to initialize.
Use the
bq mk
command with the--table
flag (or-t
shortcut):bq mk \ --table \ --schema SCHEMA \ --time_partitioning_field COLUMN \ --time_partitioning_type UNIT_TIME \ --time_partitioning_expiration EXPIRATION_TIME \ --require_partition_filter=BOOLEAN PROJECT_ID:DATASET.TABLE
Replace the following:
- SCHEMA: A schema definition in the format
column:data_type,column:data_type
or the path to a JSON schema file on your local machine. For more information, see Specifying a schema. - COLUMN: The name of the partitioning column. In the table
schema, this column must be a
TIMESTAMP
,DATETIME
, orDATE
type. - UNIT_TIME: The partitioning type. Supported values
include
DAY
,HOUR
,MONTH
, orYEAR
. - EXPIRATION_TIME: The expiration time for the table's
partitions, in seconds. The
--time_partitioning_expiration
flag is optional. For more information, see Set the partition expiration. - BOOLEAN: If
true
then queries on this table must include a partition filter. The--require_partition_filter
flag is optional. For more information, see Set partition filter requirements. - PROJECT_ID: The project ID. If omitted, your default project is used.
- DATASET: The name of a dataset in your project.
- TABLE: The name of the table to create.
For other command-line options, see
bq mk
.The following example creates a table named
mytable
that is partitioned on thets
column, using hourly partitioning. The partition expiration is 259,200 seconds (3 days).bq mk \ -t \ --schema 'ts:TIMESTAMP,qtr:STRING,sales:FLOAT' \ --time_partitioning_field ts \ --time_partitioning_type HOUR \ --time_partitioning_expiration 259200 \ mydataset.mytable
- SCHEMA: A schema definition in the format
Terraform
Use the
google_bigquery_table
resource.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
The following example creates a table named mytable
that is partitioned
by day:
To apply your Terraform configuration in a Google Cloud project, complete the steps in the following sections.
Prepare Cloud Shell
- Launch Cloud Shell.
-
Set the default Google Cloud project where you want to apply your Terraform configurations.
You only need to run this command once per project, and you can run it in any directory.
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=PROJECT_ID
Environment variables are overridden if you set explicit values in the Terraform configuration file.
Prepare the directory
Each Terraform configuration file must have its own directory (also called a root module).
-
In Cloud Shell, create a directory and a new
file within that directory. The filename must have the
.tf
extension—for examplemain.tf
. In this tutorial, the file is referred to asmain.tf
.mkdir DIRECTORY && cd DIRECTORY && touch main.tf
-
If you are following a tutorial, you can copy the sample code in each section or step.
Copy the sample code into the newly created
main.tf
.Optionally, copy the code from GitHub. This is recommended when the Terraform snippet is part of an end-to-end solution.
- Review and modify the sample parameters to apply to your environment.
- Save your changes.
-
Initialize Terraform. You only need to do this once per directory.
terraform init
Optionally, to use the latest Google provider version, include the
-upgrade
option:terraform init -upgrade
Apply the changes
-
Review the configuration and verify that the resources that Terraform is going to create or
update match your expectations:
terraform plan
Make corrections to the configuration as necessary.
-
Apply the Terraform configuration by running the following command and entering
yes
at the prompt:terraform apply
Wait until Terraform displays the "Apply complete!" message.
- Open your Google Cloud project to view the results. In the Google Cloud console, navigate to your resources in the UI to make sure that Terraform has created or updated them.
API
Call the tables.insert
method with a defined table resource
that specifies the timePartitioning
property and the schema
property.
Go
Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the BigQuery quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Go API reference documentation.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
Java
Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the BigQuery quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Java API reference documentation.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
Node.js
Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the BigQuery quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Node.js API reference documentation.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
Python
Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the BigQuery quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Python API reference documentation.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
Create an ingestion-time partitioned table
To create an empty ingestion-time partitioned table with a schema definition:
Console
Open the BigQuery page in the Google Cloud console.
In the Explorer panel, expand your project and select a dataset.
Expand the
Actions option and click Open.In the details panel, click Create table
.On the Create table page, in the Source section, select Empty table.
In the Destination section:
- For Dataset name, choose the appropriate dataset.
- In the Table name field, enter the name of the table.
- Verify that Table type is set to Native table.
In the Schema section, enter the schema definition.
In the Partition and cluster settings section, for Partitioning, click Partition by ingestion time.
(Optional) To require a partition filter on all queries for this table, select the Require partition filter checkbox. Requiring a partition filter can reduce cost and improve performance. For more information, see Set partition filter requirements.
Click Create table.
SQL
To create an ingestion-time partitioned table, use the
CREATE TABLE
statement
with a PARTITION BY
clause
that partitions on _PARTITIONDATE
.
The following example creates a table with daily partitions:
In the Google Cloud console, go to the BigQuery page.
In the query editor, enter the following statement:
CREATE TABLE mydataset.newtable (transaction_id INT64) PARTITION BY _PARTITIONDATE OPTIONS ( partition_expiration_days = 3, require_partition_filter = TRUE);
Use the
OPTIONS
clause to set table options such as the partition expiration and the partition filter requirements.Click
Run.
For more information about how to run queries, see Run an interactive query.
The default partitioning type for ingestion-time partitioning is daily
partitioning. To specify a different partitioning type, include the
DATE_TRUNC
function in the PARTITION BY
clause. For example, the following query
creates a table with monthly partitions:
CREATE TABLE mydataset.newtable (transaction_id INT64) PARTITION BY DATE_TRUNC(_PARTITIONTIME, MONTH) OPTIONS ( partition_expiration_days = 3, require_partition_filter = TRUE);
bq
-
In the Google Cloud console, activate Cloud Shell.
At the bottom of the Google Cloud console, a Cloud Shell session starts and displays a command-line prompt. Cloud Shell is a shell environment with the Google Cloud CLI already installed and with values already set for your current project. It can take a few seconds for the session to initialize.
Use the
bq mk
command with the--table
flag (or-t
shortcut):bq mk \ --table \ --schema SCHEMA \ --time_partitioning_type UNIT_TIME \ --time_partitioning_expiration EXPIRATION_TIME \ --require_partition_filter=BOOLEAN \ PROJECT_ID:DATASET.TABLE
Replace the following:
- SCHEMA: A definition in the format
column:data_type,column:data_type
or the path to a JSON schema file on your local machine. For more information, see Specifying a schema. - UNIT_TIME: The partitioning type. Supported values
include
DAY
,HOUR
,MONTH
, orYEAR
. - EXPIRATION_TIME: The expiration time for the table's
partitions, in seconds. The
--time_partitioning_expiration
flag is optional. For more information, see Set the partition expiration. - BOOLEAN: If
true
then queries on this table must include a partition filter. The--require_partition_filter
flag is optional. For more information, see Set partition filter requirements. - PROJECT_ID: The project ID. If omitted, your default project is used.
- DATASET: The name of a dataset in your project.
- TABLE: The name of the table to create.
For other command-line options, see
bq mk
.The following example creates an ingestion-time partitioned table named
mytable
. The table has daily partitioning, with a partition expiration of 259,200 seconds (3 days).bq mk \ -t \ --schema qtr:STRING,sales:FLOAT,year:STRING \ --time_partitioning_type DAY \ --time_partitioning_expiration 259200 \ mydataset.mytable
- SCHEMA: A definition in the format
Terraform
Use the
google_bigquery_table
resource.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
The following example creates a table named mytable
that is partitioned
by ingestion time:
To apply your Terraform configuration in a Google Cloud project, complete the steps in the following sections.
Prepare Cloud Shell
- Launch Cloud Shell.
-
Set the default Google Cloud project where you want to apply your Terraform configurations.
You only need to run this command once per project, and you can run it in any directory.
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=PROJECT_ID
Environment variables are overridden if you set explicit values in the Terraform configuration file.
Prepare the directory
Each Terraform configuration file must have its own directory (also called a root module).
-
In Cloud Shell, create a directory and a new
file within that directory. The filename must have the
.tf
extension—for examplemain.tf
. In this tutorial, the file is referred to asmain.tf
.mkdir DIRECTORY && cd DIRECTORY && touch main.tf
-
If you are following a tutorial, you can copy the sample code in each section or step.
Copy the sample code into the newly created
main.tf
.Optionally, copy the code from GitHub. This is recommended when the Terraform snippet is part of an end-to-end solution.
- Review and modify the sample parameters to apply to your environment.
- Save your changes.
-
Initialize Terraform. You only need to do this once per directory.
terraform init
Optionally, to use the latest Google provider version, include the
-upgrade
option:terraform init -upgrade
Apply the changes
-
Review the configuration and verify that the resources that Terraform is going to create or
update match your expectations:
terraform plan
Make corrections to the configuration as necessary.
-
Apply the Terraform configuration by running the following command and entering
yes
at the prompt:terraform apply
Wait until Terraform displays the "Apply complete!" message.
- Open your Google Cloud project to view the results. In the Google Cloud console, navigate to your resources in the UI to make sure that Terraform has created or updated them.
API
Call the tables.insert
method with a defined table resource
that specifies the timePartitioning
property and the schema
property.
Create an integer-range partitioned table
To create an empty integer-range partitioned table with a schema definition:
Console
Open the BigQuery page in the Google Cloud console.
In the Explorer panel, expand your project and select a dataset.
Expand the
Actions option and click Open.In the details panel, click Create table
.On the Create table page, in the Source section, select Empty table.
In the Destination section:
- For Dataset name, choose the appropriate dataset.
- In the Table name field, enter the name of the table.
- Verify that Table type is set to Native table.
In the Schema section, enter the schema definition. Make sure the schema includes an
INTEGER
column for the partitioning column. For more information, see Specifying a schema.In the Partition and cluster settings section, in the Partitioning drop-down list, select Partition by field and choose the partitioning column. This option is only available if the schema contains an
INTEGER
column.Provide values for Start, End, and Interval:
- Start is the start of first partition range (inclusive).
- End is the end of last partition range (exclusive).
- Interval is the width of each partition range.
Values outside of these ranges go into a special
__UNPARTITIONED__
partition.(Optional) To require a partition filter on all queries for this table, select the Require partition filter checkbox. Requiring a partition filter can reduce cost and improve performance. For more information, see Set partition filter requirements.
Click Create table.
SQL
To create an integer-range partitioned table, use the
CREATE TABLE
DDL statement
with a PARTITION BY
clause.
The following example creates a table that is partitioned on the
customer_id
column with start 0, end 100, and interval 10:
In the Google Cloud console, go to the BigQuery page.
In the query editor, enter the following statement:
CREATE TABLE mydataset.newtable (customer_id INT64, date1 DATE) PARTITION BY RANGE_BUCKET(customer_id, GENERATE_ARRAY(0, 100, 10)) OPTIONS ( require_partition_filter = TRUE);
Use the
OPTIONS
clause to set table options such as the partition filter requirements.Click
Run.
For more information about how to run queries, see Run an interactive query.
bq
-
In the Google Cloud console, activate Cloud Shell.
At the bottom of the Google Cloud console, a Cloud Shell session starts and displays a command-line prompt. Cloud Shell is a shell environment with the Google Cloud CLI already installed and with values already set for your current project. It can take a few seconds for the session to initialize.
Use the
bq mk
command with the--table
flag (or-t
shortcut):bq mk \ --schema schema \ --range_partitioning=COLUMN_NAME,START,END,INTERVAL \ --require_partition_filter=BOOLEAN \ PROJECT_ID:DATASET.TABLE
Replace the following:
- SCHEMA: An inline schema definition in the format
column:data_type,column:data_type
or the path to a JSON schema file on your local machine. For more information, see Specifying a schema. - COLUMN_NAME: The name of the partitioning column. In the table
schema, this column must be an
INTEGER
type. - START: The start of first partition range (inclusive).
- END: The end of last partition range (exclusive).
- INTERVAL: The width of each partition range.
- BOOLEAN: If
true
then queries on this table must include a partition filter. The--require_partition_filter
flag is optional. For more information, see Set partition filter requirements. - PROJECT_ID: The project ID. If omitted, your default project is used.
- DATASET: The name of a dataset in your project.
- TABLE: The name of the table to create.
Values outside of the partition range go into a special
__UNPARTITIONED__
partition.For other command-line options, see
bq mk
.The following example creates a table named
mytable
that is partitioned on thecustomer_id
column.bq mk \ -t \ --schema 'customer_id:INTEGER,qtr:STRING,sales:FLOAT' \ --range_partitioning=customer_id,0,100,10 \ mydataset.mytable
- SCHEMA: An inline schema definition in the format
Terraform
Use the
google_bigquery_table
resource.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
The following example creates a table named mytable
that is partitioned
by integer range:
To apply your Terraform configuration in a Google Cloud project, complete the steps in the following sections.
Prepare Cloud Shell
- Launch Cloud Shell.
-
Set the default Google Cloud project where you want to apply your Terraform configurations.
You only need to run this command once per project, and you can run it in any directory.
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=PROJECT_ID
Environment variables are overridden if you set explicit values in the Terraform configuration file.
Prepare the directory
Each Terraform configuration file must have its own directory (also called a root module).
-
In Cloud Shell, create a directory and a new
file within that directory. The filename must have the
.tf
extension—for examplemain.tf
. In this tutorial, the file is referred to asmain.tf
.mkdir DIRECTORY && cd DIRECTORY && touch main.tf
-
If you are following a tutorial, you can copy the sample code in each section or step.
Copy the sample code into the newly created
main.tf
.Optionally, copy the code from GitHub. This is recommended when the Terraform snippet is part of an end-to-end solution.
- Review and modify the sample parameters to apply to your environment.
- Save your changes.
-
Initialize Terraform. You only need to do this once per directory.
terraform init
Optionally, to use the latest Google provider version, include the
-upgrade
option:terraform init -upgrade
Apply the changes
-
Review the configuration and verify that the resources that Terraform is going to create or
update match your expectations:
terraform plan
Make corrections to the configuration as necessary.
-
Apply the Terraform configuration by running the following command and entering
yes
at the prompt:terraform apply
Wait until Terraform displays the "Apply complete!" message.
- Open your Google Cloud project to view the results. In the Google Cloud console, navigate to your resources in the UI to make sure that Terraform has created or updated them.
API
Call the tables.insert
method with a defined table resource
that specifies the rangePartitioning
property and the schema
property.
Java
Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the BigQuery quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Java API reference documentation.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
Node.js
Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the BigQuery quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Node.js API reference documentation.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
Python
Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the BigQuery quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Python API reference documentation.
To authenticate to BigQuery, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for client libraries.
Create a partitioned table from a query result
You can create a partitioned table from a query result in the following ways:
- In SQL, use a
CREATE TABLE ... AS SELECT
statement. You can use this approach to create a table that is partitioned by time-unit column or integer range, but not ingestion time. - Use the bq command-line tool or the BigQuery API to set a destination table for a query. When the query runs, BigQuery writes the results to the destination table. You can use this approach for any partitioning type.
Call the
jobs.insert
API method and specify the partitioning in either thetimePartitioning
property or therangePartitioning
property.
SQL
Use the CREATE TABLE
statement. Include a PARTITION BY
clause to configure the partitioning.
The following example creates a table that is partitioned on the
transaction_date
column:
In the Google Cloud console, go to the BigQuery page.
In the query editor, enter the following statement:
CREATE TABLE mydataset.newtable (transaction_id INT64, transaction_date DATE) PARTITION BY transaction_date AS ( SELECT transaction_id, transaction_date FROM mydataset.mytable );
Use the
OPTIONS
clause to set table options such as the partition filter requirements.Click
Run.
For more information about how to run queries, see Run an interactive query.
bq
-
In the Google Cloud console, activate Cloud Shell.
At the bottom of the Google Cloud console, a Cloud Shell session starts and displays a command-line prompt. Cloud Shell is a shell environment with the Google Cloud CLI already installed and with values already set for your current project. It can take a few seconds for the session to initialize.
To create a partitioned table from a query, use the
bq query
command with the--destination_table
flag and the--time_partitioning_type
flag.Time-unit column-partitioning:
bq query \ --use_legacy_sql=false \ --destination_table TABLE_NAME \ --time_partitioning_field COLUMN \ --time_partitioning_type UNIT_TIME \ 'QUERY_STATEMENT'
Ingestion-time partitioning:
bq query \ --use_legacy_sql=false \ --destination_table TABLE_NAME \ --time_partitioning_type UNIT_TIME \ 'QUERY_STATEMENT'
Integer-range partitioning:
bq query \ --use_legacy_sql=false \ --destination_table PROJECT_ID:DATASET.TABLE \ --range_partitioning COLUMN,START,END,INTERVAL \ 'QUERY_STATEMENT'
Replace the following:
- PROJECT_ID: The project ID. If omitted, your default project is used.
- DATASET: The name of a dataset in your project.
- TABLE: The name of the table to create.
- COLUMN: The name of the partitioning column.
- UNIT_TIME: The partitioning type. Supported values include
DAY
,HOUR
,MONTH
, orYEAR
. - START: The start of range partitioning, inclusive.
- END: The end of range partitioning, exclusive.
- INTERVAL: The width of each range within the partition.
- QUERY_STATEMENT: The query used to populate the table.
The following example creates a table that is partitioned on the
transaction_date
column, using monthly partitioning.bq query \ --use_legacy_sql=false \ --destination_table mydataset.newtable \ --time_partitioning_field transaction_date \ --time_partitioning_type MONTH \ 'SELECT transaction_id, transaction_date FROM mydataset.mytable'
The following example creates a table that is partitioned on the
customer_id
column, using integer-range partitioning.bq query \ --use_legacy_sql=false \ --destination_table mydataset.newtable \ --range_partitioning customer_id,0,100,10 \ 'SELECT * FROM mydataset.ponies'
For ingestion-time partitioned tables, you can also load data into a specific partition by using a partition decorator. The following example creates a new ingestion-time partitioned table and loads data into the
20180201
(February 1, 2018) partition:bq query \ --use_legacy_sql=false \ --time_partitioning_type=DAY \ --destination_table='newtable$20180201' \ 'SELECT * FROM mydataset.mytable'
API
To save query results to a partitioned table, call the
jobs.insert
method.
Configure a query
job. Specify the destination table in the
destinationTable
. Specify the partitioning in either the
timePartitioning
property or the rangePartitioning
property.
Convert date-sharded tables into ingestion-time partitioned tables
If you previously created date-sharded tables, you can convert the entire set of
related tables into a single ingestion-time partitioned table by using the
partition
command
in the bq command-line tool.
bq --location=LOCATION partition \ --time_partitioning_type=PARTITION_TYPE \ --time_partitioning_expiration INTEGER \ PROJECT_ID:SOURCE_DATASET.SOURCE_TABLE \ PROJECT_ID:DESTINATION_DATASET.DESTINATION_TABLE
Replace the following:
- LOCATION: The name of your location. The
--location
flag is optional. - PARTITION_TYPE: The partition type. Possible values
include
DAY
,HOUR
,MONTH
, orYEAR
. - INTEGER: The partition expiration time, in seconds. There is no
minimum value. The expiration time evaluates to the partition's UTC date plus
the integer value. The
time_partitioning_expiration
flag is optional. - PROJECT_ID: Your project ID.
- SOURCE_DATASET: The dataset that contains the date-sharded tables.
- SOURCE_TABLE: The prefix of your date-sharded tables.
- DESTINATION_DATASET; The dataset for the new partitioned table.
- DESTINATION_TABLE; The name of the partitioned table to create.
The partition
command does not support the --label
, --expiration
,
--add_tags
, or --description
flags. You can add labels, a table expiration,
tags, and a description to the table after it is created.
When you run the partition
command, BigQuery creates a copy job
that generates partitions from the sharded tables.
The following example creates an ingestion-time partitioned table named
mytable_partitioned
from a set of date-sharded tables prefixed with
sourcetable_
. The new table is partitioned daily, with a partition expiration
of 259,200 seconds (3 days).
bq partition \
--time_partitioning_type=DAY \
--time_partitioning_expiration 259200 \
mydataset.sourcetable_ \
mydataset.mytable_partitioned
If the date-sharded tables were sourcetable_20180126
and
sourcetable_20180127
, this command would create the following partitions:
mydataset.mytable_partitioned$20180126
and
mydataset.mytable_partitioned$20180127
.
Partitioned table security
Access control for partitioned tables is the same as access control for standard tables. For more information, see Introduction to table access controls.
What's next
- To learn how to manage and update partitioned tables, see Managing partitioned tables.
- For information on querying partitioned tables, see Querying partitioned tables.