BigQuery Basics

BigQuery is a serverless, AI-ready data platform that enables high-speed
analysis of large datasets using SQL and Python. Its disaggregated architecture
separates compute and storage, allowing them to scale independently while
providing built-in machine learning, geospatial analysis, and business
intelligence capabilities.

Setup and Basic Usage

1. Enable the BigQuery API:

```bash
gcloud services enable bigquery.googleapis.com --quiet
```

1. Create a Dataset:

```bash
bq mk --dataset --location=US my_dataset
```

1. Create a Table:

Create a file named schema.json with your table schema:

```json
[
{
"name": "name",
"type": "STRING",
"mode": "REQUIRED"
},
{
"name": "post_abbr",
"type": "STRING",
"mode": "NULLABLE"
}
]
```

Then create the table with the bq tool:

```bash
bq mk --table my_dataset.mytable schema.json
```

1. Run a Query:

```bash
bq query --uselegacysql=false \
'SELECT name FROM bigquery-public-data.usa_names.usa_1910_2013 \
WHERE state = "TX" LIMIT 10'
```

Reference Directory

• Core Concepts: Storage types, analytics

workflows, and BigQuery Studio features.

• CLI Usage: Essential bq command-line tool

operations for managing data and jobs.

• Client Libraries: Using Google Cloud

client libraries for Python, Java, Node.js, and Go.

• MCP Usage: Using the BigQuery remote MCP server and

Gemini CLI extension.

• Infrastructure as Code: Terraform examples for

datasets, tables, and reservations.

• IAM & Security: Roles, permissions, and data

governance best practices.

*If you need product information not found in these references, use the
Developer Knowledge MCP server search_documents tool.*

Related Skills

• BigQuery AI & ML Skill:

SKILL.md file for BigQuery AI and ML capabilities.

• BigQuery AI & ML References:

Reference files published for the BigQuery AI and ML skill.

• bigqueryai_classify.md
• bigqueryaidetect_anomalies.md
• bigqueryai_forecast.md
• bigqueryai_generate.md
• bigqueryaigenerate_bool.md
• bigqueryaigenerate_double.md
• bigqueryaigenerate_int.md
• bigqueryai_if.md
• bigqueryai_score.md
• bigqueryai_search.md
• bigqueryai_similarity.md