GoogleSQL for Bigtable is an ANSI compliant Structured Query Language (SQL) that lets you run query statements (also known as Data Query Language (DQL) statements) on Bigtable tables. A query statement scans a table and returns computed result rows.

GoogleSQL for Bigtable doesn't include support for some common SQL constructs, including the following:

  • Data Manipulation Language (DML) statements beyond SELECT, such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE
  • Data Definition Language (DDL) expressions such as CREATE, ALTER, or DROP
  • Data Access Control statements
  • Query syntax for subqueries, JOIN, UNION, and CTEs

For information on where to run SQL queries on your Bigtable data, as well examples of common Bigtable query patterns, see GoogleSQL for Bigtable overview.

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Last updated 2026-04-01 UTC.