How to install BigQuery in PostgreSQL

Galaxy Glossary

How do I install BigQuery FDW in PostgreSQL?

Installs the BigQuery FDW extension in PostgreSQL so you can query Google BigQuery tables as if they were local.

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Description

Table of Contents

Why install BigQuery in PostgreSQL?

Connecting BigQuery to PostgreSQL lets you join cloud-scale data with local tables, reuse existing SQL skills, and avoid manual exports.

What are the prerequisites?

You need PostgreSQL ≥ 13 compiled with FDW support, the bigquery_fdw binaries, a Google Cloud service-account key, and network access to BigQuery.

How do I install the extension?

After compiling or downloading the FDW, place the shared library in $PGHOME/lib, copy the control file to $PGHOME/share/extension, then run CREATE EXTENSION bigquery_fdw;.

What is the exact syntax?

Use CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS bigquery_fdw [WITH VERSION version] [CASCADE]; to register the FDW in your database.

How do I connect to a BigQuery project?

Create a server with CREATE SERVER, map users with CREATE USER MAPPING, and import schemas with IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA. Each step is shown in the example below.

Can I join BigQuery and local ecommerce tables?

Yes. Once the foreign tables are imported, you can join them with local tables like Orders and Customers using standard SQL.

Best practices for production?

Set use_cache and batch_size options to reduce API calls, secure service-account keys with file_fdw configs, and monitor query costs in GCP.

Why How to install BigQuery in PostgreSQL is important

How to install BigQuery in PostgreSQL Example Usage


-- 1. Install extension
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS bigquery_fdw;

-- 2. Link to the BigQuery ecommerce dataset
CREATE SERVER gcp_bigquery
  FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER bigquery_fdw
  OPTIONS (
    project 'galaxy-shop',
    dataset 'ecommerce'
  );

-- 3. Authenticate with a service-account key
CREATE USER MAPPING FOR CURRENT_USER
  SERVER gcp_bigquery
  OPTIONS (
    service_account '/var/secrets/galaxy-bq.json'
  );

-- 4. Import the BigQuery Orders table
IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA ecommerce
  LIMIT TO (Orders)
  FROM SERVER gcp_bigquery
  INTO public;

-- 5. Join BigQuery Orders with local Customers table
SELECT c.name,
       o.order_date,
       o.total_amount
FROM Customers c
JOIN Orders o ON o.customer_id = c.id
WHERE o.order_date >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '30 days';

How to install BigQuery in PostgreSQL Syntax


CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS bigquery_fdw [WITH VERSION version] [CASCADE];

-- Example full workflow
CREATE SERVER gcp_bigquery
  FOREIGN DATA WRAPPER bigquery_fdw
  OPTIONS (
    project 'my-gcp-project',
    dataset 'ecommerce'
  );

CREATE USER MAPPING FOR CURRENT_USER
  SERVER gcp_bigquery
  OPTIONS (
    service_account '/var/secrets/bq-sa-key.json'
  );

IMPORT FOREIGN SCHEMA orders
  FROM SERVER gcp_bigquery
  INTO public;

Common Mistakes

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is BigQuery FDW officially supported by Google?

No. It is community-maintained. Test thoroughly and pin a stable release.

Does the FDW move data into PostgreSQL?

No. Queries are pushed down; data streams on demand. Only result sets travel over the network.

How do I control costs?

Use EXPLAIN to see estimated bytes processed, restrict columns, and cache results when possible.

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