How to Migrate from BigQuery to ParadeDB in PostgreSQL

Galaxy Glossary

How do I migrate data from BigQuery to ParadeDB?

Export tables from BigQuery, recreate schema in ParadeDB, and load data with COPY or \\copy for a seamless move.

Welcome to the Galaxy, Guardian!
You'll be receiving a confirmation email

Follow us on twitter :)

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Description

Example H2

Example H3

Why move analytics from BigQuery to ParadeDB?

ParadeDB gives you full-text and vector search on top of PostgreSQL, keeps costs predictable, and lets engineers use familiar SQL instead of BigQuery’s dialect.

What prerequisites do I need?

Install bq, gsutil, psql, and ensure ParadeDB (PostgreSQL ≥15) is running. Grant BigQuery export permissions and create a GCS bucket.

How do I export BigQuery tables as CSV?

Run bq extract --destination_format=CSV project:dataset.Customers gs://my-bucket/customers.csv. Repeat for Orders, Products, and OrderItems.BigQuery writes compressed CSVs with headers.

How do I download the exported files?

Use gsutil cp gs://my-bucket/*.csv /data/exports/. Store files where the ParadeDB host can access them.

How do I recreate the schema in ParadeDB?

Translate BigQuery types to PostgreSQL. Example: STRING → TEXT, NUMERIC → NUMERIC, TIMESTAMP → TIMESTAMPTZ.Create tables with primary keys and indexes.

Example schema for Customers

CREATE TABLE customers (id INT PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, email TEXT UNIQUE, created_at TIMESTAMPTZ);

How do I load CSVs with COPY?

Run inside psql: COPY customers FROM '/data/exports/customers.csv' WITH (FORMAT csv, HEADER TRUE);. Repeat for other tables. Use \copy if the files sit on your client machine.

How do I verify row counts?

Compare counts: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM customers; in ParadeDB vs. bq query in BigQuery.Counts should match before continuing.

How do I enable ParadeDB extensions?

Activate search features: CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS parade;. Add a vector column if needed: ALTER TABLE products ADD COLUMN embedding VECTOR(1536);.

What performance tweaks are recommended?

Increase maintenance_work_mem for faster COPY, disable WAL during bulk loads (ALTER TABLE ...SET UNLOGGED), and batch indexes after data import.

How do I migrate incrementally?

Schedule nightly exports with bq extract, load deltas via psql, then cut over by pointing your app to ParadeDB once results match.

How do I keep the two systems in sync?

Use logical replication from PostgreSQL to downstream tools and decommission BigQuery once queries run successfully on ParadeDB.

What’s next?

Create indexes, test queries, and leverage Galaxy’s AI copilot to refactor any BigQuery-specific SQL to standard PostgreSQL.

Why How to Migrate from BigQuery to ParadeDB in PostgreSQL is important

How to Migrate from BigQuery to ParadeDB in PostgreSQL Example Usage


-- Verify migration of Orders
SELECT c.name,
       COUNT(o.id) AS orders_count,
       SUM(o.total_amount) AS lifetime_value
FROM   customers c
JOIN   orders o ON o.customer_id = c.id
GROUP  BY c.name
ORDER  BY lifetime_value DESC
LIMIT  10;

How to Migrate from BigQuery to ParadeDB in PostgreSQL Syntax


1. Export from BigQuery:
   bq extract \
     --destination_format=CSV \
     project:dataset.Customers gs://my-bucket/customers.csv

2. Download to ParadeDB host:
   gsutil cp gs://my-bucket/customers.csv /data/exports/

3. Recreate table:
   CREATE TABLE customers (
     id INT PRIMARY KEY,
     name TEXT,
     email TEXT,
     created_at TIMESTAMPTZ
   );

4. Bulk load data:
   COPY customers
   FROM '/data/exports/customers.csv'
   WITH (FORMAT csv, HEADER TRUE);

5. Repeat for Orders, Products, OrderItems.  
   Optional parameters: DELIMITER, NULL, QUOTE, ENCODING, FREEZE, LOG_ERRORS.

Common Mistakes

Ignoring datatype differences—BigQuery’s NUMERIC(38,9) can overflow PostgreSQL NUMERIC if precision isn’t specified. Always map types explicitly.
Running COPY over a slow network rather than locally. Place CSVs on the ParadeDB server or use \copy to avoid network latency and timeouts.