SHOW Commands

The following SHOW commands can be used to describe BigQuery schema information.

Contents

SHOW PROJECTS SHOW DATASETS SHOW TABLES

SHOW VIEWS SHOW FIELDS Quote Identifiers

SHOW PROJECTS

SHOW PROJECTS

This command lists all the projects that you have direct access to.

Example

SHOW PROJECTS

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SHOW DATASETS

SHOW DATASETS
SHOW DATASETS [project_ID]
SHOW DATASETS [project_ID1,project_ID2,project_ID3,...]
SHOW DATASETS [project_ID,...] INCLUDE_PUBLICDATA

This command lists all the datasets from the specified project.

If project_ID is not specified, it will list all the datasets in the current project.

If multiple projects are specified, the first project (project_ID1) must be a project that you have direct access to and the additional projects (project_ID2, project_ID3, etc.) can be projects that you have direct access to or projects with datasets that you have access to.

The INCLUDE_PUBLICDATA option lists all the datasets in the publicdata project.

Examples

SHOW DATASETS
GO
SHOW DATASETS [sample-project-12345]
GO
SHOW DATASETS [sample-project-12345,shared-project]
GO
SHOW DATASETS [sample-project-12345,shared-project] INCLUDE_PUBLICDATA
GO

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SHOW TABLES

SHOW TABLES
SHOW TABLES [project_ID]
SHOW TABLES [project_ID:dataset_ID]
SHOW TABLES [project_ID:dataset_ID.table]

This command lists all the tables in the specified dataset.

If project_ID is not specified, it will list all the tables in the current project.

To retrieve the properties of a table, specify project ID, dataset ID, and table.

Examples

SHOW TABLES
GO
SHOW TABLES [sample-project-12345]
GO
SHOW TABLES [sample-project-12345:dataset1]
GO
SHOW TABLES [sample-project-12345:dataset1.github_timeline]
GO
SHOW TABLES [dataset1.github_timeline]
GO

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SHOW VIEWS

SHOW VIEWS
SHOW VIEWS [project_ID]
SHOW VIEWS [project_ID:dataset_ID]
SHOW VIEWS [project_ID:dataset_ID.view]

This command lists all the views in the specified dataset.

If project_ID is not specified, it will list all the views in the current project.

To retrieve the properties of a view, specify project ID, dataset ID, and view.

Examples

SHOW VIEWS
GO
SHOW VIEWS [sample-project-12345]
GO
SHOW VIEWS [sample-project-12345:dataset1]
GO
SHOW VIEWS [sample-project-12345:dataset1.github_timeline_view]
GO
SHOW VIEWS [dataset1.github_timeline_view]
GO

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SHOW FIELDS

SHOW FIELDS [project_ID:dataset_ID.table]
SHOW FIELDS [dataset_ID.table]
SHOW FIELDS [project_ID:dataset_ID.view]
SHOW FIELDS [dataset_ID.view]

This command lists all the fields in the specified table or view.

If project_ID is not specified, it will default to the current project.

Examples

SHOW FIELDS [dataset1.github_timeline]
GO
SHOW FIELDS [sample-project-12345:dataset1.github_timeline]
GO

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Quote Identifiers

• You must surround the entire name reference with brackets. For example, [my-project-123:dataset1.tableName].
• If the dataset, table, or view name starts with a number or is a SQL keyword, use the double quote symbol ( " ) to enclose the dataset, table, or view name.

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