--- title: "Google BigQuery data source | Grafana Plugins documentation" description: "The Google BigQuery data source allows you to query and visualize Google BigQuery data in Grafana." --- > For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt). # Google BigQuery data source The Google BigQuery data source allows you to query and visualize data from [Google BigQuery](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery), Google’s fully managed, serverless data warehouse. ## Supported features Expand table | Feature | Supported | Description | |------------------------|-----------|------------------------------------------------------------| | **Metrics** | Yes | Query numeric data and visualize as time series or tables. | | **Alerting** | Yes | Create alert rules based on BigQuery queries. | | **Annotations** | Yes | Overlay events from BigQuery on your graphs. | | **Template variables** | Yes | Create dynamic dashboards with query-based variables. | ## Requirements The following Google APIs must be enabled in your GCP project: - [BigQuery API](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/library/bigquery.googleapis.com) - [Cloud Resource Manager API](https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/library/cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com) ## Get started Install the plugin from **Administration** > **Plugins and data** > **Plugins**, or from the [Grafana plugin catalog](/grafana/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/). After the plugin is installed, the following documents help you get started: - [Configure the BigQuery data source](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/configure/) - Set up authentication and connect to BigQuery. - [BigQuery query editor](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/query-editor/) - Create and edit SQL and visual queries. - [Template variables](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/template-variables/) - Create dynamic dashboards with BigQuery variables. - [Alerting](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/alerting/) - Create alert rules using BigQuery data. - [Troubleshooting](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/troubleshooting/) - Solve common configuration and query errors. ## Additional features After you configure the BigQuery data source, you can: - Add [Annotations](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/annotations/) to overlay BigQuery events on your graphs. - Configure and use [Template variables](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/template-variables/) for dynamic dashboards. - Add [Transformations](/docs/grafana/latest/panels-visualizations/query-transform-data/transform-data/) to manipulate query results. - Set up [Alerting](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/alerting/) rules based on your BigQuery data. - Use [Explore](/docs/grafana/latest/explore/) to investigate your BigQuery data without building a dashboard. - Build queries with [Grafana Assistant](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/query-editor/#query-with-grafana-assistant) when it’s available in your Grafana instance. ## Pre-built dashboards The BigQuery data source plugin includes the following pre-built dashboards: - **Array queries examples** - Demonstrates how to work with BigQuery arrays and nested data structures. To import a pre-built dashboard: 1. Go to **Connections** > **Data sources**. 2. Select your BigQuery data source. 3. Click the **Dashboards** tab. 4. Click **Import** next to the dashboard you want to use. ## Plugin updates Always ensure that your plugin version is up-to-date so you have access to all current features and improvements. Navigate to **Administration** > **Plugins and data** > **Plugins** to check for updates. > Note > > On Grafana Cloud, the Google BigQuery plugin is managed by Grafana and updates automatically. On self-managed Grafana, you must update the plugin manually. Refer to [Version and upgrade guidance](/docs/plugins/grafana-bigquery-datasource/latest/troubleshooting/#version-and-upgrade-guidance). ## Query with the Grafana CLI You can query this data source from the command line and from AI coding agents using the Grafana CLI, `gcx`. `gcx` gives you and your agent structured, terminal-based access to your Grafana data sources, which is useful for automation and agent-driven investigations. `gcx` supports Grafana Cloud and Grafana OSS or Enterprise v12 and later. Before you query, install and authenticate `gcx`. Refer to the [`gcx` CLI documentation](/docs/grafana/latest/as-code/observability-as-code/grafana-cli/gcx/) for installation, configuration, and the full command reference. For example, to query your BigQuery data source, use `gcx datasources bigquery`: sh ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```sh # Run a SQL query gcx datasources bigquery query -d 'SELECT count(*) FROM `my_dataset.events`' # List datasets in the default project gcx datasources bigquery list-datasets -d # List tables in a dataset gcx datasources bigquery list-tables -d --dataset my_dataset # Show a table's column schema gcx datasources bigquery describe-table my_dataset.events -d ``` Replace *``* with the UID of your BigQuery data source. The `query` command accepts GoogleSQL with server-side macros such as `$__timeFilter`; `list-datasets`, `list-tables`, and `describe-table` let you explore schema, and `--dataset` targets a specific dataset. ## Related resources - [Google BigQuery documentation](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs) - [BigQuery SQL reference](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/reference/standard-sql/query-syntax) - [Grafana community forum](https://community.grafana.com/)