Big Query: create table from first key in JSON only

Question

I am trying to create a table from JSON files in BigQuery and want just one column which will represent the first key 'id' only.

Creating a schema with only one column causes errors because all of the JSON keys in the input files are considered.

Is there a way to create a table that corresponds to only specific JSON keys?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, you can't create a table from a JSON file in BigQuery with just one column from the JSON file. You can create a feature request in this link .

You have these options:

Option 1

• Don't import as JSON , but as CSV instead (define null character as separator)
• Each line has only one column - the full JSON string
• Parse inside BigQuery with maximum flexibility (JSON parsing functions and even JS)

Option 2

Do a 2-step import:

• Import as a new table with all the columns.
• Append " SELECT column1 FROM [newtable] " into the existing table.