Adding labels to resources

This page explains how to label your BigQuery resources.

Adding dataset labels

A label can be added to a BigQuery dataset when it is created by using the bq command-line tool's bq mk command or by calling the datasets.insert API method. Currently, you cannot add a label to a dataset when it's created using the Cloud Console.

This page discusses how to add a label to a dataset after it is created. For more information on adding a label when you create a dataset, see Creating a dataset.

A label can be added after a dataset is created by:

  • Using the Cloud Console
  • Using the bq command-line tool's bq update command
  • Calling the datasets.patch API method
  • Using the client libraries

When you add a label to a dataset, it does not propagate to resources within the dataset. Dataset labels are not inherited by tables or views. Also, when you add a label to a dataset, it is included in your storage billing data, but you will not see dataset labels in your job-related billing data.

Required permissions

At a minimum, to add a label to an existing dataset you must be granted bigquery.datasets.update permissions. The following predefined IAM roles include bigquery.datasets.update permissions:

  • bigquery.dataOwner
  • bigquery.admin

In addition, if a user has bigquery.datasets.create permissions, when that user creates a dataset, they are granted bigquery.dataOwner access to it. bigquery.dataOwner access gives the user the ability to add labels to their datasets.

For more information on IAM roles and permissions in BigQuery, see Predefined roles and permissions.

Adding a label to a dataset

To add a label to a dataset after it is created:

Console

  1. In the Cloud Console, select the dataset.

  2. On the dataset details page, click the pencil icon to the right of Labels.

    Label pencil.

  3. In the Edit labels dialog:

    • Click Add label
    • Enter your key and value to add a label. To apply additional labels, click Add label. Each key can be used only once per dataset, but you can use the same key in different datasets in the same project.
    • Modify the existing keys or values to update a label.
    • Click Update to save your changes.

bq

To add a label to an existing dataset, issue the bq update command with the set_label flag. Repeat the flag to add multiple labels.

If the dataset is in a project other than your default project, add the project ID to the dataset in the following format: PROJECT_ID:DATASET.

bq update --set_label KEY:VALUE PROJECT_ID:DATASET

Replace the following:

  • KEY:VALUE: a key-value pair for a label that you want to add. The key must be unique.
  • PROJECT_ID: your project ID.
  • DATASET: the dataset you're labeling.

Examples:

To add a label to track departments, enter the bq update command and specify department as the label key. For example, to add a department:shipping label to mydataset in your default project, enter:

    bq update --set_label department:shipping mydataset

To add multiple labels to a dataset, repeat the set_label flag and specify a unique key for each label.For example, to add a department:shipping label and cost_center:logistics label to mydataset in your default project, enter:

    bq update \
    --set_label department:shipping \
    --set_label cost_center:logistics \
    mydataset

API

To add a label to an existing dataset, call the datasets.patch method and populate the labels property for the dataset resource.

Because the datasets.update method replaces the entire dataset resource, the datasets.patch method is preferred.

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the BigQuery Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Go API reference documentation. 

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"

	"cloud.google.com/go/bigquery"
)

// addDatasetLabel demonstrates adding label metadata to an existing dataset.
func addDatasetLabel(projectID, datasetID string) error {
	// projectID := "my-project-id"
	// datasetID := "mydataset"
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := bigquery.NewClient(ctx, projectID)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("bigquery.NewClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	ds := client.Dataset(datasetID)
	meta, err := ds.Metadata(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	update := bigquery.DatasetMetadataToUpdate{}
	update.SetLabel("color", "green")
	if _, err := ds.Update(ctx, update, meta.ETag); err != nil {
		return err
	}
	return nil
}

Java

This sample uses the Google HTTP Client Library for Java to send a request to the BigQuery API.

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the BigQuery Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Java API reference documentation. 

static final HttpTransport HTTP_TRANSPORT = new NetHttpTransport();
static final JsonFactory JSON_FACTORY = new JacksonFactory();

public static class Dataset {
  @Key private Map<String, String> labels;

  public Map<String, String> getLabels() {
    return this.labels;
  }

  public Dataset addLabel(String key, String value) {
    if (this.labels == null) {
      this.labels = new HashMap<>();
    }
    this.labels.put(key, value);
    return this;
  }
}

/**
 * Add or modify a label on a dataset.
 *
 * <p>See <a href="https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/labeling-datasets">the BigQuery
 * documentation</a>.
 */
public static void labelDataset(
    String projectId, String datasetId, String labelKey, String labelValue) throws IOException {

  // Authenticate requests using Google Application Default credentials.
  GoogleCredential credential = GoogleCredential.getApplicationDefault();
  credential = credential.createScoped(Arrays.asList("https://www.googleapis.com/auth/bigquery"));

  // Get a new access token.
  // Note that access tokens have an expiration. You can reuse a token rather than requesting a
  // new one if it is not yet expired.
  credential.refreshToken();
  String accessToken = credential.getAccessToken();

  // Set the content of the request.
  Dataset dataset = new Dataset();
  dataset.addLabel(labelKey, labelValue);
  HttpContent content = new JsonHttpContent(JSON_FACTORY, dataset);

  // Send the request to the BigQuery API.
  String urlFormat =
      "https://www.googleapis.com/bigquery/v2/projects/%s/datasets/%s"
          + "?fields=labels&access_token=%s";
  GenericUrl url = new GenericUrl(String.format(urlFormat, projectId, datasetId, accessToken));
  HttpRequestFactory requestFactory = HTTP_TRANSPORT.createRequestFactory();
  HttpRequest request = requestFactory.buildPostRequest(url, content);
  request.setParser(JSON_FACTORY.createJsonObjectParser());

  // Workaround for transports which do not support PATCH requests.
  // See: http://stackoverflow.com/a/32503192/101923
  request.setHeaders(new HttpHeaders().set("X-HTTP-Method-Override", "PATCH"));
  HttpResponse response = request.execute();

  // Check for errors.
  if (response.getStatusCode() != 200) {
    throw new RuntimeException(response.getStatusMessage());
  }

  Dataset responseDataset = response.parseAs(Dataset.class);
  System.out.printf(
      "Updated label \"%s\" with value \"%s\"\n",
      labelKey, responseDataset.getLabels().get(labelKey));
}

Node.js

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the BigQuery Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Node.js API reference documentation. 

// Import the Google Cloud client library
const {BigQuery} = require('@google-cloud/bigquery');
const bigquery = new BigQuery();

async function labelDataset() {
  // Updates a label on a dataset.

  /**
   * TODO(developer): Uncomment the following lines before running the sample
   */
  // const datasetId = "my_dataset";

  // Retrieve current dataset metadata.
  const dataset = bigquery.dataset(datasetId);
  const [metadata] = await dataset.getMetadata();

  // Add label to dataset metadata
  metadata.labels = {color: 'green'};
  const [apiResponse] = await dataset.setMetadata(metadata);

  console.log(`${datasetId} labels:`);
  console.log(apiResponse.labels);
}

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the BigQuery Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Python API reference documentation. 


from google.cloud import bigquery

# Construct a BigQuery client object.
client = bigquery.Client()

# TODO(developer): Set dataset_id to the ID of the dataset to fetch.
# dataset_id = "your-project.your_dataset"

dataset = client.get_dataset(dataset_id)  # Make an API request.
dataset.labels = {"color": "green"}
dataset = client.update_dataset(dataset, ["labels"])  # Make an API request.

print("Labels added to {}".format(dataset_id))

Adding table and view labels

A label can be added to a table or view when it is created by:

  • Using the bq command-line tool's bq mk command
  • Calling the tables.insert API method

This page discusses how to add a label to an existing table or view. For more information on adding a label when you create a table or view, see Creating a table or Creating a view.

A label can be added after a table or view is created by:

  • Using the Cloud Console
  • Using the bq command-line tool's bq update command
  • Calling the tables.patch API method
  • Using the client libraries

Because views are treated like table resources, you use the tables.patch method to modify both views and tables.

Required permissions

At a minimum, to add a label to an existing table or view, you must be granted bigquery.tables.update and bigquery.tables.get permissions. The following predefined IAM roles include bigquery.tables.update and bigquery.tables.get permissions:

  • bigquery.dataEditor
  • bigquery.dataOwner
  • bigquery.admin

In addition, if a user has bigquery.datasets.create permissions, when that user creates a dataset, they are granted bigquery.dataOwner access to it. bigquery.dataOwner access gives the user the ability to add labels to tables and views in their datasets.

For more information on IAM roles and permissions in BigQuery, see Predefined roles and permissions.

Adding a label to a table or view

To add a label to an existing table or view:

Console

  1. In the Cloud Console, select the table, or view.

  2. Click the Details tab.

    Table details.

  3. Click the pencil icon to the right of Labels.

    Label pencil.

  4. In the Edit labels dialog:

    • Click Add label
    • Enter your key and value to add a label. To apply additional labels, click Add label. Each key can be used only once per dataset, but you can use the same key in different datasets in the same project.
    • Modify existing keys or values to update a label.
    • Click Update to save your changes.

SQL

Data definition language (DDL) statements allow you to create and modify tables and views using standard SQL query syntax.

See more on Using Data Definition Language statements.

To add a label using a DDL statement in the Cloud Console:

  1. Click Compose new query.

  2. Type your DDL statement into the Query editor text area.

     ALTER TABLE mydataset.mytable
 SET OPTIONS (
   labels=[("department", "shipping"), ("cost_center", "logistics")]
 )

  3. Click Run query.

bq

To add a label to an existing table or view, issue the bq update command with the set_label flag. Repeat the flag to add multiple labels.

If the table or view is in a project other than your default project, add the project ID to the dataset in the following format: project_id:dataset.

bq update \
--set_label KEY:VALUE \
PROJECT_ID:DATASET.TABLE_OR_VIEW

Replace the following:

  • KEY:VALUE: a key-value pair for a label that you want to add. The key must be unique.
  • PROJECT_ID: your project ID.
  • DATASET: the dataset that contains the table or view you're labeling.
  • TABLE_OR_VIEW: the name of the table or view you're labeling.

Examples:

To add a table label that tracks departments, enter the bq update command and specify department as the label key. For example, to add a department:shipping label to mytable in your default project, enter:

    bq update --set_label department:shipping mydataset.mytable

To add a view label that tracks departments, enter the bq update command and specify department as the label key. For example, to add a department:shipping label to myview in your default project, enter:

    bq update --set_label department:shipping mydataset.myview

To add multiple labels to a table or view, repeat the set_label flag and specify a unique key for each label. For example, to add a department:shipping label and cost_center:logistics label to mytable in your default project, enter:

    bq update \
    --set_label department:shipping \
    --set_label cost_center:logistics \
    mydataset.mytable

API

To add a label to an existing table or view, call the tables.patch method and populate the labels property for the table resource.

Because views are treated like table resources, you use the tables.patch method to modify both views and tables.

Because the tables.update method replaces the entire dataset resource, the tables.patch method is preferred.

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the BigQuery Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Go API reference documentation. 

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"

	"cloud.google.com/go/bigquery"
)

// addTableLabel demonstrates adding Label metadata to a BigQuery table.
func addTableLabel(projectID, datasetID, tableID string) error {
	// projectID := "my-project-id"
	// datasetID := "mydataset"
	// tableID := "mytable"
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := bigquery.NewClient(ctx, projectID)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("bigquery.NewClient: %v", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	tbl := client.Dataset(datasetID).Table(tableID)
	meta, err := tbl.Metadata(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}

	update := bigquery.TableMetadataToUpdate{}
	update.SetLabel("color", "green")
	if _, err := tbl.Update(ctx, update, meta.ETag); err != nil {
		return err
	}
	return nil
}

Java

This sample uses the Google HTTP Client Library for Java to send a request to the BigQuery API.

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the BigQuery Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Java API reference documentation. 

public static class Table {
  @Key private Map<String, String> labels;

  public Map<String, String> getLabels() {
    return this.labels;
  }

  public Table addLabel(String key, String value) {
    if (this.labels == null) {
      this.labels = new HashMap<>();
    }
    this.labels.put(key, value);
    return this;
  }
}

/**
 * Add or modify a label on a table.
 *
 * <p>See <a href="https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/labeling-datasets">the BigQuery
 * documentation</a>.
 */
public static void labelTable(
    String projectId,
    String datasetId,
    String tableId,
    String labelKey,
    String labelValue)
    throws IOException {

  // Authenticate requests using Google Application Default credentials.
  GoogleCredential credential = GoogleCredential.getApplicationDefault();
  credential = credential.createScoped(Arrays.asList("https://www.googleapis.com/auth/bigquery"));

  // Get a new access token.
  // Note that access tokens have an expiration. You can reuse a token rather than requesting a
  // new one if it is not yet expired.
  credential.refreshToken();
  String accessToken = credential.getAccessToken();

  // Set the content of the request.
  Table table = new Table();
  table.addLabel(labelKey, labelValue);
  HttpContent content = new JsonHttpContent(JSON_FACTORY, table);

  // Send the request to the BigQuery API.
  String urlFormat =
      "https://www.googleapis.com/bigquery/v2/projects/%s/datasets/%s/tables/%s"
          + "?fields=labels&access_token=%s";
  GenericUrl url =
      new GenericUrl(String.format(urlFormat, projectId, datasetId, tableId, accessToken));
  HttpRequestFactory requestFactory = HTTP_TRANSPORT.createRequestFactory();
  HttpRequest request = requestFactory.buildPostRequest(url, content);
  request.setParser(JSON_FACTORY.createJsonObjectParser());

  // Workaround for transports which do not support PATCH requests.
  // See: http://stackoverflow.com/a/32503192/101923
  request.setHeaders(new HttpHeaders().set("X-HTTP-Method-Override", "PATCH"));
  HttpResponse response = request.execute();

  // Check for errors.
  if (response.getStatusCode() != 200) {
    throw new RuntimeException(response.getStatusMessage());
  }

  Table responseTable = response.parseAs(Table.class);
  System.out.printf(
      "Updated label \"%s\" with value \"%s\"\n",
      labelKey, responseTable.getLabels().get(labelKey));
}

Node.js

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the BigQuery Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Node.js API reference documentation. 

// Import the Google Cloud client library
const {BigQuery} = require('@google-cloud/bigquery');
const bigquery = new BigQuery();

async function labelTable() {
  // Adds a label to an existing table.

  /**
   * TODO(developer): Uncomment the following lines before running the sample.
   */
  // const datasetId = 'my_dataset';
  // const tableId = 'my_table';

  const dataset = bigquery.dataset(datasetId);
  const [table] = await dataset.table(tableId).get();

  // Retrieve current table metadata
  const [metadata] = await table.getMetadata();

  // Add label to table metadata
  metadata.labels = {color: 'green'};
  const [apiResponse] = await table.setMetadata(metadata);

  console.log(`${tableId} labels:`);
  console.log(apiResponse.labels);
}

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the BigQuery Quickstart Using Client Libraries. For more information, see the BigQuery Python API reference documentation. 

# from google.cloud import bigquery
# client = bigquery.Client()
# project = client.project
# dataset_ref = bigquery.DatasetReference(project, dataset_id)
# table_ref = dataset_ref.table('my_table')
# table = client.get_table(table_ref)  # API request

assert table.labels == {}
labels = {"color": "green"}
table.labels = labels

table = client.update_table(table, ["labels"])  # API request

assert table.labels == labels

Adding job labels

Labels can be added to query jobs via the command line by using the bq command-line tool's --label flag. The bq tool supports adding labels only to query jobs.

You can also add a label to a job when it's submitted via the API by specifying the labels property in the job configuration when you call the jobs.insert method. The API can be used to add labels to any job type.

You cannot add labels to or update labels on pending, running, or completed jobs.

When you add a label to a job, the label is included in your billing data.

Required permissions

No special permissions are required for adding a label to a job. If you have bigquery.jobs.create permissions, you can add a label to your job when you submit it.

At a minimum, to run a job, you must have bigquery.jobs.create permissions. bigquery.jobs.create permissions are required for jobs that are automatically created by BigQuery, and they are required for jobs that you run programmatically.

The following predefined IAM roles include bigquery.jobs.create permissions:

  • bigquery.user
  • bigquery.jobUser
  • bigquery.admin

For more information on IAM roles and permissions in BigQuery, see Predefined roles and permissions.

Adding a label to a job

To add a label to a job:

Console

Adding labels to jobs is not supported by the Cloud Console.

bq

To add a label to a query job, issue the bq query command with the --label flag. Repeat the flag to add multiple labels. The --nouse_legacy_sql flag indicates that your query is in standard SQL syntax.

bq query --label KEY:VALUE --nouse_legacy_sql 'QUERY'

Replace the following:

  • KEY:VALUE: a key-value pair for a label that you want to add to the query job. The key must be unique. To add multiple labels to a query job, repeat the --label flag and specify a unique key for each label.
  • QUERY: a valid standard SQL query.

Examples:

To add a label to a query job, enter:

    bq query \
    --label department:shipping \
    --nouse_legacy_sql \
    'SELECT
       column1, column2
     FROM
       `mydataset.mytable`'

To add multiple labels to a query job, repeat the --label flag and specify a unique key for each label. For example, to add a department:shipping label and cost_center:logistics label to a query job, enter:

    bq query \
    --label department:shipping \
    --label cost_center:logistics \
    --nouse_legacy_sql \
    'SELECT
       column1, column2
     FROM
       `mydataset.mytable`'

API

To add a label to a job, call the jobs.insert method and populate the labels property for the job configuration. You can use the API to add labels to any job type.

Adding a tag

A label that has a key with an empty value is used as a tag. You can create a new label with no value, or you can turn an existing label into a tag.

Tags can be useful in situations where you are labeling a resource, but you do not need the key:value format. For example, if you have a table that contains test data that is used by multiple groups (support, development, and so on), you can add a test_data tag to the table to identify it.

To add a tag:

Console

  1. In the Cloud Console, select the appropriate resource (a dataset, table, or view).

  2. For datasets, the dataset details page is automatically opened. For tables and views, click Details to open the details page.

    Table details.

  3. On the details page, click the pencil icon to the right of Labels.

    Label pencil.

  4. In the Edit labels dialog:

    • Click Add label.
    • Enter a new key and leave the value blank. To apply additional tags, click Add label and repeat.
    • Click Update to save your changes.

SQL

Data definition language (DDL) statements let you create and modify tables and views using standard SQL query syntax.

See more on Using Data Definition Language statements.

To add a tag using a DDL statement in the Cloud Console:

  1. Click Compose new query.

  2. Type your DDL statement into the Query editor text area.

     ALTER TABLE mydataset.mytable
 SET OPTIONS (
   labels=[("tag1", ""), ("tag2", "")]
 )

  3. Click Run query.

bq

To add a tag to an existing resource, use the bq update command with the set_label flag. Specify the key, followed by a colon, but leave the value unspecified.

bq update --set_label KEY: RESOURCE_ID

Replace the following:

  • KEY:: the label key that you want to use as a tag.
  • RESOURCE_ID: a valid dataset, table, or view name. If the resource is in a project other than your default project, add the project ID in the following format: PROJECT_ID:DATASET.

Examples:

Enter the following command to create a test_data tag for mydataset.mytable. mydataset is in your default project.

bq update --set_label test_data: mydataset

API

Call the datasets.patch method or the tables.patch method and add labels with the value set to the empty string ("") in the dataset resource or the table resource. You can turn existing labels into tags by replacing their values with the empty string.

Because views are treated like table resources, you use the tables.patch method to modify both views and tables. Also, because the tables.update method replaces the entire dataset resource, the tables.patch method is preferred.

What's next