This page provides an overview of datasets in BigQuery.
Datasets
A dataset is contained within a specific project. Datasets are top-level containers that are used to organize and control access to your tables and views. A table or view must belong to a dataset, so you need to create at least one dataset before loading data into BigQuery.
Dataset limitations
BigQuery datasets are subject to the following limitations:
- You can set the geographic location at creation time only. After a dataset has
been created, the location becomes immutable and can't be changed in the
BigQuery web UI, the command-line tool, or by calling the
patchorupdateAPI methods. -
All tables referenced in a query must be stored in datasets in the same location.
-
When copying a table, the datasets containing the source table and destination table must reside in the same location.
- Dataset names must be unique per project.
- As you approach thousands of datasets in a project, web UI performance begins to degrade, and listing datasets becomes slower.
Dataset quotas
For more information on dataset quotas and limits, see Quotas and Limits.
Dataset pricing
You are not charged for creating, updating, or deleting a dataset.
For more information on BigQuery pricing, see Pricing.
Next steps
- For more information on creating and using datasets, see Creating and Using Datasets.
- For more information on managing datasets, see Managing Datasets.
