DDL Operations

Generate DDL statements from the context menu.

Access: Right-click table → Templates

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Available Operations

Operation	What It Does	Cost
CREATE TABLE (DDL)	Generate full schema DDL	Free
SELECT	Query template	Query
INSERT INTO	Insert template	Query
COPY TABLE	Copy structure + data	Query
CLONE TABLE	Lightweight copy (metadata only)	Free
TRUNCATE	Delete all rows, keep schema	Free
ALTER OPTIONS	Modify table settings	Free
RENAME	Change table name	Free
DROP	Delete table	Free

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COPY vs CLONE

COPY: Duplicates data (slow, costs query charges)

CREATE TABLE `project.dataset.table_copy` AS
SELECT * FROM `project.dataset.table`

CLONE: Metadata-only, copy-on-write (instant, free)

CREATE TABLE `project.dataset.table_clone`
CLONE `project.dataset.table`

Use CLONE for backups, testing, staging environments.

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Common Patterns

Backup with expiration:

CREATE TABLE `project.dataset.table_backup_20250110`
CLONE `project.dataset.table`
OPTIONS(expiration_timestamp = TIMESTAMP_ADD(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(), INTERVAL 30 DAY))

Clone at specific time:

CREATE TABLE `project.dataset.table_clone`
CLONE `project.dataset.table`
FOR SYSTEM_TIME AS OF TIMESTAMP_SUB(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(), INTERVAL 1 DAY)

Recover from TRUNCATE:

INSERT INTO `project.dataset.table`
SELECT * FROM `project.dataset.table`
FOR SYSTEM_TIME AS OF TIMESTAMP_SUB(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(), INTERVAL 1 HOUR)

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ALTER OPTIONS

ALTER TABLE `project.dataset.table`
SET OPTIONS(
  description = "Updated description",
  expiration_timestamp = TIMESTAMP("2025-12-31"),
  labels = [("env", "prod")],
  max_time_travel_hours = 168
)

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Permissions Required

• CREATE: bigquery.tables.create
• DROP: bigquery.tables.delete
• ALTER: bigquery.tables.update