READ_PARQUET

READ_PARQUET is a table function: it reads a Parquet file (or a set of files matched by a glob) directly by path, without registering it as a table in a catalog first. Use it in a FROM clause wherever a table name is expected.

Syntax

sql

FROM READ_PARQUET(<path> [, credentials => '<workspace>.<secret>'])

Parameters

<path> — single string literal giving the file path (or glob pattern matching multiple files) to read.
credentials => '<workspace>.<secret>' — read a private gs:// or s3:// path with a stored secret. A string literal naming the secret, qualified with its workspace; never the credential itself. Every file read must fall under the secret's SCOPE, and you need ALTER on the secret's whole workspace to use it.

READ_PARQUET takes no other options — Parquet's schema is read straight from the file's own footer, so there is nothing to configure the way there is for READ_CSV/READ_JSONL.

Examples

Query a Single File

sql

SELECT *
  FROM READ_PARQUET('data/packages.parquet');

Query a Remote File

sql

SELECT *
  FROM READ_PARQUET('https://example.com/data/packages.parquet');

Query a Set of Files with a Glob

sql

SELECT *
  FROM READ_PARQUET('data/packages-*.parquet');

Use Inside CREATE TABLE AS

sql

CREATE TABLE my_workspace.my_collection.packages AS
SELECT *
  FROM READ_PARQUET('https://example.com/data/packages-*.parquet');

Alias the Relation

sql

SELECT p.name
  FROM READ_PARQUET('data/packages.parquet') AS p
 WHERE p.active = TRUE;

Read a Private Bucket with a Stored Secret

sql

SELECT *
  FROM READ_PARQUET('gs://acme-exports/billing/2026-10/*.parquet',
                    credentials => 'analytics.billing_reader');

Notes

Column names and types come directly from the schema embedded in the Parquet file(s); there is no AS alias(col1, col2, ...) form to rename columns — use SELECT ... AS new_name instead. A plain relation alias (AS alias, no column list) is supported.
Standard filter and column pushdown apply: WHERE predicates and the columns your query actually references are pushed into the scan.
A glob path (containing *, ?, or [) matches multiple files; their combined content is read as one relation. Non-.parquet files matched by a glob are silently excluded.
gs://bucket/object and s3://bucket/object paths are supported. Without credentials => they are always fetched anonymously (a public object is read; a private one fails with an error) — Opteryx never signs a request or uses platform credentials on your behalf for a path given to READ_PARQUET, and never picks a secret from the path. Glob patterns are not supported on the anonymous path, because listing a bucket's contents needs a permission a public, unauthenticated read does not have. With credentials => the read is signed with the named secret, and globs work: every file the glob expands to is checked against the secret's SCOPE before anything is read. Use gs://, not gcs://.