Enter a valid GoogleSQL query in the Query editor text area.
Optional: To change the processing location, click More and select
Query settings. For Data location,
choose the location of your data.
Click Run.
When the results are returned, click Save results and select the
format or location where you want to save the results.
The file is downloaded to your browser's default download location.
Save query results to Google Drive
Saving query results to Google Drive is not supported by the bq command-line tool or
the API.
You might get an error when you try to save the BigQuery results
to Google Drive. This error is due to the Drive SDK API
being unable to access Google Workspace. To resolve the issue,
you must enable your user account to
access Google Drive
with the Drive SDK API.
To save query results to Google Drive, use the Google Cloud console:
In the Google Cloud console, open the BigQuery page.
Enter a valid GoogleSQL query in the Query editor text area.
Click Run.
When the results are returned, click Save results.
Under Google Drive, select CSV or JSON. When you save
results to Google Drive, you cannot choose the location. Results are
always saved to the root "My Drive" location.
It may take a few minutes to save the results to Google Drive. When
the results are saved, you receive a dialog message that includes the
filename —
bq-results-[TIMESTAMP]-[RANDOM_CHARACTERS].[CSV or JSON].
In the dialog message, click Open to open the file, or navigate to
Google Drive and click My Drive.
Save query results to Google Sheets
Saving query results to Google Sheets is not supported by the bq command-line tool or
the API.
You might get an error when you try to open the BigQuery results
from Google Sheets. This error is due to the Drive SDK API
being unable to access Google Workspace. To resolve the issue,
you must enable your user account to
access Google Sheets
with the Drive SDK API.
To save query results to Google Sheets, use the Google Cloud console:
In the Google Cloud console, open the BigQuery page.
Enter a valid GoogleSQL query in the Query editor text area.
Optional: To change the processing location, click More and select
Query settings. For Data location,
choose the location of your data.
Click Run.
When the results are returned, click the Save results and select
Google Sheets.
If necessary, follow the prompts to log into your user account and
click Allow to give BigQuery permission to write the data
to your Google Drive MY Drive folder.
After following the prompts, you should receive an email confirming that
BigQuery client tools have been connected to your user
account. The email contains information on the permissions you granted
along with steps to remove the permissions.
When the results are saved, a message similar to the following appears
below the query results in the Google Cloud console: Saved to Sheets as
"results-20190225-103531. Open. Click the link in the message to view your
results in Google Sheets, or navigate to your My Drive folder and open the
file manually.
When you save query results to Google Sheets, the filename begins with
results-[DATE] where [DATE] is today's date in the format
YYYYMMDD.
Troubleshoot saving results to Google Sheets
When saving data from BigQuery to Google Sheets, you might
find that some cells in the sheets are blank. This happens when the data you
are writing to the cell exceeds the Google Sheets limit of 50,000 characters.
To resolve this, use a
string function
in the GoogleSQL query to split the column with the long data into two or more
columns, then save the result to sheets again.
Save query results to Cloud Storage
You can export your query results to Cloud Storage in the Google Cloud console
with the following steps:
Open the BigQuery page in the Google Cloud console.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-25 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eQuery results can be saved as a CSV or JSON file directly to your browser's default download location through the Google Cloud console.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe Google Cloud console allows users to save query results to Google Drive in either CSV or JSON format, with files being stored in the root "My Drive" location.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eQuery results can also be saved directly to Google Sheets via the Google Cloud console, but requires enabling Drive SDK API access and may require permission prompts.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe bq command-line tool and API do not support downloading or saving query results to a local file, Google Drive, or Google Sheets.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIf exporting data to Google Sheets results in blank cells, you may need to use string functions to split long data columns in your query to work around Google Sheet's cell character limits.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Export query results to a file\n==============================\n\nThis document describes how to save query results as a file, such as CSV or JSON.\n\nDownload query results to a local file\n--------------------------------------\n\nDownloading query results to a local file is not supported by the bq command-line tool\nor the API.\n\nTo download query results as a CSV or newline-delimited JSON file, use the\nGoogle Cloud console:\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, open the BigQuery page.\n\n [Go to BigQuery](https://console.cloud.google.com/bigquery)\n2. Click add_box **SQL query**.\n\n3. Enter a valid GoogleSQL query in the **Query editor** text area.\n\n4. Optional: To change the processing location, click **More** and select\n **Query settings** . For **Data location** ,\n choose the [location](/bigquery/docs/locations) of your data.\n\n5. Click **Run**.\n\n6. When the results are returned, click **Save results** and select the\n format or location where you want to save the results.\n\n The file is downloaded to your browser's default download location.\n\nSave query results to Google Drive\n----------------------------------\n\n|\n| **Beta**\n|\n|\n| This feature is subject to the \"Pre-GA Offerings Terms\" in the General Service Terms section\n| of the [Service Specific Terms](/terms/service-terms#1).\n|\n| Pre-GA features are available \"as is\" and might have limited support.\n|\n| For more information, see the\n| [launch stage descriptions](/products#product-launch-stages).\n\nSaving query results to Google Drive is not supported by the bq command-line tool or\nthe API.\n\nYou might get an error when you try to save the BigQuery results\nto Google Drive. This error is due to the Drive SDK API\nbeing unable to access Google Workspace. To resolve the issue,\nyou must enable your user account to\n[access Google Drive](https://support.google.com/a/answer/6105699)\nwith the Drive SDK API.\n\nTo save query results to Google Drive, use the Google Cloud console:\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, open the BigQuery page.\n\n [Go to BigQuery](https://console.cloud.google.com/bigquery)\n2. Click add_box **SQL query**.\n\n3. Enter a valid GoogleSQL query in the **Query editor** text area.\n\n4. Click **Run**.\n\n5. When the results are returned, click **Save results**.\n\n6. Under **Google Drive** , select **CSV** or **JSON**. When you save\n results to Google Drive, you cannot choose the location. Results are\n always saved to the root \"My Drive\" location.\n\n7. It may take a few minutes to save the results to Google Drive. When\n the results are saved, you receive a dialog message that includes the\n filename ---\n `bq-results-[TIMESTAMP]-[RANDOM_CHARACTERS].[CSV or JSON]`.\n\n\n8. In the dialog message, click **Open** to open the file, or navigate to\n Google Drive and click **My Drive**.\n\nSave query results to Google Sheets\n-----------------------------------\n\nSaving query results to Google Sheets is not supported by the bq command-line tool or\nthe API.\n\nYou might get an error when you try to open the BigQuery results\nfrom Google Sheets. This error is due to the Drive SDK API\nbeing unable to access Google Workspace. To resolve the issue,\nyou must enable your user account to\n[access Google Sheets](https://support.google.com/a/answer/6105699)\nwith the Drive SDK API.\n\nTo save query results to Google Sheets, use the Google Cloud console:\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, open the BigQuery page.\n\n [Go to BigQuery](https://console.cloud.google.com/bigquery)\n2. Click add_box **SQL query**.\n\n3. Enter a valid GoogleSQL query in the **Query editor** text area.\n\n4. Optional: To change the processing location, click **More** and select\n **Query settings** . For **Data location** ,\n choose the [location](/bigquery/docs/locations) of your data.\n\n5. Click **Run**.\n\n6. When the results are returned, click the **Save results** and select\n **Google Sheets**.\n\n7. If necessary, follow the prompts to log into your user account and\n click **Allow** to give BigQuery permission to write the data\n to your Google Drive `MY Drive` folder.\n\n After following the prompts, you should receive an email confirming that\n BigQuery client tools have been connected to your user\n account. The email contains information on the permissions you granted\n along with steps to remove the permissions.\n8. When the results are saved, a message similar to the following appears\n below the query results in the Google Cloud console: `Saved to Sheets as\n \"results-20190225-103531. Open`. Click the link in the message to view your\n results in Google Sheets, or navigate to your `My Drive` folder and open the\n file manually.\n\n When you save query results to Google Sheets, the filename begins with\n `results-[DATE]` where `[DATE]` is today's date in the format\n `YYYYMMDD`.\n | **Note:** Saving results to Google Sheets is not supported by the bq command-line tool or the API. For more information, see [Using Connected Sheets](/bigquery/docs/connected-sheets).\n\n### Troubleshoot saving results to Google Sheets\n\nWhen saving data from BigQuery to Google Sheets, you might\nfind that some cells in the sheets are blank. This happens when the data you\nare writing to the cell exceeds the Google Sheets limit of 50,000 characters.\nTo resolve this, use a\n[string function](/bigquery/docs/reference/standard-sql/string_functions#split)\nin the GoogleSQL query to split the column with the long data into two or more\ncolumns, then save the result to sheets again.\n\nSave query results to Cloud Storage\n-----------------------------------\n\nYou can export your query results to Cloud Storage in the Google Cloud console\nwith the following steps:\n\n1. Open the BigQuery page in the Google Cloud console.\n\n [Go to the BigQuery page](https://console.cloud.google.com/bigquery)\n2. Click add_box **SQL query**.\n\n3. Enter a valid GoogleSQL query in the **Query editor** text area.\n\n4. Click **Run**.\n\n5. When the results are returned, click **Save results** \\\u003e **Cloud Storage**.\n\n6. In the **Export to Google Cloud Storage** dialog:\n\n - For **GCS Location**, browse for the bucket, folder, or file where you want to export the data.\n - For **Export format**, choose the format for your exported data: CSV, JSON (Newline Delimited), Avro, or Parquet.\n - For **Compression** , select a compression format or select `None` for no compression.\n7. Click **Save** to export the query results.\n\nTo check on the progress of the job, expand the **Job history** pane and\nlook for the job with the `EXTRACT` type.\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- Learn how to programmatically [export a table to a JSON file](/bigquery/docs/samples/bigquery-extract-table-json).\n- Learn about [quotas for export jobs](/bigquery/quotas#export_jobs).\n- Learn about [BigQuery storage pricing](/bigquery/pricing#storage)."]]
