Bigtable Basics
Guides an agent through Google Bigtable schema design, SQL/CLI queries, client code and provisioning.
- Repository
- google/skills
- Stars
- 21,782
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Files
- 9 files
What it does
When installed, the agent gets Google Bigtable specific guidance: how to design row keys to avoid hotspots, which gcloud and cbt commands to use for creating instances, tables and column families, how to write Bigtable SQL queries, and Java, Go or Python client code. It also tells the agent to ask for explicit user confirmation before making any change to a non-emulator database and to suggest Key Visualizer and related tools when diagnosing slow performance.
Great for
- Engineers building or tuning a Bigtable schema for production workloads
- Data teams writing SQL or cbt queries against existing Bigtable tables
- Developers who want Java, Go or Python Bigtable client patterns
Skip it if
- Generic Cloud SQL or relational database administration, which the skill says it does not cover
- Users who want an agent to change live production tables without reviewing commands, since the skill still relies on the agent following its confirmation rule
Try asking
- “Design a row key schema for a time-series sensor table in Bigtable that avoids hotspotting”
- “Write a Bigtable SQL query that reads rows with a key prefix without a full table scan”
- “Show me the cbt and gcloud commands to add a column family with a max-versions GC policy”
- “Diagnose why my Bigtable reads are slow and tell me which tools to check”
Install in 3 steps
- 1
Download the skill
The ZIP contains the 9 original files, the Apache-2.0 licence and an attribution note.
bigtable-basics.zip - 2
Add it to your agent
Claude Code (all projects)
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && unzip bigtable-basics.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/Claude Code / Agent SDK (this project only)
mkdir -p .claude/skills && unzip bigtable-basics.zip -d .claude/skills/Claude apps (web/desktop): Settings → Capabilities → Skills → Upload skill, and choose the ZIP.
- 3
Ask for the task
No special command needed — the agent reads the skill's description and loads it when your request matches. Try one of the prompts above.
Get better results
- Name your table, column families and access patterns up front so the agent can design row keys around them.
- Run commands against a Bigtable emulator first, since the safety rule only requires confirmation for non-emulator changes.
- Review any gcloud or cbt command the agent proposes before approving it, especially deletions or GC policy changes.
What's inside
- assets/row_key_schema.yaml
- references/attribution.md
- references/cli_data_access.md
- references/client_libraries.md
- references/dataplex.md
- references/infrastructure_management.md
- references/schema_design.md
- references/sql_guide.md
- SKILL.md
Redistributed unmodified from google/skills under the Apache-2.0 licence. The assessment was drafted with AI from the skill's files on 2026-10-29. Skills can instruct your agent to run code — read SKILL.md and any scripts before installing.