Official agent skill

Bigtable Basics

Assists in provisioning instances/tables, designing performant schemas, and querying data in Bigtable.

OfficialApache-2.0Auto-check passedDatabases

Install Bigtable Basics

skills CLI

$ npx skills add google/skills --skill bigtable-basics -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install google/skills bigtable-basics --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics .claude/skills/bigtable-basics && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "bigtable-basics" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics into .claude/skills/bigtable-basics/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "bigtable-basics", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add google/skills --skill bigtable-basics -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install google/skills bigtable-basics --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics .agents/skills/bigtable-basics && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "bigtable-basics" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics into .agents/skills/bigtable-basics/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "bigtable-basics", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add google/skills --skill bigtable-basics -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install google/skills bigtable-basics --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics .cursor/skills/bigtable-basics && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "bigtable-basics" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics into .cursor/skills/bigtable-basics/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "bigtable-basics", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/google/skills.git --path skills/cloud/bigtable-basics

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add google/skills --skill bigtable-basics -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install google/skills bigtable-basics --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics .gemini/skills/bigtable-basics && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "bigtable-basics" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics into .gemini/skills/bigtable-basics/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "bigtable-basics", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install google/skills bigtable-basics

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add google/skills --skill bigtable-basics -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics .github/skills/bigtable-basics && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "bigtable-basics" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics into .github/skills/bigtable-basics/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "bigtable-basics", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add google/skills --skill bigtable-basics -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install google/skills bigtable-basics --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics .opencode/skills/bigtable-basics && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "bigtable-basics" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/bigtable-basics into .opencode/skills/bigtable-basics/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "bigtable-basics", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: bigtable-basics
GitHub stars: 21k
Token cost: ~1.3k tokens
SKILL.md length: 531 words
Files: 8 (incl. references, assets)
Skills in repo: 145
Repo updated: Oct 6, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: Apache-2.0

At a glance

Assists in provisioning instances/tables, designing performant schemas, and querying data in Bigtable.

Works in 3 steps: Querying Data → Manipulating Data → Data Model Definition (DDL)
Designing Bigtable row keys
SKILL.md covers Core Principles, Quick Recipes, Reference Guides and Common Workflows, plus 1 more section
Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Bigtable Basics is an agent skill from google/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Assists in provisioning instances/tables, designing performant schemas, and querying data in Bigtable. Use when designing Bigtable row keys, configuring column families, writing SQL queries or client library code (Java, Go, Python) for Bigtable, or diagnosing performance/hotspotting issues. Also use when provisioning Bigtable clusters using gcloud or cbt CLIs. Don't use for generic Cloud SQL administration.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 9 other files, including reference files and assets (for example `assets/row_key_schema.yaml`, `references/cli_data_access.md` and `references/client_libraries.md`).

It sits in Databases, covering SQL. It works with SQL, Google Cloud, Java and Python. The repository describes itself as: Agent Skills for Google products and technologies. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

Designing Bigtable row keys
Configuring column families
Writing SQL queries
Client library code (Java

Example prompts

“Use the bigtable-basics skill to assist in provisioning instances/tables, designing performant schemas, and querying data in Bigtable”
“/bigtable-basics”

Requirements

Python 3

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Querying Data
Manipulating Data
Data Model Definition (DDL)

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8a1ac05. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):
- cloud.google.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Bigtable Basics loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs, and up to ~7.3k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 107 tokens; SKILL.md has 531 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~107
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.3k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them: ~7.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from google/skills at commit 8a1ac05, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© google). 531 words, ~1,288 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/bigtable-basics/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 7 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: bigtable-basics
description: Assists in provisioning instances/tables, designing performant schemas, and querying data in Bigtable. Use when designing Bigtable row keys, configuring column families, writing SQL queries or client library code (Java, Go, Python) for Bigtable, or diagnosing performance/hotspotting issues. Also use when provisioning Bigtable clusters using gcloud or cbt CLIs. Don't use for generic Cloud SQL administration.
metadata.version: 1.0.0
metadata.category: Databases

Bigtable Basics

This skill provides core workflows and guidance for administering and developing with Google Bigtable.

Core Principles

Control Plane vs. Data Plane:
- Use gcloud for Control Plane operations: Manage Instances, Clusters, App Profiles, Backups and IAM. Create Tables, Logical Views, Materialized Views and Authorized Views.
- Use cbt for Data Plane operations: Update Tables, Column Families, and reading/writing data.
Performance First: Bigtable is a NoSQL database. Efficiency is tied to Row Key design. Always warn about Full Table Scans.
Client Selection: For production use cases, prefer Java or Go for their superior performance and feature coverage compared to other languages.
Observability: When diagnosing performance or hotspotting, always mention Key Visualizer (via Cloud Console) as the primary diagnostic tool because it provides the most granular view of access patterns across row keys. This should be followed by the hot-tablets tool and table stats in gcloud CLI and include-stats=full option under cbt read to diagnose slow queries.

[!IMPORTANT] Safety Rule: You MUST obtain explicit user confirmation before making non-emulator database changes. You MUST mention this safety requirement when providing commands or instructions that modify the database structure or data.

Quick Recipes

1. Querying Data

Use SQL for complex transforms or aggregations and key-value APIs for simpler query patterns. Note: Use exact match, prefix (_key LIKE 'myprefix%'), or range predicates on _key to avoid expensive unbounded scans. Recommend explicit row ranges (_key BETWEEN 'start' AND 'end') as a more performant alternative to prefix matches where possible.

If expensive scans (either unbounded or prefix or range queries scanning a large range) are unavoidable due to multiple access patterns that can’t all be accommodated in a single schema, consider one of these two options:

If the query will be used in user facing and/or latency sensitive applications, use continuous materialized views with keys optimized for the additional access patterns.
If secondary access patterns are infrequent, batch patterns like ETL, ML model training or analytical read-only tasks, use Bigtable Data Boost instead.

Show full SKILL.md (205 more words)Show less

2. Manipulating Data

Use key-value APIs for insert, update, increment and delete operations. SQL API is read-only.

3. Data Model Definition (DDL)

SQL API doesn't support DDL operations. Table creation, deletion, updates should be made using gcloud CLI. Logical Views and Continuous Materialized Views are defined as SQL queries but they must be created using gcloud CLI.

Reference Guides

CLI Operations:
- infrastructure_management.md: Provisioning instances, clusters, and table schemas.
- cli_data_access.md: Reading and writing data via the cbt CLI.
Design & Discovery:
- schema_design.md: Best practices for row keys and performance with tables and continuous materialized views.
- dataplex.md: Data catalog search for Bigtable assets.
Querying & Code:
- sql_guide.md: Querying structured row keys via SQL and CLI.
- client_libraries.md: Patterns for high-performance Go/Java/Python code.

Common Workflows

Schema Evolution (DevOps)

Prefer Terraform for production schema changes to prevent accidental data loss.
For manual cbt changes, first check the existing state by listing the table's column families and GC policies before proposing any modifications:
bash
```
cbt ls {table}
```
If modifications are needed, create the family or update the GC policy:
bash
```
cbt createfamily {table} {family}
cbt setgcpolicy {table} {family} "maxversions=5 AND maxage=30d"
```
Reference infrastructure_management.md for full syntax.

External Resources

Files

SKILL.md and 7 other files (references, assets) in skills/cloud/bigtable-basics of google/skills.

SKILL.md
assets/row_key_schema.yaml
references/cli_data_access.md
references/client_libraries.md
references/dataplex.md
references/infrastructure_management.md
references/schema_design.md
references/sql_guide.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8a1ac05

Compare with similar skills

Bigtable Basics next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Bigtable Basics compared with similar skills
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Bigtable Basics this skillgoogle/skills	21k	—	~1.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
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Jeecg Onlformjeecgboot/skills	237	—	~7.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	20 days ago
Oracle DatabaseKilo-Org/kilo-marketplace	189	—	~1.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	8 days ago
Chdb SQLvemetric/vemetric	394	1 repos	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Kolokoloai/kolo	525	—	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	5 mo ago

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Questions about Bigtable Basics

What does Bigtable Basics do?

Assists in provisioning instances/tables, designing performant schemas, and querying data in Bigtable. Bigtable Basics is an agent skill from google/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Assists in provisioning instances/tables, designing performant schemas, and querying data in Bigtable.

When should I use Bigtable Basics?

Bigtable Basics fits situations like: designing Bigtable row keys; configuring column families; writing SQL queries; client library code (Java.

How do I install Bigtable Basics in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add google/skills --skill bigtable-basics -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/cloud/bigtable-basics in google/skills) into .claude/skills/bigtable-basics in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Bigtable Basics in Codex?

Run `npx skills add google/skills --skill bigtable-basics -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/cloud/bigtable-basics in google/skills) into .agents/skills/bigtable-basics in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Bigtable Basics in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add google/skills --skill bigtable-basics -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/bigtable-basics, .gemini/skills/bigtable-basics, .github/skills/bigtable-basics and .opencode/skills/bigtable-basics in your project.

What does Bigtable Basics need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Bigtable Basics is instructions for the agent only. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Bigtable Basics access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. As links in the text: cloud.google.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Bigtable Basics safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Bigtable Basics use?

Bigtable Basics is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Bigtable Basics use?

About 1.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 6k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Bigtable Basics?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Bigtable Basics: DB (oracle/skills, 872 stars), Jeecg Onlform (jeecgboot/skills, 237 stars), Oracle Database (Kilo-Org/kilo-marketplace, 189 stars) and Chdb SQL (vemetric/vemetric, 394 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Bigtable Basics?

google (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in google/skills, which has 20,994 GitHub stars. The repository holds 145 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.

Source: google/skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Bigtable Basics

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Bigtable Basics

Core Principles

Quick Recipes

1. Querying Data

2. Manipulating Data

3. Data Model Definition (DDL)

Reference Guides

Common Workflows

Schema Evolution (DevOps)

External Resources

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from google/skills

Related

Questions about Bigtable Basics