BigQuery – Softr Help Docs

BigQuery is a powerful cloud-based data warehouse that enables you to analyze massive datasets quickly. With Softr’s BigQuery integration, you can build custom dashboards, reports, and even full-fledged apps tailored to your business needs.

This integration allows you to:

Create real-time dashboards and reports

Run custom SQL queries for deeper insights

Securely control access to data

Share data-driven insights with partners and stakeholders

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BigQuery is available on Business and Enterprise plans.

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Important: BigQuery is read-only, so you can’t add, update, or delete data via Softr. This makes blocks like Forms unusable, and you can’t manage or store Softr user data in BigQuery. However, you can still manage user data within Softr.

Example Use Cases:

Dashboards – Track user activity, app performance, and sales trends in a single dashboard without complex analytics tools.

Partner Insights – Share product performance data with vendors using secure, real-time BigQuery dashboards.

1. Connect BigQuery to Softr

To use BigQuery in Softr, you must first link your account. Before connecting BigQuery to Softr, make sure you have:

A Google Cloud Platform project with BigQuery enabled

A dataset within your BigQuery project

At least read-only access for Softr to your BigQuery dataset

Step 1: Open data Ssurces in Softr

Navigate to Data Sources in your Softr Dashboard.

Click Connect Data Source.

Add, edit, or remove a datasource using the buttons on the dashboard

Step 2: Authenticate BigQuery

Select BigQuery from the list of available data sources.

Follow the on-screen prompts to authenticate with Google OAuth.

Grant Softr the necessary read-only permissions to your BigQuery datasets.

2. Connect your BigQuery data to the Softr app

Once connected, you can use your BigQuery data to build dashboards and display records in your Softr apps.

Step 1: Connect your data to a dynamic block

To display your data in the app, connect a dynamic block (e.g. List, Chart) to your BiqQuery table:

Go to the Block source tab and select your BigQuery integration.

Select the project and dataset you want to connect.

Pick the table you want to use or create a new query

Optionally, select the primary field.

Step 2: Map BigQuery fields to Softr fields

When you connect your table to a block, you can choose which BigQuery properties to display and map to a Softr field. This lets you control how your data appears in Softr.

Example: If you have a date in BigQuery, map it to grouping in Softr.

Custom SQL Queries (Optional)

You can use Softr’s built-in query editor to write SQL queries directly against your BigQuery dataset for advanced data analysis.

Write and run custom queries inside Softr.

Connect query results to dynamic blocks to display custom tables and visualizations.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter errors while connecting BigQuery to Softr, check for these common issues:

Error: Something went wrong “Access Denied”

Important part of error in text: "Access Denied:
BigQuery BigQuery: Permission denied while globbing file pattern.", — Important part of error in text: "Access Denied: BigQuery BigQuery: Permission denied while globbing file pattern.",

Important part of error in text: "Access Denied:
BigQuery BigQuery: Permission denied while getting Drive credentials.", — Important part of error in text: "Access Denied: BigQuery BigQuery: Permission denied while getting Drive credentials.",

Cause: BigQuery external tables (from Google Drive, Sheets, or Cloud Storage) require additional permissions that Softr does not request.

Internal vs external tables

In BigQuery, while creating a table in some cases user can decide or has only the option to create an external datasource.

user might have the option to or be forced to create an “external table”. Table creation dialog, BigQuery console.

External tables are forced or available when a user creates a table from:

A file on Google Drive with supported format (CSV, Avro, …)

A Google Sheet document

A file on Google Cloud Storage

If the user goes for an external table in these cases, trying to integrate such a table with Softr will give them an error message similar to those mentioned above.

To identify an existing table as either internal or external, one could take a look at table details and would see an “External data configuration” section for external tables similar to the following:

Solution 1: Use a Native Table

To avoid issues, set the table type to Native Table when creating it (if available).

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Note: A Native Table won’t sync with the original source, so any updates to the external source won’t be reflected in Softr.

Solution 2: Copy the External Table

If using a Native Table isn’t an option, create a duplicate of the external table as a new Native Table and use that in Softr.

📌 SQL Example:

sql
CopyEdit
CREATE TABLE native_table_copy AS
SELECT * FROM external_table;

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Downside: This method duplicates data, which may increase storage costs.