> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://resources.athenaintel.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# BigQuery

Connect Big query to Athena to find your tables and metadata easily.

<Info>
  BigQuery is a per-user connection: each member uploads their own credentials, and nothing is shared with other members. No workspace-admin setup is required.
</Info>

<video autoPlay muted loop playsInline className="w-full aspect-video" src="https://mintcdn.com/athenaintelligence-e46bc9d3/1K9JaBoqyAQssL9u/images/bigquery-video.mp4?fit=max&auto=format&n=1K9JaBoqyAQssL9u&q=85&s=dbf8f97cfde4a42c534a1c296eb0d980" data-path="images/bigquery-video.mp4" />

<Steps>
  <Step title="Select your data source">
    Navigate to ***[Integrations](https://app.athenaintel.com/dashboard/integrations/)***. Click on **BigQuery**.

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/athenaintelligence-e46bc9d3/90btWVz9KlRtRqc4/images/integrations.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=90btWVz9KlRtRqc4&q=85&s=9653c182ffe347bb2b1a6c944b6dba6e" width="3420" height="1964" data-path="images/integrations.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Setup the connection">
    Fill in the connection details and click on **Test Connection**.

    <Frame>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/athenaintelligence-e46bc9d3/1K9JaBoqyAQssL9u/images/bigquery.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=1K9JaBoqyAQssL9u&q=85&s=de35930e4b0655ce2415f61eb1d07b3e" width="3420" height="1966" data-path="images/bigquery.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Connecting with a service account (BigQuery Direct)

The **BigQuery (Direct v2)** option takes a Google service-account key file
instead of individual credentials, and creates a semantic model wired one-to-one
to your project.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a service account in Google Cloud">
    In the Google Cloud project that holds your datasets, create a service
    account and grant it read access to BigQuery — typically **BigQuery Data
    Viewer** on the datasets you want to expose, plus **BigQuery Job User** on
    the project so it can run queries. Then create a **JSON key** and download
    the file.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload the key file">
    On the **[Integrations](https://app.athenaintel.com/dashboard/integrations/)**
    page, choose **BigQuery (Direct v2) → Connect** and drop in the `.json` key
    file. Athena confirms the project ID and service-account email it read from
    the file before you save.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name the model">
    Give the semantic model a title and save. The key is encrypted at rest and
    never returned to the browser.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Athena queries BigQuery with exactly the permissions you gave that service
  account — grant the minimum your team needs, and rotate the key by uploading a
  new one at any time.
</Note>

<Tip> Now that you have connected your data, [explore how to query the same](https://resources.athenaintel.com/docs/pillars/applications/query)! </Tip>