CREATE LOCATION (Iceberg)

Reference and syntax for creating Iceberg locations.

Creates a new location object in your Firebolt account, which is a secure, reusable object that stores the connection details and credentials for Iceberg data sources. Instead of entering these details each time you run a query or create a table, you can use a location object.

This document captures specific and examples for location objects for Iceberg. For a comprehensive guide to LOCATION objects, see LOCATION objects. For more on location objects syntax in general, see CREATE LOCATION.

Iceberg locations currently support four catalog types: REST, FILE_BASED, DATABRICKS_UNITY (as syntactic sugar on top of REST), and AWS_GLUE. Each catalog accepts a different set of parameters and credentials.

Topics:

• Syntax
• Parameters
• Examples

Syntax

CREATE LOCATION [ IF NOT EXISTS ] <location_name> WITH
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = { FILE_BASED | REST | DATABRICKS_UNITY | AWS_GLUE }
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = {
    -- FILE_BASED
    ( URL = '<file_based_catalog_url>' )
    |
    -- REST
    ( URL = '<rest_catalog_url>'
      WAREHOUSE = '<warehouse>'
      [ NAMESPACE = '<namespace>' ]
      [ TABLE = '<table_name>' ] )
    |
    -- DATABRICKS_UNITY
    ( WORKSPACE_INSTANCE = '<workspace_instance>'
      CATALOG = '<uc_catalog_name>'
      SCHEMA = '<uc_schema_name>'
      TABLE = '<uc_table_name>' )
    |
    -- AWS_GLUE
    ( URL = '<aws_glue_endpoint_url>'
      CATALOG_ID = '<catalog_id>'
      [ DATABASE = '<database_name>' ]
      [ TABLE = '<table_name>' ] )
  }
  CREDENTIALS = {
    -- AWS Authentication
    ( AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = '<aws_access_key_id>'
      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = '<aws_secret_access_key>'
      [ AWS_SESSION_TOKEN = '<aws_session_token>' ] )
    |
    ( AWS_ROLE_ARN = '<aws_role_arn>'
      [ AWS_ROLE_EXTERNAL_ID = '<aws_role_external_id>' ] )
    |
    -- OAuth Authentication
    ( OAUTH_CLIENT_ID = '<oauth_client_id>'
      OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET = '<oauth_client_secret>'
      [ OAUTH_SCOPE = '<oauth_scope>' ]
      [ OAUTH_SERVER_URL = '<oauth_server_url>' ] )
  }
  [ DESCRIPTION = '<description>' ]

Parameters

Common Parameters

Parameter	Description
<location_name>	A unique identifier for the location within your account.
SOURCE	The external data source type. Currently, AMAZON_S3 and ICEBERG are supported. This should be ICEBERG for Iceberg locations.
DESCRIPTION	Optional metadata describing the location’s purpose.

Iceberg Parameters

Parameter	Description
CATALOG	The type of Iceberg catalog. Supported values: FILE_BASED, REST, DATABRICKS_UNITY, or AWS_GLUE.
CATALOG_OPTIONS	Configuration options specific to the chosen catalog type.
CREDENTIALS	Authentication credentials for accessing the Iceberg catalog. Depending on the type of catalog, either AWS or OAuth credentials are used.

AWS Authentication Parameters

Use AWS authentication parameters for FILE_BASED and AWS_GLUE catalogs.

Parameter	Description
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID	Your AWS access key ID for key-based authentication.
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY	Your AWS secret access key for key-based authentication.
AWS_SESSION_TOKEN	Optional temporary session token for temporary credentials.
AWS_ROLE_ARN	The ARN of the IAM role to assume for role-based authentication.
AWS_ROLE_EXTERNAL_ID	Optional external ID for role assumption.

OAuth Authentication Parameters

Use OAuth authentication parameters for REST or DATABRICKS_UNITY catalogs.

Parameter	Description
OAUTH_CLIENT_ID	The OAuth client ID for authentication.
OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET	The OAuth client secret for authentication.
OAUTH_SCOPE	Optional OAuth scope for authentication.
OAUTH_SERVER_URL	Optional OAuth server URL for authentication.

Iceberg Catalog-Specific Parameters

FILE_BASED Catalog

Parameter	Description
URL	The URL for the file-based catalog. This must be a valid S3 URL.

REST Catalog

Parameter	Description
URL	The REST catalog URL.
WAREHOUSE	The warehouse identifier.
NAMESPACE	The namespace identifier.
TABLE	The table name.

DATABRICKS_UNITY Catalog

Parameter	Description
WORKSPACE_INSTANCE	The Databricks workspace instance.
CATALOG	The Unity Catalog name.
SCHEMA	The Unity Catalog schema name.
TABLE	The Unity Catalog table name.

AWS_GLUE Catalog

Parameter	Description
URL	The AWS Glue endpoint URL. Format: https://glue.<region>.amazonaws.com/iceberg
CATALOG_ID	The AWS Glue catalog ID. Must be the default catalog for your account. Nested and named catalogs are not currently supported.
DATABASE	The AWS Glue database name.
TABLE	The AWS Glue table name.

Examples

File-based catalog

Used to access Iceberg tables directly from S3.

For file-based Iceberg catalogs, use AWS key-based or role-based authentication in CREDENTIALS.

With access key and secret:

CREATE LOCATION my_location
WITH 
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = FILE_BASED
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = (
    URL = 's3://my-bucket/path/to/iceberg/table'
  )
  CREDENTIALS = ( AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = '1231' AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = '567' );

SELECT * FROM READ_ICEBERG(LOCATION => 'my_location') LIMIT 5;

With access key, secret, and session token:

CREATE LOCATION my_location
WITH 
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = FILE_BASED
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = (
    URL = 's3://my-bucket/path/to/iceberg/table'
  )
  CREDENTIALS = ( AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = '1231' AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = '567' SESSION_TOKEN = 'session-token' );

SELECT * FROM READ_ICEBERG(LOCATION => 'my_location') LIMIT 5;

With role:

CREATE LOCATION my_location
WITH 
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = FILE_BASED
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = (
    URL = 's3://my-bucket/path/to/iceberg/table'
  )
  CREDENTIALS = ( AWS_ROLE_ARN = 'arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/S3Access' );

SELECT * FROM READ_ICEBERG(LOCATION => 'my_location') LIMIT 5;

With role and external id:

CREATE LOCATION my_location
WITH 
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = FILE_BASED
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = (
    URL = 's3://my-bucket/path/to/iceberg/table'
  )
  CREDENTIALS = ( AWS_ROLE_ARN = 'arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/S3Access' AWS_ROLE_EXTERNAL_ID = 'my-external-id' );

SELECT * FROM READ_ICEBERG(LOCATION => 'my_location') LIMIT 5;

REST catalog

Used to access Iceberg in REST catalogs, that implement the Iceberg REST API spec.

For generic REST Iceberg catalogs, use OAuth parameters for CREDENTIALS.

CREATE LOCATION my_location
WITH 
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = REST
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = (
    URL = 'https://my-iceberg-rest-catalog/api'
    WAREHOUSE  = 'my_warehouse'
    NAMESPACE = 'my_namespace'
    TABLE = 'my_table_name'
  )
  CREDENTIALS = (
    OAUTH_CLIENT_ID = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
    OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET = '1234'
    OAUTH_SCOPE = 'example_permission:all'
    -- OAUTH_SERVER_URL is only needed for REST catalogs that don't support the /v1/oauth/tokens endpoint. If /v1/oauth/tokens is supported, it can be omitted.
    OAUTH_SERVER_URL = 'https://my-iceberg-rest-catalog/example/token'
  );

SELECT * FROM READ_ICEBERG(LOCATION => 'my_location') LIMIT 5;

Databricks Unity Catalog

Used to access Iceberg tables in a Databricks Unity Catalog. Offered as syntactic sugar on top of CATALOG = REST, for users who may be more familiar with Databricks Unity Catalog terminology.

For configuring Unity Catalog in your Databricks workspace, see Databricks - Set up and manage Unity Catalog. Note that you will need to enable credential vending in your Unity Catalog, see Databricks - Unity Catalog credential vending for external system access. For general information about reading Databricks tables from Iceberg clients, see Databricks - Read Databricks tables from Iceberg clients.

For Databricks Unity Catalogs, use OAuth parameters for CREDENTIALS.

CREATE LOCATION my_location
WITH 
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = DATABRICKS_UNITY
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = (
    WORKSPACE_INSTANCE = '000-0000000000000.cloud.databricks.com'
    CATALOG  = 'my_uc_catalog_name'
    SCHEMA = 'my_uc_schema_name'
    TABLE = 'my_uc_table_name'
  )
  CREDENTIALS = (
    OAUTH_CLIENT_ID = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
    OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET = '1234'
    -- OAUTH_SCOPE and OAUTH_SERVER_URL are not needed
  );

SELECT * FROM READ_ICEBERG(LOCATION => 'my_location') LIMIT 5;

Snowflake Open catalog (as a generic REST catalog)

Iceberg tables in Snowflake Open Catalog can currently be read by using a LOCATION with CATALOG = REST.

For setting up a Snowflake Open Catalog in your account, see Snowflake - Snowflake Open Catalog overview. Note that you will need to enable credential vending for your Iceberg tables, see Snowflake - Use catalog-vended credentials for Apache Iceberg™ tables. For general information about reading Snowflake Open Catalog tables from Iceberg clients, see Snowflake - Checking your REST catalog configuration.

For Snowflake Open catalogs, use OAuth parameters for CREDENTIALS.

CREATE LOCATION my_location
WITH 
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = REST
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = (
    URL = 'https://abc123.us-west-2.aws.myapi.com/polaris/api/catalog'
    WAREHOUSE  = 'my_warehouse'
    NAMESPACE = 'my_catalog_name'
    TABLE = 'my_table_name'
  )
  CREDENTIALS = (
    OAUTH_CLIENT_ID = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
    OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET = '1234'
    OAUTH_SCOPE = 'PRINCIPAL_ROLE:ALL'
    -- OAUTH_SERVER_URL is not needed
  );

SELECT * FROM READ_ICEBERG(LOCATION => 'my_location') LIMIT 5;

AWS Glue catalog

Used to access Iceberg tables in AWS Glue Data Catalog.

Firebolt automatically chooses the appropriate authentication method:

• Vended credentials: If Lake Formation is enabled and returns vended credentials, Firebolt uses those credentials to access your data storage.
• Standard credentials: When vended credentials are unavailable, Firebolt uses your provided credentials to access both the Glue catalog and underlying storage.

With access key and secret:

CREATE LOCATION my_location
WITH 
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = AWS_GLUE
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = (
    URL = 'https://glue.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/iceberg'
    CATALOG_ID = '123456789123'
    DATABASE = 'my_database'
    TABLE = 'my_table'
  )
  CREDENTIALS = ( AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = '1231' AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = '567' );

SELECT * FROM READ_ICEBERG(LOCATION => 'my_location') LIMIT 5;

With role:

CREATE LOCATION my_location
WITH 
  SOURCE = ICEBERG
  CATALOG = AWS_GLUE
  CATALOG_OPTIONS = (
    URL = 'https://glue.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/iceberg'
    CATALOG_ID = '123456789123'
    DATABASE = 'my_database'
    TABLE = 'my_table'
  )
  CREDENTIALS = ( AWS_ROLE_ARN = 'arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/GlueAccess' );

SELECT * FROM READ_ICEBERG(LOCATION => 'my_location') LIMIT 5;

Your IAM credentials must have the following permissions:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "AllowGlueCatalogTableAccess",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "glue:GetCatalog",
                "glue:GetDatabase",
                "glue:GetDatabases",
                "glue:GetTable",
                "glue:GetTables"
            ],
            "Resource": [
                "arn:aws:glue:*:{catalog_id}:table/*/*",
                "arn:aws:glue:*:{catalog_id}:catalog",
                "arn:aws:glue:*:{catalog_id}:database/{database_name}"
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Your IAM credentials must also have permissions to access the underlying data through one of the following methods:

Option 1: Lake Formation

Use Lake Formation to grant data permissions. See the Amazon documentation for details. You’ll also need to grant getDataAccess permission to your IAM credentials:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "lakeformation:GetDataAccess",
            "Resource": "*"
        }
    ]
}

Option 2: Direct Storage Access

Ensure your IAM credentials have permissions to access the underlying storage directly. See Use AWS roles to access S3 for details.