Creating tables in Hue by importing files

Using Hue Importer, you can create Hive, Impala, and Iceberg tables from CVS and XLSX files. After enabling the File Browser for your cloud provider, you can import the file into Hue to create tables.

You can upload and import a 200 KB file from your local computer, or import a file up to 3 GB from cloud storage (S3, ADLS Gen2, and Google Cloud Storage (GS) buckets) using the Importer.

note

To enable uploading a small local file from your computer, you must go to Cloudera Manager > Clusters > Hue > Configuration and add the following lines in the Hue Service Advanced Configuration Snippet (Safety Valve) for hue_safety_valve.ini field:

[indexer]
  # Flag to turn on the direct upload of a small file.
  enable_direct_upload=true

You can create managed and external tables. When you create managed tables, the data is moved to HDFS in the Cloudera warehouse workspace. When you create external tables, your data remains in its original location.

Enable user access to cloud storage buckets/containers in Ranger
Enable the File Browser for your cloud provider

Log in to the Hue web interface.
Click Importer from the left-assist panel.
Alternatively, click to create tables under the Databases > Tables list view. This opens the Hue Importer.
Under SOURCE, select Remote File from the Type drop-down menu.
Click .. at the end of the Path field.
The Choose a file modal is displayed.
(Non-RAZ deployment only) Click on your cloud provider, type the following depending on your cloud provider, and press enter:
(AWS): s3a://[***BUCKET-NAME***]

(Azure): abfs://[***CONTAINER-NAME***]

(GCS): gs://[***BUCKET-NAME***]
Browse and select the file you want to use to create a table.
Hue displays the preview of the table along with the format.

Hue automatically detects the field separator, record separator, and the quote character from the file. If you want to override a specific setting, then you can change it by selecting a different value from the drop-down menu.
Click Next.
The table destination and properties are displayed.
Under Extras, deselect Store in Default location and Transaction table options.
This is required to create external tables.
Select the Copy file option.
Selecting this option retains the source file in the original location and creates a copy of the file to create a table.

If you do not select this option, then Hue moves the file from the source location to a new folder, making it unavailable in the original location.
Optional: Set the table destination, partitions, and change the column data types.
Verify the settings and click Submit to create the table.
The CREATE TABLE query is triggered.

Hue displays the logs and opens the Table Browser from which you can view the newly created table when the operation completes successfully.