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COPY command on Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL

The COPY command is used to move data between files and database tables. COPY is a server-based command that requires access to the disk, usually limited to server administrators. However, Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL operates as a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution, which means that users aren't granted superuser privileges. COPY command is thus not fully supported on the platform.

Alternatively, \COPY is a command available in psql and other client interfaces that facilitates direct interaction with the local file system of the machine where it is executed.

Azure Blob Storage support

The pg_azure_storage extension overcomes disk access limitation by leveraging Azure Blob Storage as a data source. When enabled, the extension also enhances the built in COPY command with Azure Blob Storage support.

Load data into github_users table using the COPY command:

COPY github_users
FROM 'https://pgquickstart.blob.core.windows.net/github/users.csv.gz';

Currently the extension supports the following file formats:

format description
csv Comma-separated values format used by PostgreSQL COPY
tsv Tab-separated values, the default PostgreSQL COPY format
binary Binary PostgreSQL COPY format
text A file containing a single text value (for example, large JSON or XML)

Note

  • Syntax and options supported remains likewise to Postgres Native COPY command, with following exceptions:

    • FREEZE [ boolean ]
    • HEADER MATCH

  • COPY TO syntax is yet not supported.

  • \COPY is a psql based command and doesn't support Azure Blob Storage integration.

  • \COPY does allow performing import\export on the cluster but requires moving\copying files across the network.

Next steps

Learn more around usage of pg_azure_storage extension.

Reference azure_storage functions

How to ingest data using pg_azure_storage