R2 SQL Configuration

R2 SQL Configuration

Setup and configuration for R2 SQL queries.

Prerequisites

• R2 bucket with Data Catalog enabled
• API token with R2 permissions
• Wrangler CLI installed (for CLI queries)

Enable R2 Data Catalog

R2 SQL queries Apache Iceberg tables in R2 Data Catalog. Must enable catalog on bucket first.

Via Wrangler CLI

npx wrangler r2 bucket catalog enable <bucket-name>

Output includes:

• Warehouse name - Typically same as bucket name
• Catalog URI - REST endpoint for catalog operations

Example output:

Catalog enabled successfully
Warehouse: my-bucket
Catalog URI: https://abc123.r2.cloudflarestorage.com/iceberg/my-bucket

Via Dashboard

1. Navigate to R2 Object Storage → Select your bucket
2. Click Settings tab
3. Scroll to R2 Data Catalog section
4. Click Enable
5. Note the Catalog URI and Warehouse name

Important: Enabling catalog creates metadata directories in bucket but does not modify existing objects.

Create API Token

R2 SQL requires API token with R2 permissions.

Required Permission

R2 Admin Read & Write (includes R2 SQL Read permission)

Via Dashboard

1. Navigate to R2 Object Storage
2. Click Manage API tokens (top right)
3. Click Create API token
4. Select Admin Read & Write permission
5. Click Create API Token
6. Copy token value - shown only once

Permission Scope

Note: R2 SQL Read permission not yet available via Dashboard - use Admin Read & Write.

Configure Environment

Wrangler CLI

Set environment variable for Wrangler to use:

export WRANGLER_R2_SQL_AUTH_TOKEN=<your-token>

Or create .env file in project directory:

WRANGLER_R2_SQL_AUTH_TOKEN=<your-token>

Wrangler automatically loads .env file when running commands.

HTTP API

For programmatic access (non-Wrangler), pass token in Authorization header:

curl -X POST https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/accounts/{account_id}/r2/sql/query \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "warehouse": "my-bucket",
    "query": "SELECT * FROM default.my_table LIMIT 10"
  }'

Note: HTTP API endpoint URL may vary - see patterns.md for current endpoint.

Verify Setup

Test configuration by querying system tables:

# List namespaces
npx wrangler r2 sql query "my-bucket" "SHOW DATABASES"

# List tables in namespace
npx wrangler r2 sql query "my-bucket" "SHOW TABLES IN default"

If successful, returns JSON array of results.

Troubleshooting

"Token authentication failed"

Cause: Invalid or missing token

Solution:

• Verify WRANGLER_R2_SQL_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable set
• Check token has Admin Read & Write permission
• Create new token if expired

"Catalog not enabled on bucket"

Cause: Data Catalog not enabled

Solution:

• Run npx wrangler r2 bucket catalog enable <bucket-name>
• Or enable via Dashboard (R2 → bucket → Settings → R2 Data Catalog)

"Permission denied"

Cause: Token lacks required permissions

Solution:

• Verify token has Admin Read & Write permission
• Create new token with correct permissions

See Also

• r2-data-catalog/configuration.md - Detailed token setup and PyIceberg connection
• patterns.md - Query examples using configuration
• gotchas.md - Common configuration errors