GBQ autoInsertTime option
Learn about the autoInsertTime configuration in GBQ data pipelines and how it ensures accurate insertion timestamps in BigQuery tables.
autoInsertTime configuration option in GBQ data pipelines controls how the insertedTime column is populated in Google BigQuery tables. When enabled, this option instructs BigQuery to assign the current timestamp at the exact moment each row is inserted.autoInsertTime flag be enabled in their tenant configuration.Without this setting, the insertedTime value is assigned by Java code in Reltio before the record is sent to BigQuery. This approach can create timestamp discrepancies when querying data using time ranges.
By using BigQuery’s native CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() as the default, autoInsertTime ensures that time-based queries return consistent and expected results.
How to enable autoInsertTime
To enable this option, you need to complete two coordinated actions:
Update your BigQuery schema: Your GCP admin must run the following command on all relevant GBQ tables (entities, relations, and interactions):
ALTER TABLE <TABLE_NAME> ALTER COLUMN insertedTime SET DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP();Submit a Reltio support request: Raise a request to enable the
autoInsertTimeflag in your tenant’s physical (L1) configuration. Include your GBQ data pipeline name and tenant ID in the request."autoInsertTime": true
If either step is skipped, the feature won’t function as expected. For example, enabling the flag without updating the schema results in null values for insertedTime.
Default behavior if not configured
If autoInsertTime is not enabled, the GBQ connector assigns the insertedTime field using Java logic at the time of record creation, not insertion.