[Bug]: BigQueryIO.read() requires GCS tempLocation when using BigQuery Emulator

[hichmo]

What happened?

Description

When using the BigQuery emulator in combination with BigQueryIO.read() in Apache Beam (Java), the pipeline fails with the following error when running locally with DirectRunner:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: BigQueryIO.Read needs a GCS temp location to store temp files. This can be set with option --tempLocation.

This makes it impossible to write integration tests against the emulator using BigQueryIO.read() unless a (fake) GCS-compatible path is provided—even though the emulator does not support or require real GCS interaction.

To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Start BigQuery emulator (e.g., [goccy/bigquery-emulator](https://github.com/goccy/bigquery-emulator))
2. Create a Beam pipeline that reads using BigQueryIO.readTableRows().from(...)
3. Set bigQueryEndpoint to point to the emulator
4. Omit tempLocation (or use a local one)
5. Run with DirectRunner

Expected behavior

The pipeline should be able to run against the emulator.

Environment:

• Beam version: 2.63.0 (also affects earlier)
• Runner: DirectRunner
• Java SDK
• Emulator: ghcr.io/goccy/bigquery-emulator

Issue Priority

Priority: 2 (default / most bugs should be filed as P2)

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[Abacn]

This is WAI. BigQueryIO.read() default to EXPORT, where Beam does not read from BigQuery directly. It invokes BigQuery export API to export tables to gcs, then Beam just read GCS files.

Have you tried BigQueryIO.read with DIRECT_READ method (which does not require tempLocation)?

[hichmo]

I have also try with DIRECT_READ and face another issue.

The BigQuery job completes successfully, but the Apache Beam pipeline remains stuck, beam is likely waiting for the results to be available in the temporary table

[github-actions]

This issue has been marked as stale due to 150 days of inactivity. It will be closed in 30 days if no further activity occurs. If you think that’s incorrect or this issue still needs to be addressed, please simply write any comment. If closed, you can reopen the issue at any time. Thank you for your contributions.

[github-actions]

This issue has been closed due to lack of activity. If you think that is incorrect, you can reopen the issue at any time.