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Ingesting Into Data Lake

AWSOfficialPublished by AWS

  • Skill
  • Workflow
  • Data and AI
  • Apache-2.0
  • Low risk

From the author

Import data into the AWS data lake from S3 files, local uploads, JDBC databases (Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, RDS, Aurora), Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, BigQuery, DynamoDB, or existing Glue catalog tables (migration). Default target is S3 Tables; standard Iceberg on a general purpose bucket is supported where S3 Tables is not adopted. Handles one-time loads, recurring pipelines, migrations. Triggers on: import data, load data, ingest, sync database, migrate table, move data to AWS, set up pipeline, ETL, pull from Snowflake, query BigQuery into S3, export DynamoDB, CTAS, convert to Iceberg. Do NOT use for setting up or troubleshooting Glue connections (use connecting-to-data-source), creating empty tables (use creating-data-lake-table), running queries (use querying-data-lake), finding tables by fuzzy name (use finding-data-lake-assets), catalog audit (use exploring-data-catalog), or SaaS platforms like Salesforce, ServiceNow, SAP, MongoDB, Kafka.
— the description by AWS

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a structured workflow for importing data from various sources—including JDBC databases, cloud warehouses like Snowflake and BigQuery, DynamoDB, and S3 files—into an AWS data lake. It prioritizes modern S3 Tables or standard Iceberg formats, ensuring data is queryable and well-structured. The skill guides users through connection verification, target configuration, and validation, while delegating complex setup tasks to specialized sub-skills.

What it does

  • Imports data from JDBC databases, cloud warehouses, and S3 into a data lake
  • Supports one-time loads, recurring ETL pipelines, and catalog migrations
  • Configures target tables using S3 Tables or standard Iceberg formats
  • Validates data integrity via row counts, null checks, and sample verification
  • Automates scheduling for recurring ingestion tasks using Glue triggers
  • Provides clear delegation paths for connection setup and table creation

When to use it

  • When you need to move data from an external database or cloud service into your AWS data lake
  • When setting up a new recurring ETL pipeline for data synchronization
  • When migrating existing Hive-style tables to modern Iceberg formats
  • When you need to perform a one-time bulk load of files from S3 or local storage

Advantages

  • Standardizes ingestion patterns across multiple source types
  • Ensures data quality through built-in validation steps
  • Promotes modern data lake practices by defaulting to S3 Tables and Iceberg
  • Reduces configuration errors by enforcing connection verification before execution

Usage examples

“Import the customers table from our Oracle database into the data lake.”
The agent verifies the existing JDBC connection, confirms the target S3 Tables configuration, and initiates a Glue ETL job to migrate the data.
“Set up a recurring pipeline to pull data from BigQuery into S3.”
The agent configures a Glue job with the necessary BigQuery connection, sets up the target Iceberg table, and creates a Glue trigger for scheduled execution.
“Convert our existing Hive tables to Iceberg.”
The agent performs a catalog migration, updating the table metadata to Iceberg format while maintaining data accessibility.
“Load these local CSV files into the data lake.”
The agent guides the user through the local upload process and maps the data into a queryable S3 Tables format.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/aws/ingesting-into-data-lake/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip ingesting-into-data-lake.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by AWS

Ingest into Data Lake

Move data from a source into a queryable table in the data lake. This skill assumes the source connection (if one is needed) already exists. For Glue connection setup or troubleshooting, delegate to connecting-to-data-source.

Philosophy

Default to S3 Tables unless the environment says otherwise. S3 Tables is the recommended target for new data lake work. If the user's catalog inventory shows they haven't adopted S3 Tables, recommend standard Iceberg on their existing general-purpose bucket instead of forcing them to change posture.

Common Tasks

You MUST execute commands using AWS MCP server tools when connected -- they provide validation, sandboxed execution, and audit logging. Fall back to AWS CLI only if MCP is unavailable. You MUST explain each step before executing.

Workflow

1. Verify Dependencies and Context
  • You MUST check whether AWS MCP tools or AWS CLI are available and inform the user if missing

  • You MUST confirm target AWS region and verify credentials with aws sts get-caller-identity

  • For SageMaker Unified Studio project roles, note that target tables and connections may be scoped to the project. See the caller ARN detection pattern in querying-data-lake.

2. Classify the Source
User says...Source typeReference
"upload my file", "local CSV", "move to S3"Local filelocal-upload.md
"load from S3", "import CSV/JSON/Parquet from s3://"S3 filess3-files.md
"import from Oracle/Postgres/MySQL/SQL Server/Redshift/RDS/Aurora"JDBCjdbc-ingest.md
"pull from Snowflake", "Snowflake table to S3"Snowflakesnowflake-ingest.md
"import from BigQuery", "GCP analytics to S3"BigQuerybigquery-ingest.md
"export DynamoDB", "DynamoDB to data lake"DynamoDBdynamodb-ingest.md
"migrate Glue table", "convert Hive to Iceberg"Catalog migrationcatalog-migration.md

If the user names Salesforce, ServiceNow, SAP, MongoDB, Kafka, or another SaaS/streaming source, decline -- these are not supported in this release.

If the source table is referenced by a fuzzy or business name ("migrate our orders table", "pull from the sales warehouse"), delegate to finding-data-lake-assets to resolve before proceeding.

3. Confirm Connection Exists (if applicable)

For JDBC, Snowflake, and BigQuery sources, a Glue connection is required. Check:

aws glue get-connection --name <CONNECTION_NAME> --region <REGION>

If the connection does not exist, stop and delegate to connecting-to-data-source to create and test it. Do not proceed with ingest until the connection is verified.

Local files, S3 files, DynamoDB, and catalog migration do not need a Glue connection.

4. Clarify the Target

You MUST ask the user (or suggest based on catalog inventory) before creating or writing to any table:

  • Database/namespace: Does a specific target database exist? Or should one be created?

  • Table: Existing table (append/merge) or new table (delegate to creating-data-lake-table)?

  • Format: S3 Tables (default), standard Iceberg, or raw Parquet?

Inventory-aware defaults:

If you have already run exploring-data-catalog or can quickly check, use what exists:

  • Account has an s3tablescatalog federated catalog and active table buckets: recommend S3 Tables

  • Account has general-purpose buckets with Iceberg tables and no S3 Tables usage: recommend standard Iceberg on their existing bucket

  • Account uses Parquet/ORC on S3 without Iceberg metadata: ask whether to adopt Iceberg now (recommend yes) or continue with raw files

Do not force S3 Tables on customers who haven't adopted it. See iceberg-catalog-config-and-usage.md.

Delegations from this step:

  • Target table doesn't exist -> creating-data-lake-table

  • Target database named by fuzzy term -> finding-data-lake-assets

  • User doesn't know what exists -> exploring-data-catalog

5. Execute Source Workflow

Read the source-specific reference and follow its phases. Each is self-contained with job templates, gotchas, and troubleshooting:

  • Local / S3 / JDBC / Snowflake / BigQuery / DynamoDB / catalog migration -- one reference per source

Common Glue 5.1 or higher job configuration and PySpark templates are shared in glue-job-config.md and glue-job-scripts.md.

6. Validate

Run all three, do not skip:

  1. Row count matches expected (source vs target)

  2. Null check on critical columns

  3. Spot-check 3-5 sample rows

See data-quality-validation.md.

7. Schedule (if recurring)

For recurring pipelines, create a Glue Trigger with a cron schedule. See testing-and-scheduling.md. Simple single-step pipelines use Glue Triggers; multi-step with branching uses MWAA.

Argument Routing

  • S3 path only: Infer one-time load, start Step 2 with S3 files

  • Connection name: Start Step 3 with the named connection

  • Table name: Start Step 4, ask whether this is source or target

  • --target flag: Pre-fill the target format in Step 4

  • No args: Walk through interactively

Gotchas

  • S3 Tables requires Glue 5.1 or higher and --datalake-formats iceberg job argument

  • All spark.sql.catalog.* config MUST go in --conf job arguments, never in spark.conf.set(). Glue 5.x throws AnalysisException: Cannot modify the value of a static config otherwise. See iceberg-catalog-config-and-usage.md for correct catalog configs.

  • The warehouse parameter is required in S3 Tables catalog config. Without it Spark fails with "Cannot derive default warehouse location".

  • Table and column names in S3 Tables MUST be all lowercase

  • overwritePartitions() only replaces partitions present in the DataFrame -- for full refresh with deletes, use createOrReplace()

  • Standard Iceberg targets MUST include a LOCATION clause; S3 Tables MUST NOT

  • DynamoDB does not need a Glue connection -- do not attempt to create one

  • Connection failures during ingest delegate back to connecting-to-data-source; do not debug network/credentials in this skill

  • For target tables in SageMaker Unified Studio projects, ensure the project role has write access to the target namespace before the Glue job runs

Troubleshooting

ErrorLikely causeAction
Access Denied on S3Missing IAM permissionsCheck Glue role has s3:GetObject, s3:PutObject
Access Denied on S3 TablesMissing s3tables:* permissionsAdd S3 Tables inline policy to Glue role
CTAS timeoutDataset too large for AthenaSwitch to Glue ETL or batch with WHERE filters
JDBC connection timeout/auth failureConnection-level issueDelegate to connecting-to-data-source
Throughput exceeded (DynamoDB)Read percent too highLower read.percent or use native export

See error-handling.md for the full catalog.

References

Source-specific
Cross-cutting
Migration-specific
JDBC-specific

Files

references/format-specific-loading.md

Format-Specific Data Loading

Complete guide for reading and processing different file formats in Glue ETL jobs.

Overview

This reference covers format-specific configuration and code examples for loading data from various file formats into S3 Tables:

  • CSV/TSV (delimited text files)

  • JSON/JSONL (JavaScript Object Notation)

  • Parquet (columnar format with embedded schema)

  • Avro (row-based format with embedded schema)

  • ORC (Optimized Row Columnar)

CSV and TSV Files

Basic CSV Reading
# CSV with custom delimiter
source_df = spark.read.format("csv") \
    .option("header", "true") \
    .option("delimiter", ",") \
    .option("inferSchema", "true") \
    .load(args['source_path'])
TSV (Tab-Separated Values)
# TSV (tab-separated)
source_df = spark.read.format("csv") \
    .option("header", "true") \
    .option("delimiter", "\t") \
    .load(args['source_path'])
CSV Options
OptionValueDescription
headertrue/falseFirst row contains column names
delimiter,, \t, |, etc.Field separator character
inferSchematrue/falseAutomatically detect column types
quote" (default)Character for quoting fields
escape\ (default)Escape character
nullValueNULL, empty, etc.String representing null values
dateFormatyyyy-MM-ddDate parsing format
timestampFormatyyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ssTimestamp parsing format
Advanced CSV Example
# CSV with custom options
source_df = spark.read.format("csv") \
    .option("header", "true") \
    .option("delimiter", ",") \
    .option("quote", "\"") \
    .option("escape", "\\") \
    .option("nullValue", "NULL") \
    .option("dateFormat", "yyyy-MM-dd") \
    .option("timestampFormat", "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss") \
    .option("mode", "DROPMALFORMED") \
    .load(args['source_path'])

JSON and JSONL Files

JSON Lines (JSONL)

One JSON object per line (most common):

# JSON Lines (one JSON object per line)
source_df = spark.read.format("json").load(args['source_path'])
Nested JSON Handling
Option A: Flatten Nested Structures
from pyspark.sql.functions import col

# Flatten nested JSON
flattened_df = source_df.select(
    col("customer.customer_id").alias("customer_id"),
    col("customer.name").alias("customer_name"),
    col("customer.email").alias("email"),
    col("order_id"),
    col("order_date"),
    col("amount")
)
Option B: Preserve as STRUCT

No transformation needed - Iceberg supports STRUCT types:

# Preserve nested structure (no transformation)
# Schema becomes:
# - order_id: BIGINT
# - customer: STRUCT<customer_id:BIGINT, name:STRING, email:STRING>
# - order_date: DATE
# - amount: DECIMAL
JSON Options
OptionValueDescription
multiLinetrue/falseParse multi-line JSON objects
modePERMISSIVE, DROPMALFORMED, FAILFASTHow to handle malformed records
dateFormatyyyy-MM-ddDate parsing format
timestampFormatyyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSXXXTimestamp format
Array Handling
# Explode array into separate rows
from pyspark.sql.functions import explode

df_with_items = source_df.select(
    col("order_id"),
    explode(col("items")).alias("item")
).select(
    col("order_id"),
    col("item.product_id"),
    col("item.quantity"),
    col("item.price")
)

# Or preserve as ARRAY type in Iceberg
# Schema: items ARRAY<STRUCT<product_id:STRING, quantity:INT, price:DECIMAL>>

Parquet Files

Basic Parquet Reading
# Parquet (direct read, schema preserved)
source_df = spark.read.format("parquet").load(args['source_path'])
Partitioned Parquet

Spark automatically detects Hive-style partitions:

# Partitioned Parquet (Spark auto-detects partitions)
source_df = spark.read.format("parquet").load("s3://bucket/events/")
# Partitions like year=2024/month=01/ are automatically handled
Detect Partition Structure

For partitioned data with Hive-style partitioning (e.g., year=2024/month=01/day=15/):

Using Python regex:

import re

# Example S3 path: s3://bucket/events/year=2024/month=01/day=15/part-0000.parquet
sample_s3_path = "s3://bucket/events/year=2024/month=01/day=15/part-0000.parquet"

# Extract partition key-value pairs
path_pattern = r'(\w+)=([^/]+)'
partitions = re.findall(path_pattern, sample_s3_path)
# Result: [('year', '2024'), ('month', '01'), ('day', '15')]

partition_columns = [col for col, _ in partitions]
print(f"Detected partition columns: {partition_columns}")
# Output: ['year', 'month', 'day']

Using AWS CLI:

# List S3 paths to identify partition patterns
aws s3 ls s3://bucket/events/ --recursive | head -20

# Look for patterns like:
# year=2024/month=01/day=01/
# year=2024/month=01/day=02/
Partition Column Inference
  • Partition columns should typically be: INT, STRING, or DATE types

  • Common partition patterns: year, month, day, region, category

  • Important: Partition columns will NOT appear in the data files themselves (they're in the path)

Present Partition Info to User
Detected partitioned data structure:
- Partition columns: year (INT), month (INT), day (INT)
- Data columns: event_id, event_type, timestamp, user_id, properties
- Sample partition: year=2024/month=01/day=15
- Estimated partitions: ~90 (covering 3 months)

Avro Files

Basic Avro Reading
# Avro format
source_df = spark.read.format("avro").load(args['source_path'])
Avro Schema Extraction

Avro files contain embedded schemas. Extract and display:

Using Python avro library:

import avro.datafile
import avro.io
import json

# Read Avro file and extract schema
with open('downloaded-sample.avro', 'rb') as f:
    reader = avro.datafile.DataFileReader(f, avro.io.DatumReader())
    schema_json = reader.meta.get('avro.schema').decode('utf-8')
    schema = json.loads(schema_json)

    print("Avro Schema:")
    print(json.dumps(schema, indent=2))

    # Extract field names and types
    for field in schema['fields']:
        print(f"  {field['name']}: {field['type']}")

Using fastavro:

import fastavro

with open('downloaded-sample.avro', 'rb') as f:
    reader = fastavro.reader(f)
    schema = reader.writer_schema
    for field in schema['fields']:
        print(f"  {field['name']}: {field['type']}")
Avro to Iceberg Type Mapping
Avro TypeIceberg TypeNotes
intINTEGER32-bit signed integer
longBIGINT64-bit signed integer
floatFLOAT32-bit floating point
doubleDOUBLE64-bit floating point
booleanBOOLEANDirect mapping
stringSTRINGDirect mapping
bytesBINARYDirect mapping
fixedBINARYFixed-length byte array
enumSTRINGStore enum values as strings
array<T>ARRAY<T>Direct mapping with recursive type
map<string, T>MAP<STRING, T>Direct mapping
recordSTRUCTNested structure
union [null, T]Nullable TAvro nullable pattern
union [T1, T2, ...]STRINGMultiple types → JSON string
Handling Avro Union Types

Avro uses unions for nullable fields:

// Avro schema with nullable field
{
  "name": "age",
  "type": ["null", "int"]
}

Maps to Iceberg:

age INT  -- Nullable by default in Iceberg

For complex unions (non-nullable):

from pyspark.sql.functions import col, when

# Example: Handle union of int and string
df_with_union = source_df.withColumn(
    "age_clean",
    when(col("age").cast("int").isNotNull(), col("age").cast("int"))
    .otherwise(None)
)

Options for complex unions:

  • Option A: Convert to JSON string and store as STRING

  • Option B: Flatten union types into separate columns (age_int, age_string)

  • Option C: Fail and ask user how to handle

Present Avro Schema to User
Detected Avro schema with 15 fields:
- user_id (long) → BIGINT
- username (string) → STRING
- age (union[null, int]) → INT (nullable)
- status (enum: active, inactive) → STRING
- metadata (map<string, string>) → MAP<STRING, STRING>
- preferences (record) → STRUCT
Glue Job Configuration for Avro

Option A: Use --datalake-formats (spark-avro built-in in Glue 5.1 or higher):

# In job DefaultArguments
'--datalake-formats': 'iceberg,delta,hudi,avro'

Option B: Provide spark-avro JAR:

# In create-job command
--default-arguments '{
  "--extra-jars": "s3://my-bucket/jars/spark-avro_2.12-3.4.0.jar"
}'

ORC Files

Basic ORC Reading
# ORC format
source_df = spark.read.format("orc").load(args['source_path'])

ORC files include embedded schema similar to Parquet. No special configuration needed.

Sampling Source Data

Before loading, sample source files to understand structure:

CSV Sampling
# Download and inspect first 10 lines
aws s3 cp s3://<bucket>/<key> - | head -10
Parquet Schema Inspection
import pyarrow.parquet as pq

# Read Parquet schema
table = pq.read_table('s3://<bucket>/<key>')
print(table.schema)

# Sample first 10 rows
df = table.to_pandas()
print(df.head(10))
JSON Sampling
# Download and inspect first 5 JSON objects
aws s3 cp s3://<bucket>/<key> - | head -5

Complete Glue ETL Script Template

import sys
from awsglue.transforms import *
from awsglue.utils import getResolvedOptions
from pyspark.context import SparkContext
from awsglue.context import GlueContext
from awsglue.job import Job

args = getResolvedOptions(sys.argv, ['JOB_NAME', 'source_path', 'target_table', 'source_format'])
sc = SparkContext()
glueContext = GlueContext(sc)
spark = glueContext.spark_session
job = Job(glueContext)
job.init(args['JOB_NAME'], args)

# Read source data based on format
if args['source_format'] == 'csv':
    source_df = spark.read.format("csv") \
        .option("header", "true") \
        .option("inferSchema", "true") \
        .load(args['source_path'])
elif args['source_format'] == 'json':
    source_df = spark.read.format("json").load(args['source_path'])
elif args['source_format'] == 'parquet':
    source_df = spark.read.format("parquet").load(args['source_path'])
elif args['source_format'] == 'avro':
    source_df = spark.read.format("avro").load(args['source_path'])
elif args['source_format'] == 'orc':
    source_df = spark.read.format("orc").load(args['source_path'])
else:
    raise ValueError(f"Unsupported format: {args['source_format']}")

# Apply transformations as needed
transformed_df = source_df.select(
    # Column transformations here
)

# Write to Iceberg table
transformed_df.writeTo(args['target_table']).append()

job.commit()

Format-Specific Common Issues

CSV Issues

Issue: Column type inference incorrect Solution: Explicitly specify schema or cast columns after reading

Issue: Quoted fields not parsed correctly Solution: Set .option("quote", "\"") and .option("escape", "\\")

JSON Issues

Issue: Multi-line JSON not parsing Solution: Set .option("multiLine", "true")

Issue: Malformed JSON records Solution: Set .option("mode", "DROPMALFORMED") or "PERMISSIVE"

Parquet Issues

Issue: Partition columns not detected Solution: Verify path follows Hive-style partitioning (key=value/)

Issue: Schema evolution errors Solution: Use .option("mergeSchema", "true") when reading

Avro Issues

Issue: Avro library not found Solution: Add --datalake-formats: iceberg,avro to job arguments

Issue: Complex union types failing Solution: Convert to STRING or handle with conditional logic

Best Practices

  1. Always sample data first: Understand structure before loading

  2. Validate schema mapping: Ensure source types map correctly to Iceberg

  3. Handle malformed records: Use appropriate error handling mode

  4. Test with small dataset: Verify transformations work before full load

  5. Monitor CloudWatch logs: Check for parsing errors or warnings

  6. Document format-specific options: Keep track of delimiter, quote char, etc.

  7. Use schema evolution carefully: Understand impact on existing data

Summary

Different file formats require different reading configurations:

FormatKey ConsiderationsPrimary Options
CSV/TSVDelimiter, header, quotesdelimiter, header, quote
JSONNested structures, arraysmultiLine, flatten vs preserve
ParquetPartition detectionAuto-detected, mergeSchema
AvroUnion types, embedded schema--datalake-formats: avro
ORCSimilar to ParquetAuto-schema, minimal config

With format-specific configuration, Glue ETL can successfully load data from any supported format into S3 Tables.

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs an MCP server, Needs a command-line tool

Security

What our scanner noticed· Low risk

  • Instructions that use the network

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Published by
AWS
Publisher
AWS (Official)
Source
aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws · plugins/aws-data-analytics/skills/ingesting-into-data-lake · commit 0a218f8
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • NOTICE (added by AutoGineer from NOTICE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
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