R2 SQL now supports window functions, DISTINCT, and set operations

R2 SQL now supports window functions, SELECT DISTINCT, set operations, and additional aggregates, making it easier to write analytical queries without preprocessing your data elsewhere.

R2 SQL is Cloudflare's serverless, distributed SQL engine for querying Apache Iceberg ↗ tables stored in R2 Data Catalog.

New capabilities

• Window functions — ROW_NUMBER, RANK, DENSE_RANK, PERCENT_RANK, CUME_DIST, NTILE, LAG, LEAD, FIRST_VALUE, LAST_VALUE, NTH_VALUE, and aggregates with an OVER (...) clause, including PARTITION BY and explicit frames
• QUALIFY — filter rows based on a window function result
• DISTINCT — SELECT DISTINCT, DISTINCT ON (...), and the DISTINCT modifier on aggregates such as COUNT(DISTINCT ...)
• Set operations — UNION, UNION ALL, INTERSECT, and EXCEPT
• Grouping extensions — GROUPING SETS, ROLLUP, and CUBE
• Exact aggregates — MEDIAN, PERCENTILE_CONT, ARRAY_AGG, and STRING_AGG

Examples

Rank rows with a window function

SELECT customer_id, region,
       ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY region ORDER BY total_amount DESC) AS rank_in_region
FROM my_namespace.sales_data

Filter with QUALIFY

SELECT customer_id, region, total_amount
FROM my_namespace.sales_data
QUALIFY ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY region ORDER BY total_amount DESC) <= 3

Combine tables with a set operation

SELECT customer_id FROM my_namespace.sales_data
EXCEPT
SELECT customer_id FROM my_namespace.archived_sales

The named WINDOW clause is not supported — inline the OVER (...) specification at each call site. For the full syntax reference, refer to the SQL reference. For supported features and performance guidance, refer to Limitations and best practices.