> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.soda.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.soda.io/soda-documentation/reference/data-source-reference-for-soda-core/amazon-athena.md).

# Athena

Access configuration details to connect Soda to an Amazon Athena data source.

### Connection configuration reference

Install the following package:

```bash
pip install soda-athena>4
```

#### Data source YAML

**Create the config file:**

```shellscript
soda data-source create -f ds_config.yml
```

The data source configuration YAML should look like the following:

{% code title="ds\_config.yml" %}

```yaml
type: athena
name: my_athena
connection:
  catalog: ${env.ATHENA_CATALOG}
  access_key_id: ${env.ATHENA_ACCESS_KEY_ID}
  secret_access_key: ${env.ATHENA_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}
  staging_dir: ${env.ATHENA_STAGING_DIR} ## e.g., s3://my-company-athena-staging/query-results/
  region_name: ${env.ATHENA_REGION}
  work_group: ${env.ATHENA_WOKRGROUP}
#  role_arn: <my_role_arn>
#  profile_name: <my_aws_profile>
#  session_token: <my_session_token>
```

{% endcode %}

#### Connection test

Test the data source connection:

```bash
soda data-source test -ds ds_config.yml
```

***

## Required permissions

The IAM principal (user or role) used by Soda requires **both** IAM Policy permissions **and** AWS Lake Formation permissions. Lake Formation permissions take precedence, even `AdministratorAccess` in IAM Policy will not allow table access if Lake Formation permissions are not also granted.

### **1. Lake Formation permissions**

In addition to the IAM Policy in the following section, grant the following Lake Formation permissions to the principal via the **AWS Console** → **Lake Formation** → **Data permissions**, or via CLI:

```bash
# Grant SELECT and DESCRIBE on source tables
aws lakeformation grant-permissions \
  --principal DataLakePrincipalIdentifier="arn:aws:iam::<account-id>:user/<soda-user>" \
  --permissions "SELECT" "DESCRIBE" \
  --resource '{"Table": {"DatabaseName": "<database>", "TableWildcard": {}}}'

# Grant DESCRIBE on the source database
aws lakeformation grant-permissions \
  --principal DataLakePrincipalIdentifier="arn:aws:iam::<account-id>:user/<soda-user>" \
  --permissions "DESCRIBE" \
  --resource '{"Database": {"Name": "<database>"}}'
```

{% hint style="info" %}
**Tip:** Lake Formation permissions always override IAM; ensure both are configured correctly.

If you see errors like `User is not authorized to perform: lakeformation:GetDataAccess`, check that Lake Formation `SELECT` and `DESCRIBE` permissions are granted for the relevant database and tables.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**AWS terminology note:** In AWS Glue and Lake Formation, "Database" is equivalent to "Schema" in Athena SQL. Both refer to a logical grouping of tables.
{% endhint %}

#### **Additional Lake Formation permissions for Diagnostics Warehouse**

### **2. IAM Policy permissions**

```json
{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Sid": "AthenaReadOnlyAccessforSoda",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "athena:StartQueryExecution",
        "athena:GetQueryExecution",
        "athena:BatchGetQueryExecution",
        "athena:GetQueryResults",
        "athena:GetQueryResultsStream",
        "athena:ListQueryExecutions",
        "athena:ListWorkGroups",
        "athena:GetWorkGroup",
        "athena:ListDataCatalogs",
        "athena:GetDataCatalog",
        "athena:ListDatabases",
        "athena:GetDatabase",
        "athena:ListTableMetadata",
        "athena:GetTableMetadata",
        "athena:StopQueryExecution"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    },
    {
      "Sid": "GlueReadOnlyAccessforSoda",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "glue:GetDatabase",
        "glue:GetDatabases",
        "glue:GetTable",
        "glue:GetTables",
        "glue:GetPartition",
        "glue:GetPartitions",
        "glue:GetUserDefinedFunctions",
        "glue:GetCrawler",
        "glue:GetCrawlers",
        "glue:GetCatalogImportStatus",
        "glue:GetDataCatalogEncryptionSettings",
        "glue:GetSchema",
        "glue:GetSchemaVersion",
        "glue:GetSchemaVersionsDiff",
        "glue:ListSchemas",
        "glue:ListTables",
        "glue:ListCrawlers"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    },
    {
      "Sid": "S3StagingBucketAccess",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "s3:GetBucketLocation",
        "s3:ListBucket",
        "s3:ListBucketMultipartUploads"
      ],
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::<your-staging-bucket>"
    },
    {
      "Sid": "S3StagingObjectAccess",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "s3:GetObject",
        "s3:PutObject",
        "s3:AbortMultipartUpload",
        "s3:ListMultipartUploadParts"
      ],
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::<your-staging-bucket>/<staging-prefix>/*"
    },
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": "lakeformation:GetDataAccess",
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}
```

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Note on `glue:GetDatabases`:** This permission is required for schema discovery (listing available schemas/databases). Without it, Soda can access tables but **cannot enumerate schemas**.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note on staging bucket:** Athena writes all query results to the `staging_dir` configured in the connection. The Soda IAM principal must have `PutObject` on that location. This is the only location where Soda writes data.
{% endhint %}

#### **Additional IAM Policy permissions for Diagnostics Warehouse**

<br>

***

{% hint style="info" %}
You are **not logged in to Soda** and are viewing the default public documentation. Learn more about [Licensing & documentation access](/soda-documentation/reference/documentation-access-and-licensing.md).
{% endhint %}


---

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