Indicates the user preference as to when schemas should be generated and saved.

Syntax

Connect-CosmosDB -GenerateSchemaFiles string

Possible Values

Never, OnUse, OnStart, OnCreate

Data Type

cstr

Default Value

"Never"

Remarks

GenerateSchemaFiles enables you to save the table definitions identified by Automatic Schema Discovery. This property outputs schemas to .rsd files in the path specified by Location.

Available settings are the following:

• Never: A schema file will never be generated.
• OnUse: A schema file will be generated the first time a table is referenced, provided the schema file for the table does not already exist.
• OnStart: A schema file will be generated at connection time for any tables that do not currently have a schema file.
• OnCreate: A schema file will be generated by when running a CREATE TABLE SQL query.

Note that if you want to regenerate a file, you will first need to delete it.

Generate Schemas with SQL

When you set GenerateSchemaFiles to OnUse, the cmdlet generates schemas as you execute SELECT queries. Schemas are generated for each table referenced in the query.

When you set GenerateSchemaFiles to OnCreate, schemas are only generated when a CREATE TABLE query is executed.

Generate Schemas on Connection

Another way to use this property is to obtain schemas for every table in your database when you connect. To do so, set GenerateSchemaFiles to OnStart and connect.

Alternatives to Static Schemas

If your data structures are volatile, consider setting GenerateSchemaFiles to Never and using dynamic schemas. See Automatic Schema Discovery for more information about dynamic schemas.

Editing Schemas

Schema files have a simple format that makes them easy to modify. See Custom Schema Definitions for more information.