Hbase Commands

1. Connect to HBase.

$ hbase shell
hbase(main):001:0>

Display HBase Shell Help Text.

Type help and press Enter, to display some basic usage information for HBase Shell, as well as several example commands. Notice that table names, rows, columns all must be enclosed in quote characters.

2. Create a table.

Use the create command to create a new table. You must specify the table name and the ColumnFamily name.

hbase(main):001:0> create 'test', 'cf'
0 row(s) in 0.4170 seconds

=> Hbase::Table - test

3.List Information About your Table
Use the list command to confirm your table exists

hbase(main):002:0> list 'test'
TABLE
test
1 row(s) in 0.0180 seconds

=> ["test"]
Now use the describe command to see details, including configuration defaults

hbase(main):003:0> describe 'test'
Table test is ENABLED
test
COLUMN FAMILIES DESCRIPTION
{NAME => 'cf', VERSIONS => '1', EVICT_BLOCKS_ON_CLOSE => 'false', NEW_VERSION_BEHAVIOR => 'false', KEEP_DELETED_CELLS => 'FALSE', CACHE_DATA_ON_WRITE =>
'false', DATA_BLOCK_ENCODING => 'NONE', TTL => 'FOREVER', MIN_VERSIONS => '0', REPLICATION_SCOPE => '0', BLOOMFILTER => 'ROW', CACHE_INDEX_ON_WRITE => 'f
alse', IN_MEMORY => 'false', CACHE_BLOOMS_ON_WRITE => 'false', PREFETCH_BLOCKS_ON_OPEN => 'false', COMPRESSION => 'NONE', BLOCKCACHE => 'true', BLOCKSIZE
=> '65536'}
1 row(s)
Took 0.9998 seconds

4. Put data into your table.

To put data into your table, use the put command.

hbase(main):003:0> put 'test', 'row1', 'cf:a', 'value1'
0 row(s) in 0.0850 seconds

hbase(main):004:0> put 'test', 'row2', 'cf:b', 'value2'
0 row(s) in 0.0110 seconds

hbase(main):005:0> put 'test', 'row3', 'cf:c', 'value3'
0 row(s) in 0.0100 seconds

Here, we insert three values, one at a time. The first insert is at row1, column cf:a, with a value of value1. Columns in HBase are comprised of a column family prefix, cf in this example, followed by a colon and then a column qualifier suffix, a in this case.

5. Scan the table for all data at once.

One of the ways to get data from HBase is to scan. Use the scan command to scan the table for data. You can limit your scan, but for now, all data is fetched.

hbase(main):006:0> scan 'test'
ROW COLUMN+CELL
row1 column=cf:a, timestamp=1421762485768, value=value1
row2 column=cf:b, timestamp=1421762491785, value=value2
row3 column=cf:c, timestamp=1421762496210, value=value3
3 row(s) in 0.0230 seconds

6. Get a single row of data.

To get a single row of data at a time, use the get command.

hbase(main):007:0> get 'test', 'row1'
COLUMN CELL
cf:a timestamp=1421762485768, value=value1
1 row(s) in 0.0350 seconds

7. Disable a table.

If you want to delete a table or change its settings, as well as in some other situations, you need to disable the table first, using the disable command. You can re-enable it using the enable command.

hbase(main):008:0> disable 'test'
0 row(s) in 1.1820 seconds

hbase(main):009:0> enable 'test'
0 row(s) in 0.1770 seconds
Disable the table again if you tested the enable command above:

hbase(main):010:0> disable 'test'
0 row(s) in 1.1820 seconds

8. Drop the table.

To drop (delete) a table, use the drop command.

hbase(main):011:0> drop 'test'
0 row(s) in 0.1370 seconds

9. Exit the HBase Shell.

hbase(main):009:0> quit