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Data & Analytics · Foundational

Staging Area (Data Warehousing)

An intermediate storage location where extracted data lands before being cleansed, transformed and loaded into target tables.

Definition

Staging decouples extraction from transformation, supports auditing and restart, and lets loads run in bulk. In Snowflake, a 'stage' specifically means a file location used by COPY INTO.

Exam tip

Staging tables are usually truncated and reloaded each run.

Related terms