C++ Quickstart

This guide will get you up and running with Apache Arrow C++ quickly. You’ll learn how to create arrays, build tables, and read/write data files.

Prerequisites

You’ll need:

C++17 compatible compiler (GCC 7+, Clang 6+, MSVC 2017+)
CMake 3.16 or higher
Basic familiarity with C++ and CMake

Install Arrow C++

Using Package Managers

Ubuntu/Debian
macOS
Conda

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y libarrow-dev

brew install apache-arrow

conda install -c conda-forge arrow-cpp

Building from Source

For a minimal build:

git clone https://github.com/apache/arrow.git
cd arrow/cpp
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
         -DARROW_BUILD_TESTS=OFF \
         -DARROW_COMPUTE=ON \
         -DARROW_CSV=ON \
         -DARROW_FILESYSTEM=ON
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

Create Your First Arrays

Arrows use builders to create arrays. Each data type has its own builder class.Create a file called arrow_basics.cc:

#include <arrow/api.h>
#include <iostream>

int main() {
  // Create an Int8 builder
  arrow::Int8Builder int8builder;
  
  // Add data to the builder
  int8_t days_raw[5] = {1, 12, 17, 23, 28};
  ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(int8builder.AppendValues(days_raw, 5));
  
  // Finish building the array
  std::shared_ptr<arrow::Array> days;
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(days, int8builder.Finish());
  
  std::cout << "Created array with " << days->length() << " elements" << std::endl;
  std::cout << days->ToString() << std::endl;
  
  return 0;
}

Key concepts:

Int8Builder - Creates arrays of 8-bit integers
AppendValues() - Adds multiple values at once
Finish() - Completes the array and returns it
ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE - Macro for error handling

Build Tables from Arrays

Tables organize multiple arrays into named columns with a schema.

#include <arrow/api.h>
#include <iostream>

arrow::Status BuildTable() {
  // Create arrays for each column
  arrow::Int8Builder int8builder;
  int8_t days_raw[5] = {1, 12, 17, 23, 28};
  ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(int8builder.AppendValues(days_raw, 5));
  std::shared_ptr<arrow::Array> days;
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(days, int8builder.Finish());
  
  int8_t months_raw[5] = {1, 3, 5, 7, 1};
  ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(int8builder.AppendValues(months_raw, 5));
  std::shared_ptr<arrow::Array> months;
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(months, int8builder.Finish());
  
  arrow::Int16Builder int16builder;
  int16_t years_raw[5] = {1990, 2000, 1995, 2000, 1995};
  ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(int16builder.AppendValues(years_raw, 5));
  std::shared_ptr<arrow::Array> years;
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(years, int16builder.Finish());
  
  // Define schema with field names and types
  auto schema = arrow::schema({
    arrow::field("day", arrow::int8()),
    arrow::field("month", arrow::int8()),
    arrow::field("year", arrow::int16())
  });
  
  // Create table from schema and arrays
  auto table = arrow::Table::Make(schema, {days, months, years});
  
  std::cout << table->ToString() << std::endl;
  return arrow::Status::OK();
}

int main() {
  arrow::Status st = BuildTable();
  if (!st.ok()) {
    std::cerr << st << std::endl;
    return 1;
  }
  return 0;
}

Output:

day: int8
month: int8
year: int16
----
day: [[1,12,17,23,28]]
month: [[1,3,5,7,1]]
year: [[1990,2000,1995,2000,1995]]

Read and Write CSV Files

Arrow provides fast CSV reading and writing capabilities.Create test.csv:

name,age,city
Alice,30,NYC
Bob,25,SF
Carol,35,LA

Now read and process it:

#include <arrow/api.h>
#include <arrow/csv/api.h>
#include <arrow/io/api.h>
#include <arrow/ipc/api.h>
#include <iostream>

arrow::Status ProcessCSV() {
  // Open CSV file for reading
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto input_file,
    arrow::io::ReadableFile::Open("test.csv")
  );
  
  // Create CSV reader
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto csv_reader,
    arrow::csv::TableReader::Make(
      arrow::io::default_io_context(),
      input_file,
      arrow::csv::ReadOptions::Defaults(),
      arrow::csv::ParseOptions::Defaults(),
      arrow::csv::ConvertOptions::Defaults()
    )
  );
  
  // Read entire CSV into table
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto table, csv_reader->Read());
  
  std::cout << "Read " << table->num_rows() << " rows" << std::endl;
  std::cout << table->ToString() << std::endl;
  
  return arrow::Status::OK();
}

int main() {
  arrow::Status st = ProcessCSV();
  if (!st.ok()) {
    std::cerr << st << std::endl;
    return 1;
  }
  return 0;
}

Write Arrow IPC Files

The Arrow IPC format is optimized for fast reading and zero-copy data access.

#include <arrow/api.h>
#include <arrow/io/api.h>
#include <arrow/ipc/api.h>

arrow::Status WriteArrowFile(std::shared_ptr<arrow::Table> table) {
  // Open output file
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto output_file,
    arrow::io::FileOutputStream::Open("data.arrow")
  );
  
  // Create IPC writer
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto writer,
    arrow::ipc::MakeFileWriter(output_file, table->schema())
  );
  
  // Write table
  ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(writer->WriteTable(*table));
  ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(writer->Close());
  
  std::cout << "Wrote table to data.arrow" << std::endl;
  return arrow::Status::OK();
}

arrow::Status ReadArrowFile() {
  // Open input file
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto input_file,
    arrow::io::ReadableFile::Open("data.arrow")
  );
  
  // Create IPC reader
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto reader,
    arrow::ipc::RecordBatchFileReader::Open(input_file)
  );
  
  // Read all record batches into table
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto table, reader->ReadTable());
  
  std::cout << "Read table with " << table->num_rows() << " rows" << std::endl;
  return arrow::Status::OK();
}

Build with CMake

Create CMakeLists.txt to compile your project:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
project(ArrowQuickstart)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)

find_package(Arrow REQUIRED)

add_executable(arrow_example arrow_basics.cc)
target_link_libraries(arrow_example PRIVATE Arrow::arrow_shared)

Build and run:

mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make
./arrow_example

Complete Example

Here’s a complete working example that ties everything together:

#include <arrow/api.h>
#include <arrow/csv/api.h>
#include <arrow/io/api.h>
#include <arrow/ipc/api.h>
#include <iostream>

arrow::Status RunExample() {
  // 1. Create arrays
  arrow::Int32Builder builder;
  ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(builder.AppendValues({1, 2, 3, 4, 5}));
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto array, builder.Finish());
  
  // 2. Build a table
  auto schema = arrow::schema({arrow::field("numbers", arrow::int32())});
  auto table = arrow::Table::Make(schema, {array});
  
  std::cout << "Created table:\n" << table->ToString() << std::endl;
  
  // 3. Write to Arrow IPC file
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto output,
    arrow::io::FileOutputStream::Open("example.arrow")
  );
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto writer,
    arrow::ipc::MakeFileWriter(output, schema)
  );
  ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(writer->WriteTable(*table));
  ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(writer->Close());
  
  std::cout << "\nWrote table to example.arrow" << std::endl;
  
  // 4. Read it back
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto input,
    arrow::io::ReadableFile::Open("example.arrow")
  );
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(
    auto reader,
    arrow::ipc::RecordBatchFileReader::Open(input)
  );
  ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto read_table, reader->ReadTable());
  
  std::cout << "\nRead table back:\n" << read_table->ToString() << std::endl;
  
  return arrow::Status::OK();
}

int main() {
  arrow::Status st = RunExample();
  if (!st.ok()) {
    std::cerr << "Error: " << st << std::endl;
    return 1;
  }
  return 0;
}

Next Steps

Compute Functions

Learn about Arrow’s compute functions for data processing

Parquet Files

Read and write Parquet files with Arrow

Datasets

Work with multi-file datasets and partitioning

API Reference

Explore the complete C++ API documentation

Common Patterns

Error Handling

Arrow uses macros for consistent error handling:

// Return on error
ARROW_RETURN_NOT_OK(some_operation());

// Assign result or return error
ARROW_ASSIGN_OR_RAISE(auto result, some_operation());

Memory Management

Arrow uses std::shared_ptr for automatic memory management:

std::shared_ptr<arrow::Array> array;
std::shared_ptr<arrow::Table> table;
// Memory is automatically freed when references go out of scope

Working with Nulls

arrow::Int32Builder builder;
builder.Append(1);
builder.AppendNull();  // Add a null value
builder.Append(3);

Troubleshooting

CMake can't find Arrow

Make sure Arrow is installed and set CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH:

cmake -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/path/to/arrow/install ..

Linking errors

Ensure you’re linking against the correct Arrow libraries:

target_link_libraries(your_target PRIVATE 
  Arrow::arrow_shared
  Arrow::parquet_shared  # If using Parquet
)

Runtime errors loading shared libraries

Set LD_LIBRARY_PATH (Linux) or DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH (macOS):

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/path/to/arrow/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

Installation

Quickstart Guides

Prerequisites

Using Package Managers

Building from Source

Complete Example

Next Steps

Compute Functions

Parquet Files

Datasets

API Reference

Common Patterns

Error Handling

Memory Management

Working with Nulls

Troubleshooting

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Installation

Quickstart Guides

​Prerequisites

​Using Package Managers

​Building from Source

​Complete Example

​Next Steps

Compute Functions

Parquet Files

Datasets

API Reference

​Common Patterns

​Error Handling

​Memory Management

​Working with Nulls

​Troubleshooting

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Prerequisites

Using Package Managers

Building from Source

Complete Example

Next Steps

Common Patterns

Error Handling

Memory Management

Working with Nulls

Troubleshooting