# Create a query output location
<a name="creating-databases-prerequisites"></a>

If you do not already have a query output location set up in Amazon S3, perform the following prerequisite steps to do so.

**To create a query output location**

1. Using the same AWS Region and account that you are using for Athena, follow the steps (for example, by using the Amazon S3 console) to [create a bucket in Amazon S3](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/create-bucket.html) to hold your Athena query results. You will configure this bucket to be your query output location.

1. Open the Athena console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/athena/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/athena/home).

1. If this is your first time to visit the Athena console in this AWS Region, choose **Explore the query editor** to open the query editor. Otherwise, Athena opens in the query editor.

1. Choose **Edit Settings** to set up a query result location in Amazon S3.  
![\[Choose Edit settings.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/athena/latest/ug/images/getting-started-choose-view-settings.png)

1. For **Manage settings**, do one of the following:
   + In the **Location of query result** box, enter the path to the bucket that you created in Amazon S3 for your query results. Prefix the path with `s3://`.
   + Choose **Browse S3**, choose the Amazon S3 bucket that you created for your current Region, and then choose **Choose**.  
![\[Specify a location in Amazon S3 to receive query results from Athena.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/athena/latest/ug/images/getting-started-setting-results-location.png)

1. Choose **Save**.

1. Choose **Editor** to switch to the query editor.  
![\[Choose Editor.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/athena/latest/ug/images/getting-started-choose-editor.png)