> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ngquct-docs-fix-500-query-results.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# DuckDB

> Open local DuckDB files or connect to a remote DuckDB server over Quack

export const name_0 = "DuckDB"

export const plugin_0 = "DuckDB Driver"

Pick a `.duckdb` file to open a database, or a `.parquet`, `.csv`, `.tsv`, `.json` or `.ndjson` file to read it where it sits. DuckDB 1.5.2 is compiled into the driver, so nothing runs as a server unless you point the connection at one.

The {name_0} driver is not in the app. Picking {name_0} in the **Choose a Database** sheet offers the
download before the form opens, and opening a saved {name_0} connection installs it without asking.
**Settings > Plugins > Browse > {plugin_0}** installs it up front. See [Plugins](/features/plugins).

## Quick setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the connection">
    Click **Create Connection…** or press `Cmd+N`, then choose **DuckDB**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a file">
    Leave **Connection Type** on **Local File** and click **Browse…**. Type `:memory:` in the field instead for a database that lasts as long as the session.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect">
    Click **Save & Connect**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Frame caption="DuckDB connection form">
  <img className="block dark:hidden" src="https://mintcdn.com/ngquct-docs-fix-500-query-results/hA72m8tSnRe3b-ew/images/duckdb-connection-form.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hA72m8tSnRe3b-ew&q=85&s=3e75357f6d42664b8b79a1452eaab786" alt="DuckDB connection form with Local File and Remote (Quack) connection types" width="1560" height="960" data-path="images/duckdb-connection-form.png" />

  <img className="hidden dark:block" src="https://mintcdn.com/ngquct-docs-fix-500-query-results/hA72m8tSnRe3b-ew/images/duckdb-connection-form-dark.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hA72m8tSnRe3b-ew&q=85&s=3af456d8023e4400fc3142dc9c27892b" alt="DuckDB connection form with Local File and Remote (Quack) connection types" width="1560" height="960" data-path="images/duckdb-connection-form-dark.png" />
</Frame>

## What the file field accepts

| Path                                           | What you get                                                                                                                                                              |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `.duckdb`, `.ddb`                              | The database in that file. A path that does not exist yet is created                                                                                                      |
| `.parquet`, `.csv`, `.tsv`, `.json`, `.ndjson` | An in-memory database holding two read-only views over the file, one named `file` and one named after the file. A path that does not exist is reported instead of created |
| `:memory:`                                     | An empty database, discarded on disconnect                                                                                                                                |

In Local File mode the path is the whole connection, and it is required; the form shows no host, port or Database field. Double-click a `.duckdb` or `.ddb` file in Finder to open it in TablePro; the data formats are not registered with Finder.

## Remote (Quack)

Quack is DuckDB's client-server protocol, served by `quack_serve`. Set **Connection Type** to **Remote (Quack, experimental)**:

| Field              | Value                                                             |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Host**           | Server address. Required                                          |
| **Port**           | `9494` by default                                                 |
| **Token**          | The token the server was started with                             |
| **Database Alias** | The name the remote is attached under. Pre-filled with `remotedb` |

**Save & Connect** attaches the remote to an in-memory DuckDB. Reach it through the alias: `SELECT * FROM remotedb.main.orders`.

<Info>
  The `quack` extension is not linked into the macOS build. DuckDB downloads it from `extensions.duckdb.org` on the first remote connect and caches it under `~/.duckdb`, so that one connect needs to reach that host.
</Info>

## Connection URL

```text theme={null}
duckdb:///path/to/database.duckdb
quack://host:9494/alias
```

See [Connection URL Reference](/connections/urls) for all parameters.

## Databases and schemas

A connection opens one database named after the file: `analytics.duckdb` becomes `analytics`, schema `main`. `ATTACH` a second file and it joins the sidebar as a sibling database after a refresh:

```sql theme={null}
ATTACH 'warehouse.duckdb' AS warehouse;
```

Press `Cmd+K` to move between them, in place, with no reconnect. DuckDB does not persist attachments, so a reconnect starts again from the one file. `system` and `temp` are hidden, and with them `information_schema` and `pg_catalog`.

Any connection can also read a file straight from SQL:

```sql theme={null}
SELECT * FROM 'data.csv';
SELECT * FROM read_parquet('analytics.parquet');
```

## Limitations

* A DuckDB file takes one writer at a time. A connect against a file another process holds fails, naming that process. Quit the `duckdb` CLI, the Python process or the other TablePro window first.
* A data file opened through **Browse…** is read-only, and the file on disk is left byte for byte identical. To change its contents, open a `.duckdb` database and run `CREATE TABLE t AS SELECT * FROM 'data.parquet'`.
* Remote (Quack) lists no tables in the sidebar. Write them out by name through the alias.
* No SSL/TLS pane and no SSH tunnel. The engine is in-process; see [SSL/TLS](/connections/ssl).
* No creating or dropping a database. `ATTACH` is the way to reach a second file.

## Troubleshooting

### No file at …

A data-file path that is not there. Only `.duckdb` and `.ddb` are created on demand. Re-pick the file with **Browse…**.

### DuckDB opened the file but reported no catalog to browse

The file opened and exposed nothing to list. Check that it is a DuckDB database and not a file with a borrowed extension.

### Port must be a number between 1 and 65535

**Port** holds something else. The Quack default is `9494`.

## Related

* [TablePro for iPhone and iPad](/ios), where DuckDB opens a file picked through the Files app
* [Import & Export](/features/import-export)