DuckDB SQL Tools

DuckDB SQL Tools Preview extension adds basic DuckDB SQL support to VS Code IDE. This DuckDB VS Code extension provides DuckDB connections and main database schema tree view, SQL query API and user interfaces for the popular SQL Tools extension, SQL query editor, SQL language server, and data processing tools.

Features

DuckDB is an in-process SQL OLAP database management system that uses vectorized data engine for optimized analytics and parallel query processing with extensive SQL support and direct Parquet, CSV, and JSON data loading and query capabilites for local and remote data sources.

DuckDB SQL Tools Preview extension v1.6.0 adds the following basic DuckDB SQL capabilities to VS Code IDE for working with DuckDB instances:

• Connect to a local DuckDB v0.10.2 instance
• Create new in-memory DuckDB instance
• View DuckDB v0.10.2 tables, columns, and views
• Run SQL queries on open DuckDB connections
• Attach SQLite database files to in-memory DuckDB instances
• Query remote CSV and Parquet data files with DuckDB HTTPFS extension
• Create in-memory DuckDB tables from remote data sources and query results
• Manage DuckDB connections in SQL Tools Connections Explorer
• Autocomplete SQL keywords, table names, column names, and view names on open database connections in VS Code SQL editor
• Save named SQL query Bookmarks
• Use SQL Query History
• Export SQL query results in CSV and JSON data formats

See SQL Tools documentation for a comprehensive list of SQL Tools extension features contributed to VS Code IDE.

Installation

Install DuckDB SQL Tools Preview extension from VS Code marketplace in your browser by clicking on Install button in the extension info page header.

Alternatively, you can install this extension directly in VS Code IDE from Extensions tab (ctrl+shift+x) by searching for DuckDB.

Users of VS Codium and other VS Code based IDEs can install DuckDB SQL Tools Preview extension using duckdb-sql-tools-x.x.x.vsix extension package from the Assets section in published releases of this extension on GitHub. Follow install from .vsix instructions in your VS Code extensions compatible IDE or online container service to install it.

Note: DuckDB SQL Tools use DuckDB Node.js API and require a local Node.js installation to query DuckDB instances.

Download and install Node.js from the official Node.js downloads page. Node.js is used as a local web server to host local data and DuckDB files. Node.js will install npm tool we use to install duckdb-async library to establish DuckDB connections.

We use Node.js DuckDB library instead of the limited DuckDB WASM browser JS library other similar DuckDB data tools use to enable faster data imports and loading via multi-threaded node-gyp DuckDB native API interface.

VS Code SQL and Pro Data Tools

The following sections provide a summary of the popular SQL Tools VS Code extension, database drivers, our public Random Fractals Inc. Data Tools extensions, and new premium Pro Data Tools available to our Pro sponsors on GitHub.

SQL Tools

SQL Tools VS Code extension provides connections to many commonly used databases, and includes database connection management tree view with database schema info and objects display, basic table viewer for SQL query results display, and SQL language server for editing SQL in VS Code with SQL syntax highlighting and auto-completion.

SQL Tools Drivers

SQL Tools support many popular databases via the official and community database drivers you can install and use in VS Code IDE from VS Code Marketplace SQL Tools drivers page.

Random Fractals Data Tools

Random Fractals Inc. Data Tools 🛠️ is a collection of public data visualization extensions, data viewers, VS Code Notebook renderers, and code snippets for devs and data scientists using VS Code IDE, published under our Random Fractals Inc. ☂️ org.

Pro Data Tools

Pro Data Tools is our new Premium set of SQL and PRQL Code Lenses and Data Viewers created for our monthly Pro sponsors on GitHub to enhance SQL development and SQL statements execution runtime workflow in VS Code IDE, connected to the different database management systems via SQL Tools extension, database plugins, and SQL Tools drivers.

DuckDB Pro Tools

Pro Data Tools include DuckDB Pro Tools extension that adds advanced DuckDB connection features and support to VSCode IDE, and provides database schemas display, DuckDB extensions and settings views, information schema and catalog views, SQL query API and user interfaces integrated with the popular SQL Tools extension, SQL query editor, SQL language server, and VS Code data processing tools.

The latest version of DuckDB Pro Tools extension adds the following capabilities to VS Code IDE for working with DuckDB v0.10 instances:

• Connect to local DuckDB v0.10.2 instances
• Create new in-memory DuckDB instance
• Import local and remote CSV, JSON and Parquet data files into in-memory DuckDB instance for exploratory data analysis (EDA)
• View DuckDB v0.10.2 databases, schemas, tables, columns, views, indexes, sequences, extensions, settings, functions, types and keywords in SQL Tools Connections Explorer
• Run SQL queries on active DuckDB connections
• Attach SQLite database files to in-memory DuckDB instances to run analytical queries
• Query remote CSV, Parquet, and JSON data files with DuckDB HTTPFS extension and new DuckDB JSON extension
• Create in-memory DuckDB tables from remote data sources and query results
• Manage DuckDB v0.10.2 connections in SQL Tools Connections Explorer
• Auto-complete SQL keywords, DuckDB instance table names, column names, and view names for active DuckDB connections in VS Code SQL editor
• Save named SQL query Bookmarks
• Use SQL Query History
• Export DuckDB query results in CSV and JSON data formats
• Use PRQL Code Lens from our new PRQL Pro Tools collection to generate and run SQL queries on active DuckDB connection
• Explore new employees.duckdb demo data, PRQL and SQL sample queries
• Run chicago-crimes and gbif-observations PRQL and SQL queries on GitHub and AWS S3 hosted parquet data files
• Use over 30 new DuckDB Tools views and metadata shortcut commands from VS Code Command Palette...

DuckDB Pro Tools View Commands

SQLite Pro Tools

Pro Data Tools VS Code extensions also include SQLite Pro Tools. SQLite Pro Tools provide over a dozen of common SQLite database shortcut Commands, display table column data type and primary key indicators, SQLite database Indexes, Modules, Configuration Settings and Functions.

PRQL Pro Tools

Our Pro sponsors on github also get access to the premium PRQL Pro Tools VS Code extension. The initial private beta release of PRQL Pro Tools comes with custom PRQL Code Lens SQL Tools plugin that allows you to run PRQL queries for the supported PRQL target SQL dialects directly using any of the supported SQL Tools extension drivers for the different database management systems.

Markdown SQL Pro Tools

Recently released private beta of Markdown SQL Pro Tools add custom SQL Code Lenses to SQL code blocks in standard SQL and various markdown documents in VS Code IDE.

The provided SQL Code Lenses include top-level SQL and markdown document Execute All, Select All, Extract All, Bookmark All SQL code lenses, Execute, Select, and Copy SQL code block lenses, and Create New SQL document from SQL code block lens.

Our SQL Code Lenses integrate with the popular SQL Tools Connections manager, supported SQL Tools drivers, and query results viewer to execute SQL directly on any of the supported SQL Tools database management systems and view results.

Markdodown SQL Pro Tools extension is available under the new Markdown Sql Pro Tools monthly sponsor subscription on GitHub and also includes access to the DuckDB Pro SQL Tools plugin and PRQL Code Lens extension from our Premium Pro Data Tools extensions pack.

Data Notebook Pro Tools

The new Data Notebook Pro Tools extension from our Premium Pro Data Tools extensions pack will be released later this year for our Pro sponsors on GitHub.

Data Notebook Pro extension integrates SQL Tools connections, supported database management systems, our Data Table Renderers and VS Code Jupyter Notebook user interface to view and run SQL queries from .sql files and .md markdown documents with SQL code blocks using native VS Code Notebook View.

Data Notebook SQL Query

Simple example of running SQL query with the new Data Notebook Pro Tools extension:

Data Notebook Output Rendering

Using different Data Table Renderers in the Data Notebook created from SQL document with multiple SQL queries:

DuckDB Extensions

DuckDB egnine also provides a number of Extensions you can install and load to work with remote CSV and Parquet data files over HTTPFS, enable Full Text Search, attach SQLite database with SQLite Scanner, or attach PostgreSQL database instance with DuckDB Postgres Scanner.

You can check the list of core and installed DuckDB extensions by running the following SQL query on an open database connection:

select * from duckdb_extensions();

DuckDB HTTPFS

DuckDB SQL Tools VS Code extension installs and loads HTTPFS DuckDB extension by default for all the open database connections. You can add other DuckDB Extensions to the active DuckDB connection by running INSTALL and LOAD extension SQL statements.

Example of loading trimmed down Chicago crimes data reported in 2022 into an in-memory DuckDB instance from a .parquet data file hosted in our Chicago Crimes data and analytical tools demo GitHub repository:

This example uses implicitly loaded DuckDB HTTPFS extension to query reported Chicago crimes parquet data file with over 210K recorded crime reports, creates a CrimeReports table in a new DuckDB :memory: instance from remote parquet data file, and queries imported data.

DuckDB SQLite Scanner

SQLite database users can use DuckDB SQL Tools VS Code extension and DuckDB SQLite Scanner extension to add data from SQLite database to in-memory DuckDB instance.

Run the following SQL statements to add SQLite Scanner DuckDB extension to an open database connection:

INSTALL sqlite;
LOAD sqlite;

With the loaded SQLite Scanner DuckDB extension you can attach SQLite database file to a DuckDB database instance. Attached SQLite database tables will show up as views in DuckDB instance.

Run the following SQL CALL function to attach SQLite database instance:

CALL sqlite_attach('E:\\projects\\data\\tools\\duckdb-tools\\data\\chinook\\sqlite\\chinook.sqlite');

DuckDB File References

Note: DuckDB SQL Tools extension uses DuckDB NodeJS Client API. In order to work with local data files, you need to specify full path to your local database or data files in SQL statements that reference local file paths.

Future versions of this extension might simplify local file path references by deducing absolute file path from the local DuckDB file connection string or open VS Code project workspace folder path, and replacing relative database or data file references with the corresponding absolute path in an open VS Code project workspace.

Also, note in the sqlite_attach() SQL function call statement above we are escaping \ file path delimiters on Windows OS by using \\ characters sequence.

Demo Data

DuckDB SQL Tools extension documentation repository contains sample /data folder with chinook.duckdb and chinook.sqlite database files, csv, json and parquet data files you can download to get started using DuckDB with our SQL Tools VS Code extension.

The cninook/duckdb demo data folder also has sample SQL query files you can try running on this well-known sample database with our VS Code extension.

Limitations

Due to the limited time and minimal development effort invested into building this Free Trial DuckDB SQL Tools extension, our Preview version of this extension comes with the following known limitations and supported usage scenarios.

DuckDB Storage

DuckDB SQL Tools Preview v1.6.0 release of this extension supports only local database instances created with DuckDB v0.10.2 engine. Database instances and files created with older minor versions of DuckDB are not supported as they use different compression and storage formats and the structure of .duckdb file has been changing as DuckDB engine is evolving.

Use DuckDB CLI to export data from the older database file versions and create new .duckdb file using the latest DuckDB storage implemenation. Read Announcing DuckDB 0.10.0 blog post for more information about DuckDB v0.10 storage improvements, backward compatibility, and new features.

You can use prior v1.0.2 of this free DuckDB Sql Tools Preview extension to work with the older DuckDB v0.6.1 files. DuckDB SQL Tools v1.1.0 supports DuckDB v0.7.1, and DuckDB SQL Tools v1.2.0 supports DuckDB v0.8.1.

The Premium DuckDB Pro Tools extension version, available to our Pro sponsors on GitHub, supports DuckDB v0.10.2 files with many advanced SQL Tools features, and will be updated to support the latest DuckDB v1.0.0 storage format and features soon.

Read-Only DuckDB

DuckDB SQL Tools Preview extension opens .duckdb database files in read-only mode.

The Premium DuckDB Pro Tools extension version, available to our Pro sponsors on GitHub, supports opening .duckdb files in write mode, provides DuckDB v0.10 support, extended DuckDB connection, schemas, systems objecs, and views display.

In-Memory DuckDB

You can experiment with writable :memory: DuckDB instances in this DuckDB SQL Tools Preview extension version. In-memory DuckDB instances function similar to In-Memory SQLite Databases. You can use DuckDB Import Data and Atach features available via DuckDB SQL statements, and use Export Database SQL statements to export created in-memory DuckDB instances.

DuckDB SQL Tools Preview extension lets you create in-memory database instances by specifying :memory: keyword in the Database File field of the new DuckDB connection in SQL Tools Connection Assistant, as demonstrated in DuckDB HTTPFS and SQLite Scanner extension usage examples above.

Note: only :memory DuckDB database instances are open in read/write mode in this DuckDB SQL Tools Preview extension version.

Sign up for the Premium Pro Data Tools on GitHub to get access to the DuckDB Pro Tools and work with the latest versions of DuckDB files in read and write modes.

Configuration

SQL Tools extension provides many configuration Settings users can toggle to change database connection and tree view display options, sql formatting, and results display.

The following SQL Tools Settings were used while creating and testing this DuckDB SQL Tools extension and are recommended for working with DuckDB instances efficiently. We suggest you set these preferences in your User Settings in VS Code by navigating to File -> Preferences -> Settings -> User -> Extensions -> SQLTools, or adding them to your global VS Code settings.json config file using the JSON code snippet below:

{
  ...
  "sqltools.useNodeRuntime": true,
  "sqltools.disableNodeDetectNotifications": true,
  "sqltools.autoOpenSessionFiles": false,
  "sqltools.results.limit": 10000,
  "sqltools.results.location": "current",
}

Feedback

Please use our public DuckDB SQL Tools GitHub Discussions portal to submit your feedback, share examples of how you are using DuckDB SQL Tools VS Code extension, or request new trivial and premium features. Our goal with this extension and DuckDB Pro Tools is to make DuckDB more accessible and easier to use in VS Code IDE.

Support

Become a Fan or a Pro Sponsor of our work on this and other Random Fractals, Inc. code and data viz extensions if you find them useful, educational, or enhancing your daily dev workflows and exploratory data analysis experience in VS Code IDE.

💖 https://github.com/sponsors/RandomFractals