Easier to use: DuckDB gets local web user interface
As of version 1.2.1, the DuckDB in-process database can be conveniently operated via a local UI, which is installed as an extension, as an alternative to CLI.
(Image: iX / generiert mit ChatGPT)
As of version 1.2.1, the DuckDB database, which specializes in data analysis and evaluation, provides a new local web user interface that can be used as an alternative to the CLI. The new UI is part of the UI extension and is the result of a joint development by DuckDB Labs and MotherDuck, the provider of a serverless service based on the database. According to the announcement, the UI is primarily intended to make working with longer SQL queries and data exploration easier – and be easier to configure than some of the UIs available from third-party providers for DuckDB.
The UI is implemented via a DuckDB extension that embeds a localhost HTTP server. This serves the browser application and also provides an API for communication with the database. Thanks to the direct connection to the local DuckDB instance, developers have full access to the computer resources, including memory and file system.
(Image: DuckDB)
The database, files and any URLs loaded are listed in a window on the left-hand side of the web user interface, along with the tables and views available in them. With one click, detailed information such as the number of rows, name and type of columns as well as a profile of the data they contain can be viewed. The UI provides interactive notebooks for defining SQL scripts and displaying the results of queries, which also offer syntax highlighting and an autocomplete function when creating queries. The Column Explorer on the right-hand side of the interface summarizes the results, but also allows you to gain an even deeper insight into each individual column. If developers want to share files and tables beyond the local environment, for example for joint processing in a team, the MotherDuck service can be accessed directly via a button in the UI navigation for login.
The DuckDB UI and the UI extension have been officially available under MIT license since the publication of bugfix release 1.2.1 of the database. However, in the blog post announcing the local web user interface, the DuckDB team points out that the repository does not contain any open source code for the frontend because it has not yet been released as open source – but there are plans to do so.
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