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External Connections (Alpha)

Alpha Feature

This external connection feature is currently in alpha stage and is provided as a proof of concept. It is still under active development and may undergo significant changes. Not recommended for production use.

Quick Start​

The fastest way to test experiment with external connections is to use the provided demo credentials:

You can create your own connection @ https://demo.duckui.com/connections

Name: EXAMPLE (Or any name you prefer)
Host: https://quackpy.fly.dev
Port: 443
Database: - (leave empty)
User: duckui
Password: duckui

Connection Methods​

Method 1: Docker Environment Variables​

docker run -p 5522:5522 \
    -e DUCK_UI_EXTERNAL_CONNECTION_NAME="EXAMPLE" \
    -e DUCK_UI_EXTERNAL_HOST="https://quackpy.fly.dev" \
    -e DUCK_UI_EXTERNAL_PORT=443 \
    -e DUCK_UI_EXTERNAL_USER="" \
    -e DUCK_UI_EXTERNAL_PASS="" \
    -e DUCK_UI_EXTERNAL_DATABASE_NAME="" \
    -e DUCK_UI_ALLOW_UNSIGNED_EXTENSIONS="true"
note
  • DUCK_UI_EXTERNAL_HOST: Currently, only Quackpy - That's running http_server extension under the hood is available as a provider
  • USER/PASS: Any values can be used to create credentials
  • DATABASE_NAME: Not required for this implementation (leave empty)
  • DUCK_UI_ALLOW_UNSIGNED_EXTENSIONS: Set to "true" if you need to use unsigned DuckDB extensions

Method 2: User Interface​

You can create connections directly through the Duck-UI interface:

  1. Navigate to Connections page
  2. Click "Add Connection"
  3. Fill in the connection details
  4. Test and save your connection

Important Disclaimers​

Production Use Warning​

This feature is not intended for production use or storing sensitive data. Use at your own risk and only with non-sensitive, test data.

Security Considerations​

  • Connection credentials are stored in local storage
  • Communication may not be encrypted depending on server configuration
  • No built-in protection against SQL injection
  • Basic authentication implementation
  • Use in trusted environments only

Technical Requirements​

The external server must support:

  • HTTP Basic Authentication
  • CORS for cross-origin requests
  • POST requests with query parameters
  • ClickHouse JSON/JSONCompact response format

Current Limitations​

  • Limited error handling
  • Basic authentication only
  • Network-dependent performance
  • Incomplete schema information
  • Limited DuckDB feature support
  • No built-in security protections

External Resources​

Testing the Connection​

  1. Use the provided demo credentials
  2. Test basic queries to verify connectivity
  3. Explore available databases and tables
  4. Note any performance or functionality limitations
caution

Remember this is an alpha feature. Functionality may be limited or change without notice.