DuckDB v1.3+

A light-weight, read-only analytics engine for Iceberg with SQL time travel, external file caching, and REST catalog support

Key Features

65

Partial Support

Catalog Support

Hadoop (file-system) and Iceberg REST catalogs supported via rest option with bearer/OAuth tokens; no native Hive/Glue catalog yet

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95

Full Support

Read-only Analytics Excellence

Full SELECT support with predicate evaluation, manifest pruning and external file-cache to avoid re-downloading S3/GCS objects

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100

SQL Syntax

Advanced Time Travel

Convenient SQL syntax: SELECT * FROM tbl AT (VERSION => 314159) or AT (TIMESTAMP => '2025-05-01 10:15:00'); older function-style still works

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90

Performance Boost

External File Caching

External file-cache via SET s3_cache_size='4GB'; halves cold-scan latency for Iceberg on S3/GCS with intelligent object reuse

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60

Parquet Only

Format Compatibility

Parquet remains the only supported data-file format; Avro/ORC data files are ignored, limiting compatibility with mixed-format tables

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85

Helper Functions

Metadata Operations

iceberg_snapshots() returns current snapshot first with summary JSON; iceberg_metadata() exposes file-size/row-count stats for planner optimization

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65

Basic Support

Security Integration

Uses DuckDB's standard S3/Azure credentials via httpfs extension; REST-catalog tokens per-session; no built-in RBAC/row-masking

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40

Known Issues

Current Limitations

Read-only engine with no write support; tables with deletes not supported; Format V3 capabilities absent; single-node execution constraints

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DuckDB Iceberg Feature Matrix

Comprehensive breakdown of Iceberg capabilities in DuckDB v1.3+

Dimension	Support Level	Implementation Details	Min Version
Catalog Types	PartialHadoop + REST	Hadoop (file-system), REST catalog with OAuth tokens; no native Hive/Glue support	1.3+
Read Operations	FullAnalytics Optimized	Complete SELECT support, predicate pushdown, manifest pruning, external file-cache	1.3+
Write Operations	NoneRead-Only	No INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE/CREATE TABLE AS ICEBERG support	N/A
Time Travel	FullSQL Syntax	New AT (VERSION/TIMESTAMP) syntax plus legacy function-style options	1.3+
Delete File Support	NoneCoW Only	Reading tables with deletes not yet supported; Copy-on-Write tables only	N/A
Format V3 Support	NoneV1/V2 Only	DuckDB 1.3 reads v1 & v2 tables only; V3 evaluation post-GA	N/A
Data File Formats	LimitedParquet Only	Parquet files only; Avro/ORC data files are ignored	1.3+
Streaming Support	NoneBatch Only	Batch-only analytics; no streaming ingestion or CDC capabilities	N/A
Metadata Operations	FullHelper Functions	iceberg_snapshots(), iceberg_metadata() with summary JSON and planner stats	1.3+
Cloud Storage Optimization	FullFile Cache	External file-cache via s3_cache_size reduces cold-scan latency by ~50%	1.3+
Security Integration	BasicCredential Delegation	S3/Azure creds via httpfs, REST tokens; no built-in RBAC/row-masking	1.3+
Scale Limitations	Single-NodeLocal Resources	Single-node execution; large lake queries constrained by local resources	1.3+

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Use Cases

Interactive Data Exploration

Fast, ad-hoc analytics on Iceberg tables for data scientists and analysts

• Laptop-based data science with cloud data lakes
• Quick data quality assessment and profiling
• Prototyping data transformations and analysis
• Educational and learning environments

Development & Testing

Lightweight engine for developing and testing data pipelines

• Local development against production Iceberg tables
• Testing query logic before deploying to production
• Debugging data pipeline outputs and transformations
• Schema validation and compatibility testing

Analytical Reporting

Read-only reporting and dashboard data preparation

• Business intelligence report generation
• Data extraction for external systems and tools
• Historical trend analysis with time travel
• Cross-functional data sharing and exploration

Data Lake Auditing

Compliance and audit scenarios leveraging time travel capabilities

• Point-in-time data auditing and compliance
• Data lineage investigation and debugging
• Historical data comparison and validation
• Regulatory reporting with specific timestamps

Resources & Documentation

Official Documentation

Complete API reference and guides

Getting Started Guide

Quick start tutorials and examples

Iceberg Extension Configuration

Documentation

S3 Integration Guide

Documentation

DuckDB 1.3.0 Release

Documentation

Troubleshooting Guide

Documentation