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A small DuckDB file can catalog Parquet data without storing it

duckdb.org by The DuckDB team 5 min read Editor score 7/10

DuckDB can hold only view definitions pointing to Parquet files on object storage, creating a shareable catalog that stays a few hundred kilobytes regardless of dataset size. This pattern separates query access from data copies and can simplify sharing data lake datasets.

What: A DuckDB database file can contain only view definitions that point to remote Parquet files, acting as a catalog without storing rows.
How: When queried, each view runs its query against the remote data; DuckDB can expose named relations over files in object storage.
Why it matters: This lets engineers share a curated semantic layer over a data lake without copying or moving the underlying data.

DuckDB queries a view that reads data from a remote Parquet file. Sketched from the article's own text.

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