Deploying Quack

This page collects deployment recipes for running a public-facing Quack server. Today there is one recipe (AWS EC2), we will introduce more over time.

On AWS EC2

The fastest way to get a public-facing Quack server is the one-click AWS CloudFormation template maintained alongside the extension. It provisions a small EC2 instance running DuckDB, the quack extension behind nginx and Let’s Encrypt TLS. As its output, it surfaces the per-instance token and connection URI.

One-Click Launch

1. Open the Launch Stack URL.
2. Click Create stack in the bottom right.
3. Wait about two minutes for CREATE_COMPLETE.
4. Open the stack’s Outputs tab.
5. Click the ConnectURL value to open a shell.duckdb.org session pre-wired to the new instance, or copy QuackURI and Token to connect from a local DuckDB session (see below).

The stack defaults to a t3.micro instance; other sizes are selectable on the Parameters page when launching. Supported regions: us-east-1, us-east-2, us-west-1, us-west-2, eu-west-1, eu-central-1, ap-northeast-1, ap-southeast-1.

Connecting from a Local DuckDB

Copy QuackURI and Token from the stack’s Outputs tab and substitute below:

-- Register the credentials once per session.
CREATE SECRET quack_credentials (
    TYPE quack,
    SCOPE '⟨uri⟩',                  -- e.g., 'quack:54.1.2.3.nip.io:443'
    TOKEN '⟨token⟩'
);

-- Who did I just launch?
FROM quack_query('⟨uri⟩', 'FROM whoami()');

-- Anything else you'd normally run, shipped verbatim to the remote.
FROM quack_query('⟨uri⟩', 'SELECT 1 + 1');

Sticky Session via ATTACH

ATTACH keeps server-side state (temp tables, SET variables) across calls, which quack_query alone does not.

ATTACH '⟨uri⟩' AS remote (TYPE quack);

-- Temp table lives on the remote.
FROM quack_query_by_name('remote', 'CREATE TEMP TABLE t AS SELECT range AS x FROM range(10)');
FROM quack_query_by_name('remote', 'SELECT sum(x) FROM t');

-- Session settings stick.
FROM quack_query_by_name('remote', 'SET threads = 8');
FROM quack_query_by_name('remote', 'SELECT current_setting(''threads'')');

Tearing Down

When you’re done with the instance, delete the stack:

aws cloudformation delete-stack --stack-name quack-demo --region us-east-1

Or use the Delete button in the CloudFormation console.

What the Stack Provisions

• An AWS::EC2::Instance from a public AMI (per-region map baked into the template) running DuckDB, the quack extension behind nginx and the Let’s Encrypt TLS.
• An AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup opening ports 80 (ACME challenge) and 443 (HTTPS).
• An AWS::CloudFormation::WaitCondition the instance signals once the RPC server is ready.
• CFN Outputs carrying the ready URI, per-instance token, and two shareable shell.duckdb.org URLs (QueryURL, ConnectURL).

For Maintainers

The CloudFormation template, AMI baking process, and per-region AMI publishing live at duckdblabs/duckdb-quack-infra. Updating the AMI or extending the supported region list happens there.