---
id: duckdb-extension-httpfs
version: "1.5.5"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# duckdb-extension-httpfs — Duckdb httpfs extension

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 93.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

This package provides DuckDB's httpfs extension as a Python package, enabling direct SQL queries against data stored on remote servers via HTTP/HTTPS without staging files locally. It installs as a specialized extension for duckdb and integrates with DuckDB's extension system to make remote files queryable as if they were local.

The package is actively maintained and supports Python 3.9 through 3.13 across multiple platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows). Installation requires duckdb as a runtime dependency, and platform-specific wheels are provided to minimize compilation overhead. Once installed, the httpfs extension becomes available for use in DuckDB queries.

Use it for:

- Query CSV or Parquet files hosted on a web server without downloading them first.
- Build data pipelines that read from remote HTTP endpoints and transform with SQL.
- Analyze datasets stored remotely without local disk overhead.
- Prototype analytics on remote data sources accessed via HTTP/HTTPS.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Enables DuckDB to query data over HTTP/HTTPS by providing the httpfs extension as a Python package, allowing direct access to remote files without downloading them locally first.

Yes, if you use duckdb and need to query remote files over HTTP/HTTPS. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, uses a permissive MIT license, and medium install friction is acceptable for a specialized extension. Install only if you have duckdb already in your environment and a concrete use case for remote file access.

## Install

pip install duckdb-extension-httpfs
uv add duckdb-extension-httpfs
poetry add duckdb-extension-httpfs

## Installing duckdb-extension-httpfs

Before you install: Medium install friction due to platform-specific wheel distributions (macOS arm64/x86_64, Linux aarch64/x86_64, Windows amd64). Active maintenance with a release 4 days old and last commit on 2026-08-10 suggests current support.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute this package with minimal restrictions, though you must include the license notice.

Quickstart:

pip install duckdb-extension-httpfs

import duckdb
print(duckdb.sql("SELECT installed FROM duckdb_extensions() WHERE extension_name='httpfs'").fetchone()[0])

Requires duckdb as a runtime dependency; platform-specific wheels require a compatible Python version (3.9–3.13) and CPU architecture.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the extension supports all remote protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, S3, GCS) or only HTTP/HTTPS.
- Performance characteristics when querying large remote files or high-latency sources.
- Whether authentication (API keys, credentials) for remote sources is supported.
- How to import and activate the extension in practice beyond verification steps shown.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 93.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

duckdb http remote file access, query remote files with duckdb, duckdb httpfs extension, remote data querying duckdb, duckdb remote file queries, duckdb-extension, remote-data-access

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