DuckDB's WebAssembly Client Allows Querying Iceberg Datasets in the Browser

"DuckDB has recently introduced end-to-end interaction with Iceberg REST Catalogs directly within a browser tab, requiring no infrastructure setup. The new feature leverages DuckDB-Wasm, a WebAssembly port of DuckDB that runs in the browser, allowing users to query, read, and write Iceberg tables in a serverless manner. Carlo Piovesan and Tom Ebergen, software engineers at DuckDB, and Gábor Szárnyas, head of DevRel at DuckDB, write:"

"Interacting with an Iceberg REST Catalog requires a number of functionalities; the ability to talk to a REST API over HTTP(S), the ability to read and write avro and parquet files on object storage, and finally, the ability to negotiate authentication to access those resources on behalf of the user. All of these must be done from within a browser without calling any native components."

DuckDB enables direct, end-to-end interaction with Iceberg REST Catalogs from within a browser tab using DuckDB-Wasm, eliminating infrastructure setup. The implementation includes a JavaScript networking wrapper and redesigned HTTP interactions that route Iceberg networking through a common interface so browser and native versions run identical logic. Browser-based interaction supports REST API calls over HTTP(S), reading and writing Avro and Parquet files on object storage, and negotiating authentication without native components. DuckDB remains an open-source MIT-licensed analytical database; DuckDB-Wasm supports extensions. A table visualizer demo demonstrates the capability with Amazon S3 Tables.

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