With the plugin’s arrow Cargo feature enabled, query_arrow returns a read query’s result as
Arrow IPC stream bytes — a compact, columnar, zero-JSON-parse transfer that decodes directly
into an Arrow table in the webview.
query_arrow requires the arrow feature. Without it the
command returns backend error: the \arrow` feature is not enabled`.Enable the feature
The feature pulls in arrow-rs and better-duck-core/arrow, and compiles the query_arrow command
in.
queryArrow
- Signature:
queryArrow(query: string, values?: unknown[]): Promise<ArrayBuffer>.
values bind positionally, like select.- Resolves to an
ArrayBuffer of Arrow IPC stream bytes; decode with apache-arrow’s
tableFromIPC.
How it works
Server-side the backend runs the query through better-duck-core’s Arrow C Data Interface export,
then serializes each exported record batch with arrow-rs’s StreamWriter. The command returns the
raw bytes via tauri::ipc::Response, so the webview receives the response body directly as an
ArrayBuffer rather than a JSON-encoded array.
Prefer queryArrow over select when the result is wide or numeric and the frontend already uses
Arrow (or feeds a charting / dataframe library). It avoids the DuckDB → JSON → JS round-trip and
preserves exact numeric types that JSON would stringify.
Policy and permissions
query_arrow is a read; it passes through the
deny_risky_statements leading-keyword filter.- Permission:
better-duck-tauri:allow-query-arrow (not in the default set).
Like select, query_arrow forwards arbitrary read SQL, which in
DuckDB can reach the filesystem through table functions. Treat it as filesystem-read-capable and
constrain it the same way (read-only, connection allow-list). See also
- Streaming — chunked JSON delivery for progressive rendering.
- Arrow & Polars — the core driver’s Arrow export this builds on.
- Feature flags — the
arrow feature across the workspace.
