Performance Tuning in DuckDB

Learn how to optimize your DuckDB queries and improve performance.

Query Optimization

Use Appropriate Data Types

-- Instead of
CREATE TABLE users (
    id VARCHAR(255),
    age VARCHAR(10)
);

-- Use
CREATE TABLE users (
    id INTEGER,
    age INTEGER
);

Indexing Strategies

-- Create indexes on frequently queried columns
CREATE INDEX idx_users_age ON users(age);

Partitioning

-- Partition tables by date for better query performance
CREATE TABLE sales (
    date DATE,
    amount DECIMAL(10,2),
    product_id INTEGER
) PARTITION BY date;

Best Practices

  1. Use Prepared Statements 
    con.execute("SELECT * FROM users WHERE age > ?", [18])
  2. Batch Inserts 
    con.execute("INSERT INTO users VALUES (?, ?)", [(1, 25), (2, 30)])
  3. Materialize Common Queries 
    CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW active_users AS
SELECT * FROM users WHERE status = 'active';

Monitoring Performance

  • Use EXPLAIN to analyze query plans
  • Monitor memory usage
  • Track query execution times

Resources