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How to Query Parquet Files Online

The DuckDB Browser makes it easy to query Parquet files with SQL — no setup, no server, just drag and drop.

Step-by-Step

  1. Open the DuckDB Browser tool.
  2. Drag your .parquet file onto the drop zone (or click to browse).
  3. The file is loaded into a table called imported automatically.
  4. Run queries against it:
SELECT * FROM imported LIMIT 10;
SUMMARIZE imported;
SELECT column_name, data_type FROM information_schema.columns WHERE table_name = 'imported';

Why Parquet?

  • Columnar format — DuckDB only reads the columns your query needs
  • Compressed — Parquet files are much smaller than equivalent CSVs
  • Schema included — column names and types are embedded in the file
  • Fast — DuckDB is optimized for Parquet and can scan millions of rows quickly

Tips

  • Use SUMMARIZE imported; for instant column statistics
  • Large Parquet files work well because DuckDB reads them efficiently
  • You can load multiple files by running additional read_parquet() queries manually