ext_install: Install a DuckDB extension

In quak: Query 'Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2' with 'DuckDB'

Install a DuckDB extension

Description

Tries two strategies in order, succeeding as soon as one works:

Usage

ext_install(
  name,
  cache = ext_cache(),
  repo = c("core", "community"),
  conn = conn_default(),
  verbose = NULL
)

Arguments

name	Character scalar. Extension name.
cache	An ext_cache object used by the manual fallback.
repo	"core" or "community". Determines which configured URL to use and, when no URL is set, which DuckDB install syntax to emit.
conn	A DuckDB connection. Defaults to conn_default().
verbose	Logical or NULL. When TRUE, emits a warning if the SQL install fails but the manual fallback succeeds. When NULL (default), uses the quak.install_verbose option / QUAK_INSTALL_VERBOSE env var. When FALSE, the fallback is silent. Either way, a SQL failure is never raised as an error on its own.

Details

1. SQL install: runs DuckDB's built-in INSTALL (using the configured repository URL when one is set via repo_set_urls(), the QUAK_CORE_REPO / QUAK_COMMUNITY_REPO env vars, or the quak.core_repo / quak.community_repo R options).

2. Manual fallback: when the SQL install fails (e.g. DuckDB cannot reach an HTTPS URL before httpfs is loaded, whereas R's curl can), downloads the .duckdb_extension file, caches it, and copies it into the extension directory.

A SQL failure is never raised on its own — it only surfaces (as a warning, when verbose = TRUE) if the manual fallback also runs. An error is raised only when both strategies fail.

Idempotent — skips install if the extension is already installed (checked via the duckdb_extensions() pragma).

Value

Invisibly returns conn.

Examples

## Not run: 
# Requires network access to download the extension.
conn <- DBI::dbConnect(duckdb::duckdb())
ext_install("httpfs", conn = conn)
DBI::dbDisconnect(conn, shutdown = TRUE)

## End(Not run)

quak documentation built on June 9, 2026, 5:09 p.m.