ext_load: Load a DuckDB extension, installing it first if necessary

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

Load a DuckDB extension, installing it first if necessary

Description

When path is supplied, executes ⁠LOAD '/path/to/ext.duckdb_extension'⁠ directly — no install check or auto-install occurs. When only name is supplied, returns immediately if the extension is already loaded. Otherwise it checks whether the extension is installed; if not and auto_install = TRUE, installs it (prompting first when ask = TRUE and the session is interactive), then executes ⁠LOAD <name>⁠.

Usage

ext_load(
  name = NULL,
  path = NULL,
  conn = conn_default(),
  auto_install = TRUE,
  ask = rlang::is_interactive(),
  cache = ext_cache(),
  repo = c("core", "community")
)

Arguments

name	Character scalar. Extension name. When path is supplied, name is inferred from the filename and used only in messages.
path	Optional character scalar. Path to a local .duckdb_extension file. When supplied, the extension is loaded directly from disk, bypassing the install check and ext_install().
conn	A DuckDB connection. Defaults to conn_default().
auto_install	Logical. Install automatically when the extension is missing. Default TRUE. Ignored when path is supplied.
ask	Logical. Prompt the user before installing. Defaults to rlang::is_interactive(), so it never prompts during tests or in non-interactive sessions. Ignored when auto_install = FALSE or path is supplied.
cache	An ext_cache object forwarded to ext_install() on auto-install. Ignored when path is supplied.
repo	"core" or "community". Forwarded to ext_install(). Ignored when path is supplied.

Value

Invisibly returns conn.

Examples

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

## End(Not run)

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