---
sidebar_position: 8
title: DuckDB Extensions in MotherDuck
description: Supported DuckDB extensions for the MotherDuck cloud service, Web UI, and CLI.
keywords:
  - DuckDB extensions
  - MotherDuck extensions
  - extension support
  - server-side extensions
  - web UI extensions
  - compatibility
---

# DuckDB Extensions in MotherDuck

MotherDuck supports a wide array of DuckDB extensions to enhance your analytics workflows. Support varies depending on whether you are using the DuckDB CLI, the MotherDuck cloud service (server-side), or the MotherDuck Web UI.

## Extension Support

### MotherDuck Web UI
The MotherDuck Web UI supports a subset of extensions optimized for interactive analytics and data exploration directly in your browser. Some extensions can be loaded in the Web UI but are not supported server side (i.e., they are invoked and ran only in the browser).

### MotherDuck Cloud (Server-Side)
MotherDuck's cloud service supports a curated set of extensions for optimized, secure, and scalable query execution. These extensions are available for all queries running against the MotherDuck service.

### DuckDB CLI
When connected to MotherDuck through the local DuckDB CLI, **all** DuckDB extensions are available. These extensions are loaded locally, giving you access to the entire DuckDB ecosystem for development and testing.


## Extension Support Matrix

The following table summarizes the current support for DuckDB extensions across MotherDuck environments, as it relates to execution context - extensions supported only server-side will only use server-side compute, where as extensions also supported in the Web UI will use local compute as well.

The environments are **MD Web UI**, located at https://app.motherduck.com, **MD Cloud**, which runs on MotherDuck infrastructure when you connect via `md:`, and **DuckDB UI / CLI** which run on local environments where the DuckDB client is installed.

| Extension            | MD UI* | MD Cloud | DuckDB UI / CLI |
|----------------------|--------|----------|-----------------|
| autocomplete         | ✅      | ❌        | ✅               |
| avro                 | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| aws                  | ❌      | ❌        | ✅               |
| azure                | ❌      | ✅        | ✅               |
| delta                | ❌      | ✅        | ✅               |
| ducklake             | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| encodings            | ❌      | ✅        | ✅               |
| excel                | ✅      | ❌        | ✅               |
| fts                  | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| httpfs               | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| h3                   | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| iceberg              | ❌      | ✅        | ✅               |
| icu                  | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| inet                 | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| jemalloc             | ❌      | ❌        | ✅               |
| json                 | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| mysql                | ❌      | ❌        | ✅               |
| parquet              | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| postgres             | ❌      | ❌        | ✅               |
| spatial              | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| sqlite               | ✅      | ❌        | ✅               |
| tpcds                | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| tpch                 | ✅      | ✅        | ✅               |
| ui                   | ❌      | ❌        | ✅               |
| vss                  | ❌      | ❌        | ✅               |
| community extensions | ❌      | ❌        | ✅               |


:::note
*Not all features of extensions in the MotherDuck UI (Wasm) are supported.
:::

:::note
For some extensions (such as `h3`), you should load it before loading the `motherduck` extension if you want to use it
on local data without routing the query to MotherDuck.

```sql
-- Install and load the h3 extension before MotherDuck
INSTALL h3 FROM community;
LOAD h3;
LOAD motherduck;
ATTACH 'md:';
```

:::

Extensions listed as supported by DuckDB UI / CLI, such as `aws`, `arrow`, `postgres_scanner`, and `vss`, can also be used through a local DuckDB instance connected to MotherDuck.

## Future Development

MotherDuck's extension support is continuously evolving. The team regularly evaluates and adds support for new extensions based on user demand and technical feasibility. If you need specific extensions enabled, please reach out to the MotherDuck team.