MotherDuck Web UI

Getting started

To log in to the MotherDuck UI, go to app.motherduck.com.

info

You can also open the web UI directly from the DuckDB CLI:

duckdb "md:" -ui

Main window

The MotherDuck UI is organized around a notebook-style editor with a database browser on the left and results inspection on the right.

Instant SQL: write SQL with real time feedback

Instant SQL gives you keystroke-fast query previews — results update as you type, with no run button needed.

Under the hood, MotherDuck uses dual execution to parse and run your query locally first, giving you immediate feedback while full cloud results load in the background. A caching indicator in the cell header shows when results are served from local cache.

Enabling Instant SQL

Toggle Instant SQL on or off per cell using:

• The Instant SQL toggle in the cell header
• The keyboard shortcut Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + .

What works with Instant SQL

• Filtering in real time: Add or change a WHERE clause and watch results narrow instantly.
• Multi-statement cells: Click on any individual statement within a multi-statement cell to preview just that one.
• Window functions: Window functions are fully supported in Instant SQL previews.

Fix errors and edit queries with AI

MotherDuck's AI features help you fix broken queries, rewrite SQL in plain English, and generate queries from scratch — all without leaving the editor.

"Help me fix this broken query" — FixIt

When you run a query that has an error, FixIt automatically analyzes the error and suggests an inline fix. Click to accept and re-run in one step.

By default, FixIt auto-suggests fixes whenever an error occurs. You can turn off auto-suggest and still trigger FixIt manually by clicking Suggest fix at the bottom of any error message.

Toggle auto-suggest in Settings → Preferences → Enable inline SQL error fix suggestions.

Free for all users

FixIt is available on all plans, including the free tier.

"Modify my SQL using plain English" — Edit

Select text in your query (or place your cursor anywhere) and press Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + E to open the Edit dialog. Describe what you want to change in natural language:

Review the suggestion, then iterate with follow-up prompts if needed:

When you're happy with the result, click Apply edit to update your query.

Going further with SQL Assistant functions

For programmatic AI access (text-to-SQL, query explanation, schema understanding), see the SQL Assistant functions reference. These are available in any DuckDB client connected to MotherDuck, not just the web UI.

Explore your results

Interactive data grid

Query results load into an interactive data grid where you can sort, filter, and pivot without writing more SQL.

Click the Expand button at the top right of any cell to go full-screen on the editor and results.

Column Explorer

The Column Explorer shows statistics for every column in a table or result set — value frequencies, NULL percentages, histograms for numeric columns, and time-series charts for timestamp columns.

Toggle the Column Explorer with Ctrl/⌘ + I or the toggle button at the top right of the results panel.

Cell Content Pane

Click any cell in the results grid to see its full contents in the Cell Content Pane.

For JSON columns, you can expand and collapse nodes, copy the value, or copy the keypath to any nested field.

Write queries faster

Autocomplete

Autocomplete suggests SQL syntax, table names, column names, and functions as you type. Turn it off in Settings → Preferences → Enable autocomplete when typing.

Inline Docs

Hover over any SQL function in the editor to see its description, parameter types, and return type. Click the Docs link in the tooltip to open the full reference.

Turn off Inline Docs in Settings → Preferences → Enable Inline Docs.

Format SQL

Press Ctrl/⌘ + Alt/⌥ + O to auto-format the SQL in your current cell. When text is selected, only the selection is formatted.

Navigate the workspace

Object Explorer

Browse your databases, schemas, and tables in the left-hand panel. Toggle it with Ctrl/⌘ + B.

Command menu

Press Ctrl/⌘ + K to open the command menu for quick access to actions, notebooks, and settings.

Notebook and worksheet views

Toggle between notebook view (multiple cells) and worksheet view (single expanded cell) with Ctrl/⌘ + E.

Running Queries

The Running Queries page, found under Settings → Running Queries, lets you monitor and manage long-running queries on your Duckling. For each query, you can see:

• Query: The SQL text of the query (click to expand the full statement).
• Status: Whether the query is currently running or has completed.
• Start time: When the query started executing.
• Elapsed time: How long the query has been running.

This is useful for identifying queries that are taking longer than expected. You can cancel a running query directly from this page.

For programmatic access to active connections and query cancellation via SQL, see md_active_server_connections() and md_interrupt_server_connection(). For a broader view of query activity across your organization, see the RECENT_QUERIES and QUERY_HISTORY views.

Keyboard shortcuts

Use Ctrl for Windows/Linux and ⌘ (Command) for Mac. Use Alt for Windows/Linux and ⌥ (Option) for Mac.

Running queries

Command	Action
Ctrl/⌘ + Enter	Run the current cell.
Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + Enter	Run selected text in the current cell. If no text is selected, run the whole cell.
Shift + Enter or Alt/⌥ + Enter	Run the current cell, then advance to the next cell (creates a new one if needed).

Editing

Command	Action
Ctrl/⌘ + z	Undo within current cell.
Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + z	Redo within current cell.
Ctrl/⌘ + Alt/⌥ + o	Format SQL in the current cell (or selection).
Ctrl/⌘ + /	Toggle line comments (--).
Tab	Indent current line (in editor).
Shift + Tab	De-indent current line (in editor).

AI features

Command	Action
Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + .	Toggle Instant SQL on/off for the active cell.
Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + e	Open Edit for your current cell or selected text.

Navigation and layout

Command	Action
Ctrl/⌘ + k	Open the command menu.
Ctrl/⌘ + /	Search notebooks, databases and more.
Ctrl/⌘ + b	Toggle the Object Explorer (left panel).
Ctrl/⌘ + i	Toggle the Column Explorer (right panel).
Ctrl/⌘ + e	Toggle notebook/worksheet view for the active cell.
Ctrl/⌘ + ↑	Move current cell up.
Ctrl/⌘ + ↓	Move current cell down.
Esc	Switch Tab to UI navigation mode (reverts on next cell selection).

Settings

Settings are found by clicking your profile at the top-left.

Section	Setting	Description
Organization	Details	Change the display name of the organization. Enable all users in your email domain to join. See Managing Organizations.
	Plans	View your current plan (Free, Standard) and switch plans.
	Members	View and invite members to your organization. Members include human users and service accounts.
My Account	Preferences	Enable autocomplete, inline SQL error fix suggestions (FixIt), and Inline Docs.
	Notifications	Configure notification preferences.
	Ducklings	Manage Duckling sizes, Read Scaling pool size, version information, and Duckling reset for troubleshooting.
Integrations	Access Tokens	Create tokens for programmatically authenticating to MotherDuck. Tokens can have expiry dates.
	Secrets	Store credentials for AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage, Cloudflare R2, and Hugging Face.
Monitor	Running Queries	View and manage currently running queries.
Data	Databases	Browse and manage your databases.
	Shares	View and manage shared databases.
Content	Dives	Manage your saved Dives.