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Power BI with DuckDB and MotherDuck

Power BI is an interactive data visualization product developed by Microsoft. MotherDuck has built an open-source DuckDB Power Query Connector that you can use to connecto Power BI to DuckDB and MotherDuck.

Installing​

  1. Download the latest DuckDB ODBC driver from the DuckDB Power Query Connector GitHub Releases for Windows:

  2. Extract the .zip archive into a permanent location, such as C:\Program Files\duckdb_odbc, and install the latest DuckDB driver by running odbc_install.exe.

  3. Check that the correct version was installed. To do this, open the Registry Editor by running regedit in the command prompt or Run dialog. Browse to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBCINST.INI\DuckDB Driver entry and check that the Driver field contains the version you installed. If not, delete the DuckDB Driver registry key and rerun the installer.

  4. Open Power BI, go to File -> Options and settings -> Options -> Security -> Data Extensions. Enable "Allow any extensions to load without validation or warning". Dialog window showing Power BI Options -> Security -> Data Extensions

  5. Download the latest version of the DuckDB Power Query extension:

  6. Create this folder if it does not yet exist: [Documents]\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors.

  7. Move or copy the duckdb-power-query-connector.mez file into [Documents]\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors. Note that if this location does not work, you may need to place this in your OneDrive Documents folder.

How to use with Power BI​

  1. Click on Get Data -> More...
  2. Search for DuckDB and click "Connect" Find DuckDB connector
  3. Enter your database location. This can be a local file path (e.g. ~\my_database.db) or a MotherDuck database location (e.g. md:my_database). (Optional) enter your MotherDuck token. If you want to access the database in read_only mode, you can set it to true. Connect to your DuckDB database Click "OK".
  4. Click "Connect". Connect dialog
  5. Select the table(s) you want to import. Click "Load". Navigator dialog to preview and select your table(s)
  6. You can now query your data and create visualizations! Power BI example usage

Use custom data connectors with an on-premises data gateway​

You can use custom data connectors with an on-premises data gateway to connect to data sources that are not supported by default. To do this, you need to install the on-premises data gateway and configure it to use the custom data connector. For more information, see Use custom data connectors with an on-premises data gateway in Power BI.

It should be noted that there are some limitations with using a custom connector with an on-premise data gateway:

  • Make sure the folder you create is accessible to the background gateway service. Typically, folders under your users' Windows folders or system folders aren't accessible. The on-premises data gateway app shows a message if the folder isn't accessible. This limitation doesn't apply to the on-premises data gateway (personal mode).

  • If your custom connector is on a network drive, include the fully qualified path in the on-premises data gateway app.

  • You can only use one custom connector data source when working in DirectQuery mode. Multiple custom connector data sources don't work with DirectQuery.

Additional information​