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duckdb-docs skill — Claude Code docs search and install

Search DuckDB and DuckLake documentation plus DuckDB blog posts by question or keyword. Use it when an agent needs relevant source sections for a database question.

Install into Claude Code · Skills CLI (Vercel) All methods and platforms ↓
npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill duckdb-docs -a claude-code
Open on GitHub

What duckdb-docs does

This skill searches a locally cached full-text index of DuckDB documentation and blog posts. It switches to a separate index for DuckLake questions. Natural-language requests are reduced to technical terms, then BM25 ranks matching chunks with their title, section, path, and text.

Before searching, it checks for duckdb, installs the httpfs and fts extensions, and refreshes the cache in $HOME/.duckdb/docs when it is older than 2 days. DuckDB searches normally use the lts version; current features, blog questions, and DuckLake use other index versions. It requires duckdb, httpfs, and fts, and stops if extension installation fails. That is a reason to check the local setup and connection first.

What it helps with

  • find DuckDB documentation for a SQL question
  • look up the arg_max function
  • retrieve DuckLake documentation on catalogs
  • search DuckDB blog posts by topic
  • check documentation for current DuckDB features

Example prompts for the agent

  • Find DuckDB documentation on getting the most frequent value.
  • Search DuckLake documentation for catalogs.
  • Look up GROUP BY ALL in DuckDB documentation.

How to install duckdb-docs

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill duckdb-docs -a claude-code

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/duckdb-docs/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/duckdb-docs/

Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways

Questions about duckdb-docs

How do I install duckdb-docs in Claude Code?

Run npx skills add duckdb/duckdb-skills --skill duckdb-docs -a claude-code. The skill file is placed at ~/.claude/skills/duckdb-docs/SKILL.md.

What does duckdb-docs do?

It searches DuckDB documentation and blog posts, or DuckLake documentation, using a local cached index. The skill returns relevant source chunks and answers from the retrieved material.

What does duckdb-docs need to run?

It needs duckdb installed. The skill installs and loads httpfs and fts, and it needs access to the documentation index when refreshing its cache.

Source text

SKILL.md · MIT
---
name: duckdb-docs
description: >
  Search DuckDB and DuckLake documentation and blog posts. Returns relevant
  doc chunks for a question or keyword using full-text search against a
  locally cached index.
argument-hint: <question or keyword>
allowed-tools: Bash
---

You are helping the user find relevant DuckDB or DuckLake documentation.

Query: `$@`

Follow these steps in order.

## Step 1 — Check DuckDB is installed

```bash
command -v duckdb
```

If not found, delegate to `/duckdb-skills:install-duckdb` and then continue.

## Step 2 — Ensure required extensions are installed

```bash
duckdb :memory: -c "INSTALL httpfs; INSTALL fts;"
```

If this fails, report the error and stop.

## Step 3 — Choose the data source and extract search terms

The query is: `$@`

### Data source selection

There are two search indexes available:

| Index | Remote URL | Local cache filename | Versions | Use when |
|-------|-----------|---------------------|----------|----------|
| **DuckDB docs + blog** | `https://duckdb.org/data/docs-search.duckdb` | `duckdb-docs.duckdb` | `lts`, `current`, `blog` | Default — any DuckDB question |
| **DuckLake docs** | `https://ducklake.select/data/docs-search.duckdb` | `ducklake-docs.duckdb` | `stable`, `preview` | Query mentions DuckLake, catalogs, or DuckLake-specific features |

Both indexes share the same schema:

| Column | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `chunk_id` | `VARCHAR` (PK) | e.g. `stable/sql/functions/numeric#absx` |
| `page_title` | `VARCHAR` | Page title from front matter |
| `section` | `VARCHAR` | Section heading (null for page intros) |
| `breadcrumb` | `VARCHAR` | e.g. `SQL > Functions > Numeric` |
| `url` | `VARCHAR` | URL path with anchor |
| `version` | `VARCHAR` | See table above |
| `text` | `TEXT` | Full markdown of the chunk |

By default, search **DuckDB docs** and filter to `version = 'lts'`. Use different versions when:

- The user explicitly asks about `current`/nightly features → `version = 'current'`
- The user asks about a blog post or wants background/motivation → `version = 'blog'`
- The user asks about DuckLake → search the DuckLake index with `version = 'stable'`
- When unsure, omit the version filter to search across all versions.

### Search terms

If the input is a **natural language question** (e.g. "how do I find the most frequent value"), extract the key technical terms (nouns, function names, SQL keywords) to form a compact BM25 query string. Drop stop words like "how", "do", "I", "the".

If the input is already a **function name or technical term** (e.g. `arg_max`, `GROUP BY ALL`), use it as-is.

Use the extracted terms as `SEARCH_QUERY` in the next step.

## Step 4 — Ensure local cache is fresh

The cache lives at `$HOME/.duckdb/docs/CACHE_FILENAME` (where `CACHE_FILENAME` is `duckdb-docs.duckdb` or `ducklake-docs.duckdb` per Step 3).

First, ensure the directory exists:

```bash
mkdir -p "$HOME/.duckdb/docs"
```

Then check whether the cache file exists and is fresh (≤2 days old):

```bash
CACHE_FILE="$HOME/.duckdb/docs/CACHE_FILENAME"
if [ -f "$CACHE_FILE" ]; then
    MTIME=$(stat -f %m "$CACHE_FILE" 2>/dev/null || stat -c %Y "$CACHE_FILE")
    CACHE_AGE_DAYS=$(( ( $(date +%s) - MTIME ) / 86400 ))
else
    CACHE_AGE_DAYS=999
fi
echo "Cache age: $CACHE_AGE_DAYS days"
```

**If `CACHE_AGE_DAYS` ≤ 2** → skip to Step 5.

**Otherwise** (stale or missing) → fetch the index:

```bash
duckdb -c "
LOAD httpfs;
LOAD fts;
ATTACH 'REMOTE_URL' AS remote (READ_ONLY);
ATTACH '$HOME/.duckdb/docs/CACHE_FILENAME.tmp' AS tmp;
COPY FROM DATABASE remote TO tmp;
" && mv "$HOME/.duckdb/docs/CACHE_FILENAME.tmp" "$HOME/.duckdb/docs/CACHE_FILENAME"
```

Replace `REMOTE_URL` and `CACHE_FILENAME` per Step 3. If the fetch fails (network error), report the error and stop.

## Step 5 — Search the docs

```bash
duckdb "$HOME/.duckdb/docs/CACHE_FILENAME" -readonly -json -c "
LOAD fts;
SELECT
    chunk_id, page_title, section, breadcrumb, url, version, text,
    fts_main_docs_chunks.match_bm25(chunk_id, 'SEARCH_QUERY') AS score
FROM docs_chunks
WHERE score IS NOT NULL
  AND version = 'VERSION'
ORDER BY score DESC
LIMIT 8;
"
```

Replace `CACHE_FILENAME`, `SEARCH_QUERY`, and `VERSION` per Step 3. Remove the `AND version = 'VERSION'` line if searching across all versions.

If the user's question could benefit from both DuckDB docs and blog results, run two queries (one with `version = 'stable'`, one with `version = 'blog'`) or omit the version filter entirely.

## Step 6 — Handle errors

- **Extension not installed** (`httpfs` or `fts` not found): run `duckdb :memory: -c "INSTALL httpfs; INSTALL fts;"` and retry.
- **ATTACH fails / network unreachable**: inform the user that the docs index is unavailable and suggest checking their internet connection. The DuckDB index is hosted at `https://duckdb.org/data/docs-search.duckdb` and the DuckLake index at `https://ducklake.select/data/docs-search.duckdb`.
- **No results** (all scores NULL or empty result set): try broadening the query — drop the least specific term, or try a single-word version of the query — then retry Step 5. If still no results, tell the user no matching documentation was found and suggest visiting https://duckdb.org/docs or https://ducklake.select/docs directly.

## Step 7 — Present results

For each result chunk returned (ordered by score descending), format as:

```
### {section} — {page_title}
{url}

{text}

---
```

After presenting all chunks, synthesize a concise answer to the user's original question (`$@`) based on the retrieved documentation. If the chunks directly answer the question, lead with the answer before showing the sources.

© duckdb · MIT · duckdb/duckdb-skills

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