DuckLake + Quack on QuackTail

The compose demo on branch ducklake: the server attaches a local DuckLake catalog, seeds inventory, and exposes it on the tailnet. The client queries the lake via attach_ducklake (preferred) or quack_query.

Architecture

quacktail-server                          quacktail-client
─────────────────                         ─────────────────
tailscale_up                              tailscale_up
ATTACH ducklake:… AS lake (local Parquet)  tailscale_quack_forward → quack:127.0.0.1:19494
  └─ ducklake-lake volume                   attach_ducklake → SELECT FROM lake.inventory
quack_serve(127.0.0.1:9494)               ATTACH quack:… AS remote (e2e)
tailscale_serve_local

Parquet + metadata live on ducklake-lake on the server only (/var/lib/ducklake).

Access patterns

Pattern	When to use
CALL attach_ducklake(...)	Server owns DuckLake files — preferred
quack_query(uri, '…')	Same as above; fallback for older images
tailscale_quack_forward	Required on tsnet clients before Quack ATTACH
ATTACH 'ducklake:quack:…' (DATA_PATH '…')	Client has shared Parquet (DuckDB 1.5.3)
ATTACH 'quack:…' AS remote	Primary catalog only — not remote.lake.*

Full pattern guide: docs/GUIDE.md.

Run the demo

cd examples
docker compose build quacktail-server quacktail-client
docker compose up -d --force-recreate headscale quacktail-server
docker compose --profile test run --rm quacktail-client

Expect LAKE_PASSED, PASSED, and ✓ Demo passed.

Tailnet client SQL (sketch)

CALL tailscale_quack_forward(host => 'quacktail-server', port => 9494, local_port => 19494);

CREATE SECRET (TYPE quack, TOKEN 'quackscale-demo-token', SCOPE 'quack:127.0.0.1:19494');

CALL attach_ducklake(
    'quack:127.0.0.1:19494',
    remote_catalog => 'lake',
    alias => 'lake',
    token => 'quackscale-demo-token',
    disable_ssl => true
);
SELECT * FROM lake.inventory;

ATTACH 'quack:127.0.0.1:19494' AS remote (TYPE quack);
SELECT * FROM remote.e2e_payload;

See local-demo.sql for a standalone script.