Go Extension Support: duckarrow (Flight SQL client)

[JC1738]

Summary

I've built a DuckDB extension in Go called duckarrow that enables querying Apache Arrow Flight SQL servers directly from DuckDB. I'm interested in submitting it to community extensions and wanted to discuss Go extension support first, similar to the Rust extension discussion (#54).

Extension Overview

duckarrow allows querying remote Flight SQL servers:

LOAD 'duckarrow.duckdb_extension';
SELECT duckarrow_configure('grpc+tls://server:port', 'user', 'pass');
SELECT * FROM duckarrow."RemoteTable" LIMIT 10;

Features:

• Table function and replacement scan syntax
• Column projection pushdown
• Connection pooling
• Full type support (20+ Arrow types including DECIMAL, LIST, STRUCT, MAP)
• TLS support with configurable certificate verification

Technical Approach

The extension uses the C Extension API (stable since v1.2.0):

• abi_type = C_STRUCT in metadata footer
• CGO for C interop (//export directives)
• Targets DuckDB v1.2.0 C API

This is the same approach that enables Rust extensions.

Build Infrastructure

We have full CI/CD with multi-platform support:

Platform	Runner	Status
linux_amd64	ubuntu-latest	✅
linux_arm64	ubuntu-24.04-arm	✅
osx_amd64	macos-15	✅
osx_arm64	macos-14	✅
windows_amd64	windows-latest	✅

• GitHub Actions workflows for CI and releases
• Pre-built binaries available: v0.0.1 release
• CMake wrapper for compatibility

Questions

1. Is there a path to adding Go extensions to community extensions?
2. Are there any additional requirements beyond what's needed for Rust extensions?
3. Would you like us to wait for official Go template support, or can we proceed as a pioneer?

Happy to provide any additional information or make adjustments to meet community extension requirements.