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Overview

Installation To use the DuckDB C API, download the libduckdb archive for your platform.

The latest stable version of the DuckDB C API is 2.0.0.

DuckDB implements a custom C API modeled somewhat following the SQLite C API. The API is contained in the duckdb.h header. Continue to Startup & Shutdown to get started, or check out the Full API overview.

We also provide a SQLite API wrapper which means that if your application is programmed against the SQLite C API, you can re-link to DuckDB and it should continue working. See the shell_helpers.cpp file in our source repository for more information.

C API v2

Warning The C API v2 is not yet stable. Its interface may change in upcoming releases.

DuckDB 2.0 ships a revamped C API, which is considerably more powerful than its predecessor. Among others, it exposes components such as file systems and table functions to extensions.

Before marking the C API v2 as stable, we would like to test it in the field. Please give it a try and send us your feedback!

Installation

The DuckDB C API can be installed as part of the libduckdb packages. Please see the installation page for details.

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