Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@jeroos
Last active June 20, 2025 17:43
Show Gist options
  • Save jeroos/c4336e8e177ab634a91968431d8af4cd to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save jeroos/c4336e8e177ab634a91968431d8af4cd to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Streamlining AWS Lambda with DuckDB for Dynamic Data Handling
import json
import os
import duckdb
import boto3
import datetime
from typing import Any, Dict
def construct_prepared_sql_and_params(sql_template, bind_params):
single_value_params = {k: v for k, v in bind_params.items() if not isinstance(v, list)}
list_params = {k: v for k, v in bind_params.items() if isinstance(v, list)}
for key in single_value_params.keys():
sql_template = sql_template.replace(f"{{{key}}}", "?")
for key, values in list_params.items():
placeholders = ', '.join(['?'] * len(values))
sql_template = sql_template.replace(f"{{{key}}}", placeholders)
flat_params = []
for key in bind_params:
if key in single_value_params:
flat_params.append(single_value_params[key])
elif key in list_params:
flat_params.extend(list_params[key])
return sql_template, flat_params
def serialize_dates(row):
for key, value in row.items():
if isinstance(value, datetime.date):
row[key] = value.strftime('%d-%m-%Y')
return row
def lambda_handler(event: Dict[str, Any], context):
print("Duckdb Lambda received event: " + json.dumps(event, indent=4))
file_name = event.get('file_name')
sql = event.get('sql')
bind_params = event.get('bind_params', {})
return_type = event.get('return_type', 'List')
s3 = boto3.client('s3')
bucket_name = os.getenv('BUCKET_NAME')
local_file_name = f"/tmp/{file_name}"
os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(local_file_name), exist_ok=True)
s3.download_file(bucket_name, file_name, local_file_name)
conn = duckdb.connect(database=':memory:', read_only=False)
prepared_sql = sql % local_file_name
try:
prepared_sql, flat_params = construct_prepared_sql_and_params(prepared_sql, bind_params)
print(prepared_sql)
print(f"flat_params -> {flat_params}")
cursor = conn.execute(prepared_sql, parameters=flat_params)
columns = [description[0] for description in cursor.description]
fetched_results = [dict(zip(columns, row)) for row in cursor.fetchall()]
fetched_results = [serialize_dates(row) for row in fetched_results]
if return_type == 'Single':
results = fetched_results[0] if fetched_results else {}
else:
results = fetched_results
finally:
conn.close()
print("Duckdb Lambda processing completed")
return results
@alexander-grun
Copy link

@julian-calleja try also setting env variable in lambda as HOME:/tmp

The layer I made is here if you want to give it a try: arn:aws:lambda:eu-north-1:399679954749:layer:duck39:1

@bbalazs-cubix
Copy link

Hi @alexander-grun!

I just found this page, and I see that you shared your arn location. Can you please share the package itself in the zipped format, which can be uploaded to AWS Layers?

Thank you,
Balazs

@alexander-grun
Copy link

alexander-grun commented Mar 8, 2025 via email

@mckaybm
Copy link

mckaybm commented Mar 9, 2025

Can I also get the zip? [email protected]

@alexander-grun
Copy link

alexander-grun commented Mar 9, 2025

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create your own Lambda Layer via Docker and upload it to AWS

https://alexander-grun.github.io/ag-blog/duck-db-aws-lambda-layer/

@bbalazs-cubix
Copy link

Hey Alex!

It's [email protected]

Thank you!

@bbalazs-cubix
Copy link

bbalazs-cubix commented Mar 13, 2025

Thank you, I got the zip, I created a Layer with it, and attached to my function (it's strange for me, that I can't choose it from Custom Layers, only I can add with the ARN, but at least that works), and I'm still getting the same error:

Function Logs:
[ERROR] Runtime.ImportModuleError: Unable to import module 'lambda_function': No module named 'duckdb.duckdb'
Traceback (most recent call last):

The code:
import json
import duckdb

def lambda_handler(event, context):
# TODO implement
return {
'statusCode': 200,
'body': json.dumps('Hello from Lambda!')
}

If I repack it, without the "python" folder, so the subfolders right directly in the zip, I'm still getting the error

{
"errorMessage": "Unable to import module 'lambda_function': No module named 'duckdb'",
"errorType": "Runtime.ImportModuleError",
"requestId": "",
"stackTrace": []
}

@alexander-grun
Copy link

@bbalazs-cubix in the environment variable of Lambda add Home: /tmp as a variable and try again

@alexander-grun
Copy link

@bbalazs-cubix
Copy link

Thanks for the article, unfortunately that uses Glue, not Lambda, but it was interesting. Tried creating an environment variable called "Home" with the value "/tmp", but I'm getting the same import error. Trying to look for another solution.

@billrocha
Copy link

@billrocha
Copy link

billrocha commented Jun 20, 2025

this works for me.

ref: https://alexander-grun.github.io/ag-blog/duck-db-aws-lambda-layer/

TY @alexander-grun

To make it run on Lambda, I also need to set up home_directory. This is my simple Lambda code.

import json
import duckdb

def lambda_handler(event, context):
    print('Hi')

    duckdb_conn = duckdb.connect()

    print(f"Installing duckdb extensions. Installing httpfs.")
    duckdb_conn.sql("SET home_directory='/tmp';")
    duckdb_conn.sql("install httpfs")
    print(f"Loading  httpfs")
    duckdb_conn.sql("load httpfs")
    print('LOADED!')

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment