| name | duckdb-sql |
| description | Load when hitting DuckDB syntax errors or writing DuckDB-specific SQL. Covers gotchas that differ from PostgreSQL/MySQL. |
| type | skill |
DuckDB SQL - Key Differences from PostgreSQL/MySQL
Gotchas
- Integer division truncates:
5/2 = 2. Fix: CAST(numerator AS DOUBLE) / denominator
- DATE_TRUNC returns TIMESTAMP: Cast result if DATE needed:
CAST(DATE_TRUNC('month', col) AS DATE)
- INTERVAL syntax:
INTERVAL '1' DAY (quoted), NOT INTERVAL 1 DAY
- No DATEADD/DATEDIFF: In standalone queries, use
col + INTERVAL '1' DAY and DATE_DIFF('day', start, end) - DuckDB has no DATEADD/DATEDIFF function.
- SUM(NULL) = NULL: Not 0. Use
COALESCE(SUM(col), 0) if 0 is needed.
- ROUND precision: If the YML specifies a decimal type like
decimal(6,2),
cast the FINAL output to match: CAST(ROUND(AVG(col), 2) AS DECIMAL(6,2)).
Do NOT cast the input - cast the result after rounding.
- Avoid CURRENT_DATE in models with historical data - use
(SELECT MAX(date_col) FROM source) to anchor to the data's actual date range
Date Parsing
- Non-ISO strings:
STRPTIME(col, '%d/%m/%Y')::DATE
TRY_STRPTIME returns NULL on failure (safe)- Never
CAST(date_str AS DATE) on non-ISO strings
QUALIFY Clause
Filter window function results without a subquery:
SELECT *, ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY group ORDER BY col DESC) AS rn
FROM table
QUALIFY rn <= 10
Date Spines
SELECT UNNEST(GENERATE_SERIES(min_date::DATE, max_date::DATE, INTERVAL '1' DAY)) AS date_day
Always use the primary fact table's max date as endpoint - call get_date_boundaries first.
Type Casting
CAST(x AS INTEGER), CAST(x AS DOUBLE), CAST(x AS VARCHAR), CAST(x AS DATE)
TRY_CAST returns NULL on failure.
