Hamilton Ulmer
@hamilton.bsky.social
👁️📈👁️ design & eng @ MotherDuck. UI, statistics, databases. Ex Rill Data, Mozilla
Continuing the semantic code-folding design exploration. Instead of showing the typical "..." button, it shows an LLM summary of what's folded. Like "calculate 30-day revenue" for a collapsed CTE.
Not sure if this would be useful yet!
Not sure if this would be useful yet!
October 26, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Continuing the semantic code-folding design exploration. Instead of showing the typical "..." button, it shows an LLM summary of what's folded. Like "calculate 30-day revenue" for a collapsed CTE.
Not sure if this would be useful yet!
Not sure if this would be useful yet!
only took me two years before I needed to do my own safety triangle implementation
this works great for our upcoming "quick look" editor features
aside from function docs, what other quick look features would you like in the DuckDB UI?
this works great for our upcoming "quick look" editor features
aside from function docs, what other quick look features would you like in the DuckDB UI?
October 2, 2025 at 4:05 PM
only took me two years before I needed to do my own safety triangle implementation
this works great for our upcoming "quick look" editor features
aside from function docs, what other quick look features would you like in the DuckDB UI?
this works great for our upcoming "quick look" editor features
aside from function docs, what other quick look features would you like in the DuckDB UI?
I'm going to be talking online about the "why" and "how" of Instant SQL, our new ad hoc querying experience that enables keystroke-fast previews of results & deeper introspection into your query's data flow.
Weds. May 21st, 9:30am PDT
link in reply!
Weds. May 21st, 9:30am PDT
link in reply!
May 17, 2025 at 3:50 PM
I'm going to be talking online about the "why" and "how" of Instant SQL, our new ad hoc querying experience that enables keystroke-fast previews of results & deeper introspection into your query's data flow.
Weds. May 21st, 9:30am PDT
link in reply!
Weds. May 21st, 9:30am PDT
link in reply!
I just gave a talk at Data Council about Instant SQL and will be sharing that once it's available. It's a really fun talk. Here's the vibe
April 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I just gave a talk at Data Council about Instant SQL and will be sharing that once it's available. It's a really fun talk. Here's the vibe
Instant SQL works by using samples / subsets of data. Of course, at any point, you can run the actual query against your whole data set. Think of it as a complement to running your query, not an alternative.
April 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Instant SQL works by using samples / subsets of data. Of course, at any point, you can run the actual query against your whole data set. Think of it as a complement to running your query, not an alternative.
Instant SQL is great for humans, but it also works GREAT with AI tools. Any suggestion made by an LLM is instantly previewed as you go, giving you a lot more confidence when working with SQL and AI.
April 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Instant SQL is great for humans, but it also works GREAT with AI tools. Any suggestion made by an LLM is instantly previewed as you go, giving you a lot more confidence when working with SQL and AI.
Because we have access to the whole pipeline of the query, Instant SQL can dissect results, making it easy to debug complicated formulas and regular expressions
It's like we've turned your query into a big excel function that returns a list of expression trees on every keystroke
It's like we've turned your query into a big excel function that returns a list of expression trees on every keystroke
April 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Because we have access to the whole pipeline of the query, Instant SQL can dissect results, making it easy to debug complicated formulas and regular expressions
It's like we've turned your query into a big excel function that returns a list of expression trees on every keystroke
It's like we've turned your query into a big excel function that returns a list of expression trees on every keystroke
on every keystroke, Instant SQL parses the query, analyzes it, and caches just enough to render a preview of the SELECT statement where your cursor is. This enables inspection of CTEs and subqueries. Make a change, then go downstream, and see that change instantly reflected.
April 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
on every keystroke, Instant SQL parses the query, analyzes it, and caches just enough to render a preview of the SELECT statement where your cursor is. This enables inspection of CTEs and subqueries. Make a change, then go downstream, and see that change instantly reflected.
Instant SQL follows Bret Victor's 2 rules from "Inventing on Principle": when you make a change in your software, there can't be a delay and there can't be anything hidden
Using DuckDB's internals, we've built a realtime query-as-you-type system. But it does a lot more, too:
Using DuckDB's internals, we've built a realtime query-as-you-type system. But it does a lot more, too:
April 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Instant SQL follows Bret Victor's 2 rules from "Inventing on Principle": when you make a change in your software, there can't be a delay and there can't be anything hidden
Using DuckDB's internals, we've built a realtime query-as-you-type system. But it does a lot more, too:
Using DuckDB's internals, we've built a realtime query-as-you-type system. But it does a lot more, too:
So thrilled to announce we've released Instant SQL in both the MotherDuck and DuckDB UIs!
It's a new interaction pattern for writing SQL queries that provides realtime result previews and deep query inspection & debugging. Bye bye run button 👋
Truly, literally only possible with DuckDB
It's a new interaction pattern for writing SQL queries that provides realtime result previews and deep query inspection & debugging. Bye bye run button 👋
Truly, literally only possible with DuckDB
April 24, 2025 at 8:57 PM
So thrilled to announce we've released Instant SQL in both the MotherDuck and DuckDB UIs!
It's a new interaction pattern for writing SQL queries that provides realtime result previews and deep query inspection & debugging. Bye bye run button 👋
Truly, literally only possible with DuckDB
It's a new interaction pattern for writing SQL queries that provides realtime result previews and deep query inspection & debugging. Bye bye run button 👋
Truly, literally only possible with DuckDB
Instant Preview Mode has been achieved internally
March 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Instant Preview Mode has been achieved internally
Migrating over my DuckDB AST path generation code to our UI. The way I've done gut-checks on the grammar is to use this CodeMirror semantic highlighting extension I wrote
We can implement a very long tail of unique features with the path generator, including instant preview mode
We can implement a very long tail of unique features with the path generator, including instant preview mode
March 20, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Migrating over my DuckDB AST path generation code to our UI. The way I've done gut-checks on the grammar is to use this CodeMirror semantic highlighting extension I wrote
We can implement a very long tail of unique features with the path generator, including instant preview mode
We can implement a very long tail of unique features with the path generator, including instant preview mode
this UI is V1, & a big project to hoist the MotherDuck UI into a new context. I can't wait to add more features!
If you've talked to me about how you use the CLI in the last month, please know you've made an impact on our roadmap!
Also, Column Explorer w/ max threads = 🌠
If you've talked to me about how you use the CLI in the last month, please know you've made an impact on our roadmap!
Also, Column Explorer w/ max threads = 🌠
March 12, 2025 at 4:31 PM
this UI is V1, & a big project to hoist the MotherDuck UI into a new context. I can't wait to add more features!
If you've talked to me about how you use the CLI in the last month, please know you've made an impact on our roadmap!
Also, Column Explorer w/ max threads = 🌠
If you've talked to me about how you use the CLI in the last month, please know you've made an impact on our roadmap!
Also, Column Explorer w/ max threads = 🌠
In DuckDB land, it's common for databases to have paths. Rather than making icons for each type, we opted to separate memory vs. on-disk & add a location icon on the right. (This serves as a copy button too!)
We'll add custom icons for external dbs later (e.g. sqlite)
We'll add custom icons for external dbs later (e.g. sqlite)
March 12, 2025 at 4:31 PM
In DuckDB land, it's common for databases to have paths. Rather than making icons for each type, we opted to separate memory vs. on-disk & add a location icon on the right. (This serves as a copy button too!)
We'll add custom icons for external dbs later (e.g. sqlite)
We'll add custom icons for external dbs later (e.g. sqlite)
Minimal onboarding. We assume DuckDB CLI users understand the basic mechanics of running queries. Our onboarding shows the relationship between the editors and the catalog on the left hand side.
March 12, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Minimal onboarding. We assume DuckDB CLI users understand the basic mechanics of running queries. Our onboarding shows the relationship between the editors and the catalog on the left hand side.
a gratifying animation (and much lower instance size changing times in the MotherDuck UI)
March 10, 2025 at 4:31 PM
a gratifying animation (and much lower instance size changing times in the MotherDuck UI)
I enjoyed also putting together this animated success illustration using brand assets
March 6, 2025 at 9:26 PM
I enjoyed also putting together this animated success illustration using brand assets
We also launched our first UI-based LLM feature ~ it consumes file names, inferred schemas, and a few rows to come up with a good table name. Beyond simple, super effective. For paid users only
+ a very cute animation
+ a very cute animation
March 6, 2025 at 9:25 PM
We also launched our first UI-based LLM feature ~ it consumes file names, inferred schemas, and a few rows to come up with a good table name. Beyond simple, super effective. For paid users only
+ a very cute animation
+ a very cute animation
new in the MotherDuck UI: a very nice file -> table flow
combines duckdb-wasm with MotherDuck to enable easy file validation and previews before taking the CTAS plunge
combines duckdb-wasm with MotherDuck to enable easy file validation and previews before taking the CTAS plunge
March 6, 2025 at 9:25 PM
new in the MotherDuck UI: a very nice file -> table flow
combines duckdb-wasm with MotherDuck to enable easy file validation and previews before taking the CTAS plunge
combines duckdb-wasm with MotherDuck to enable easy file validation and previews before taking the CTAS plunge
We added in-app support, a standard / unglamorous feature on paper. I like how in Github, I can open and close an in-progress review as I check the code. That feels relevant in a query UI where the content is in the result output.
and designing the interactions was a blast
and designing the interactions was a blast
February 11, 2025 at 8:43 PM
We added in-app support, a standard / unglamorous feature on paper. I like how in Github, I can open and close an in-progress review as I check the code. That feels relevant in a query UI where the content is in the result output.
and designing the interactions was a blast
and designing the interactions was a blast
We also put together a new callout & notification system. When you change a plan, you get a popup on your next visit. MotherDuck has a very opinionated brand, so it's a balance to integrate the aesthetic into an everyday technical tool
I love how these animations turned out
I love how these animations turned out
February 11, 2025 at 8:43 PM
We also put together a new callout & notification system. When you change a plan, you get a popup on your next visit. MotherDuck has a very opinionated brand, so it's a balance to integrate the aesthetic into an everyday technical tool
I love how these animations turned out
I love how these animations turned out