Duck Stack

Duck Stack is the name that bundles together three open-source projects: DuckDB, DuckLake, and Quack. Think of it like a set of precision tools collected in one case. DuckDB is the core tool that lets you quickly query large volumes of data right inside your laptop or app, while DuckLake and Quack are related projects developed to work alongside it. Rather than referring to each one separately, they're managed under a single name, "Duck Stack."

What matters is that even if the company's affiliation changes, the tools themselves stay the same. Even if DuckLabs, the company behind these tools, comes under Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Duck Stack's blueprint (source code) continues to be released in a way that anyone can view and use, and the rights to it are held not by the company but by a separately established nonprofit foundation. So no matter which corporate umbrella the company sits under, there's a safeguard in place so the tools themselves don't become the exclusive property of a single business.

News coverage notes that "Duck Stack's open-source components will remain available under the MIT license, and the intellectual property will continue to be managed by the nonprofit DuckDB Foundation." Setting the record straight: DuckLabs joining AWS does not turn Duck Stack into an AWS-exclusive product or make its code private.