# Connect to MotherDuck

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Connect · 13 min read · Updated 2026-11-14

> **Note:** **Summary:** Connect Golden to your MotherDuck account with one access token, pick tables from any database or share you can see, and chart them live. Golden runs read-only queries on MotherDuck and never copies your data.

If your team keeps its analytics in MotherDuck, Golden can read it where it lives. Paste an access token, name the database you want first, and every table you can see in MotherDuck shows up in Golden's table browser.

Charts and chat query MotherDuck live, so the numbers match what your data team sees in their own SQL.

![An analysis on live MotherDuck data: a horizontal bar chart of Sum of mrr by industry and region, with High Tech, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Healthcare & Life Sciences and Retail & CPG, each split into APAC, EMEA, LATAM and NA bars. The chat panel on the left shows the request that built it](https://app.goldenanalytics.com/api/help/public-image?object=324bd6c3-4c56-40c8-9d91-c8dda7b41f1e%2F1794682285529-01-hero-live-chart.png)

### When to use it

- **The revenue review on the warehouse of record.** Finance keeps monthly MRR by account and product in MotherDuck. The CFO's team opens a Golden analysis on those tables before every monthly business review, and nobody exports a CSV first.
- **The shared sample before the real thing.** Your team wants to try Golden on MotherDuck's `sample_data` share (Hacker News, NYC taxis, Stack Overflow survey) before pointing it at production tables.
- **The star schema your engineers already built.** A fact table and its dimension tables live in one MotherDuck database. Select all three, and Golden detects the joins so you can chart measures from the fact table by attributes from the dimensions.
- **The answer a sales lead needs today.** A regional VP asks which industries drive revenue in EMEA. You ask chat, and it answers from MotherDuck directly.

If you're copying MotherDuck query results into spreadsheets to make charts, it's time for this.

### Before you start

You need a MotherDuck **access token**. Create one in MotherDuck's settings and copy it.

Golden runs only read-only queries with the token, inside a read-only transaction. If you paste a token that can read and write, Golden still accepts it and shows this warning under the field: "This token can read and write. Golden runs only read-only queries with it, inside a read-only transaction."

> **Tip:** Use a token from an account that can see only what Golden should see. Golden can read every database and share that token can reach.

### Connect MotherDuck

1. On **Home**, click **Create a shared connection**. (Inside an analysis, open **Cloud data** on the Connect to data page instead.)
2. Under **Cloud data**, pick **MotherDuck**.

![The Create a saved connection dialog. Under Cloud data: Snowflake, Databricks, Google BigQuery, Amazon Redshift, Microsoft Fabric, Azure SQL Database, Salesforce Reports, ClickHouse, MotherDuck, Amazon S3 and PostgreSQL. The badges show how many saved connections of each type you already have](https://app.goldenanalytics.com/api/help/public-image?object=324bd6c3-4c56-40c8-9d91-c8dda7b41f1e%2F1794682298404-02-connector-picker.png)

1. Fill in the form:

| Field | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Connection name** | The name your team sees in Golden, like "Acme MotherDuck". |
| **Save to space** | Where the connection lives. **My private space** keeps it to you; pick a team Space to share it with that Space's members. |
| **Access token** | Your MotherDuck token. It also tells Golden which MotherDuck account and region to reach, so there's no host or region to enter. |
| **Database** | The database Golden opens by default. Tables in it can be named without a prefix. Every other database and share stays reachable. |

![The Connect to MotherDuck form with Use a saved private connection (MotherDuck - Francois, Acme), Connection name Acme MotherDuck, Save to space My private space, an Access token field with the hint "Paste an access token from MotherDuck's settings. Golden runs only read-only queries with it.", Database Acme, and Cancel, Test connection and Save connection buttons](https://app.goldenanalytics.com/api/help/public-image?object=324bd6c3-4c56-40c8-9d91-c8dda7b41f1e%2F1794682306760-03-connection-form.png)

1. Click **Test connection** to check the token and database, then **Save connection**.

If you already saved a MotherDuck connection, it shows under **Use a saved private connection**. Click it to reuse it instead of pasting the token again.

### Pick your tables

Once the connection is saved, Golden opens **Import Schema from MotherDuck**. The heading names the connection and the default database (here, **MotherDuck • Acme**).

1. In **Browse Tables**, expand a database, then a schema. Each table shows its rows and columns, and Golden tags tables that look like a **Fact** or **Dim** table.
2. Click each table you want. They're listed under **Selected** on the left.
3. Give the import a name in **Import Name** (the **Description** is optional).
4. Click **Preview Query** to see exactly what Golden will run, then **Import Schema**.

![Import Schema from MotherDuck - Francois. The Acme database is open with contracts, dim_account, dim_product (Dim) and fct_account_product_month (Fact), plus the my_db and sample_data databases. Three tables are selected, the Import Name is Acme revenue, and the Generated SQL shows one SELECT per selected table](https://app.goldenanalytics.com/api/help/public-image?object=324bd6c3-4c56-40c8-9d91-c8dda7b41f1e%2F1794682318190-04-select-tables.png)

The browser lists every database the token can see, including shares like `sample_data` and the default database you named on the form. Use the search box to find a table or column by name, and **Refresh** if you just created a table in MotherDuck and don't see it yet.

> **Note:** Select tables in **Browse Tables** and import from there. The **Query Builder** tab works on one table at a time, and filters aren't available for MotherDuck connections yet.

### Golden finds the joins

When you import more than one table, Golden detects how they join while Discover loads. Open **Data**, then **Data model**, to see the result.

![The Data model for three MotherDuck tables: dim_account and dim_product (DIM) each joined to fct_account_product_month (FACT), with 2 relationships listed below: fct_account_product_month.product_id to dim_product.product_id and fct_account_product_month.account_id to dim_account.account_id, both N:1](https://app.goldenanalytics.com/api/help/public-image?object=324bd6c3-4c56-40c8-9d91-c8dda7b41f1e%2F1794682326975-05-data-model.png)

Each join is listed with its key columns and type (**N:1** here). Click **Add relationship** to add one Golden missed, the pencil to change one, or **Detect** to look again.

From there, charts can mix fields from every table. The chart at the top of this page sums `mrr` from the fact table by `industry` and `region` from the account table.

### What runs on MotherDuck

Every chart and filter becomes a query that MotherDuck runs. Golden doesn't load a copy of your tables. (Discover's quick insights read a sample snapshot, and the page shows when it was pulled.)

- **Read-only, twice over.** Golden refuses anything but a `SELECT` before it sends it, and runs each query inside a read-only transaction that MotherDuck itself enforces.
- **Exact values.** Large integers and decimals keep their digits. Dates and timestamps keep MotherDuck's own value, with no time zone shift.
- **Time limits.** A query stops after 60 seconds by default, and Golden stops reading after 500,000 rows. Golden cancels the query on MotherDuck when it stops waiting.

Custom SQL isn't available on MotherDuck connections yet, so the import dialog shows only **Browse Tables** and **Query Builder**.

### Do it from chat

Once the tables are in, chat works on them like any other data. Ask in plain words and chat builds the chart from live MotherDuck queries.

Build a chart:

```
Show total MRR by industry as a horizontal bar chart, colored by product name, sorted descending
```

Change one you have:

```
Change the color to region instead of product name
```

Ask a question:

```
Which industries drive the most MRR in EMEA?
```

Chat checks your data model before it answers. Ask for a monthly trend and there's no real date field, and it says so and offers another view. Ask it to stack a measure from the fact table by a field from a dimension table, and it keeps the bars side by side so nothing gets counted twice.

### Sharing

A connection saved to a team Space is available to that Space's members. They pick the connection and browse the same tables, without needing a token of their own.

Dashboards and analyses you share keep querying MotherDuck live, so everyone sees today's numbers.

### FAQ

**Which MotherDuck token should I use?** Any access token from MotherDuck's settings works. Golden only reads with it, but a token that can see only what Golden needs is the safest choice.

**Can I query a share someone sent me?** Yes. Every database and share the token can see shows up in **Browse Tables**, next to your own databases.

**Why don't I see a Custom SQL tab?** Custom SQL isn't available on MotherDuck connections yet. Import tables from **Browse Tables** and Golden writes the SQL.

**I just created a table and it's not in the list.** Click **Refresh** at the bottom of the import dialog (or the refresh icon next to the search box) to reload the database list.

**Does Golden copy my MotherDuck data?** No. Golden sends read-only queries to MotherDuck and shows the results. Your tables stay in MotherDuck. Discover's quick insights work from a sample pulled for that page.

Source: https://goldenanalytics.com/docs/connect-to-motherduck