The query group loads converted minitrace archives into an analysis backend and runs queries against them. Today that backend is DuckDB, but there are now two distinct user-facing workflows on top of it:

• query duckdb for raw presets, inline SQL, and SQL files
• query commands for repository-backed sqleton-style structured commands

Both workflows ultimately execute read-only SQL against the same loaded DuckDB table. The difference is where the SQL comes from: query duckdb takes it directly from a preset, string, or file, while query commands renders it from a structured command definition with typed parameters.

Query workflow choices

Choose query duckdb when you are exploring, prototyping, or already have raw SQL in hand. It is the shortest path from idea to result.

Choose query commands when the query should become a named, reusable analysis tool. Structured commands give you typed parameters, aliases, CLI discoverability, and a matching form in the /query web UI.

For the full structured-command authoring and repository-loading guide, see go-minitrace help structured-query-commands.

How query duckdb works

When you run query duckdb, go-minitrace:

1. Opens a DuckDB connection (in-memory by default, or at a specified database path)
2. Loads minitrace JSON files matching the archive glob into a table called sessions_base
3. Runs either a named preset, inline SQL, or a SQL file against that table
4. Streams results through Glazed for output formatting

The loading step uses DuckDB's read_json() with an explicit column schema and ignore_errors = true, so malformed files are silently skipped rather than crashing the query.

query duckdb

go-minitrace query duckdb [flags]

Flags

Exactly one of --preset, --sql, --sql-file, or --load-only must be specified. They are mutually exclusive.

Query modes

Preset mode runs one of the built-in queries:

go-minitrace query duckdb \
  --archive-glob './output/active/*/*.minitrace.json' \
  --preset session-list

Inline SQL mode runs arbitrary SQL against the loaded archive:

go-minitrace query duckdb \
  --archive-glob './output/active/*/*.minitrace.json' \
  --sql "SELECT COUNT(*) AS total FROM sessions_base"

SQL file mode reads a query from a file. This is useful for saved query libraries:

go-minitrace query duckdb \
  --archive-glob './output/active/*/*.minitrace.json' \
  --sql-file ./my-query.sql

Load-only mode creates the table and reports what was loaded without running a query. Use this to verify loading before querying interactively:

go-minitrace query duckdb \
  --archive-glob './output/active/*/*.minitrace.json' \
  --load-only

Built-in presets

Output formatting

Query results flow through Glazed, so all standard output options work:

# Default table output
go-minitrace query duckdb --archive-glob '...' --preset session-list

# JSON for piping
go-minitrace query duckdb --archive-glob '...' --preset session-list --output json

# CSV for spreadsheets
go-minitrace query duckdb --archive-glob '...' --preset session-list --output csv

# YAML
go-minitrace query duckdb --archive-glob '...' --preset session-list --output yaml

# Select specific fields
go-minitrace query duckdb --archive-glob '...' --preset session-list --fields id,framework,turns,tools

Persistent database workflows

For repeated querying, use a file-backed database with --persist-loaded:

# Load once
go-minitrace query duckdb \
  --archive-glob './output/active/*/*.minitrace.json' \
  --db-path analysis.duckdb \
  --persist-loaded \
  --load-only

# Query repeatedly without reloading
go-minitrace query duckdb \
  --db-path analysis.duckdb \
  --archive-glob '' \
  --sql "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM sessions_base"

Or use the external DuckDB CLI with the queries/ directory:

duckdb analysis.duckdb -init queries/load.sql -f queries/session-list.sql

The sessions_base table

The loaded table has these columns, all derived from the minitrace JSON schema:

Use ->>'field' to extract string values from JSON columns, then CAST to the appropriate type for numeric operations. Inside predicates, parenthesize JSON-arrow extractions because DuckDB gives -> / ->> low precedence.

For the array columns, the normal access pattern is:

SELECT tc->>'tool_name'
FROM sessions_base,
     UNNEST(tool_calls) AS t(tc)
LIMIT 20;

Two small but important DuckDB details:

• these array columns are loaded as JSON[], so unnesting first is usually the clearest approach
• DuckDB list indexing is 1-based, so tool_calls[1] is the first element, not tool_calls[0]

Querying annotations correctly

The annotations column is a JSON array in the loaded archive. To work with it, unnest the array and then extract fields from each annotation object.

The most common paths are:

A basic annotation query looks like this:

SELECT
  id AS session_id,
  REPLACE(CAST(json_extract(ann, '$.scope.type') AS VARCHAR), '"', '') AS scope_type,
  REPLACE(CAST(json_extract(ann, '$.content.category') AS VARCHAR), '"', '') AS category,
  REPLACE(CAST(json_extract(ann, '$.content.title') AS VARCHAR), '"', '') AS title
FROM sessions_base,
     UNNEST(annotations) AS a(ann)
ORDER BY session_id;

One subtle but important rule: query duckdb reads the .minitrace.json archive files it loads. If you created or edited annotations through go-minitrace annotate ..., run go-minitrace annotate sync --output-dir ... first so the archive contains those changes.

Troubleshooting

Structured query commands

The query commands subgroup loads repository-backed sqleton-style command files. Repository subdirectories become nested CLI groups, so pkg/minitracecmd/core/overview/session-list.sql is exposed as go-minitrace query commands overview session-list.

Those files define:

• a command name and help text
• typed Glazed fields
• optional aliases with prefilled defaults
• a SQL template that renders against {{TABLE_NAME}}

A simple example looks like this:

go-minitrace query commands overview session-list \
  --archive-glob './output/active/*/*.minitrace.json' \
  --framework codex,pi

The repository-backed flow is the right choice when a query should be reusable by other people, promoted into the web UI, or shared through config/env/flag-discovered command repositories.

See go-minitrace help structured-query-commands for:

• how repository loading works
• how to configure queryRepositories, GO_MINITRACE_QUERY_REPOSITORIES, and --query-repository
• how to write /* sqleton ... */ command files
• how to write .alias.yaml shortcut files

See also

• go-minitrace help structured-query-commands — run and author sqleton-style structured query commands
• go-minitrace help annotation-playbook — operator workflow for creating, syncing, and validating annotations
• go-minitrace help writing-duckdb-queries — how to write custom SQL against the minitrace schema
• go-minitrace help duckdb-query-recipes — ready-to-use query examples
• go-minitrace help output-formats-and-pipelines — detailed Glazed output formatting guide
• go-minitrace help minitrace-schema — field reference for the loaded JSON