# Ibis dataframe library

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Ibis dataframe library and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a dataframe API over DuckDB and Polars backends; critics say the docs are hard to use and some transformations fail.

## Why people recommend it

- Runs well on DuckDB backend (4 comments): "migrated to using ibis with a duckdb backend to smooth out the memory spikes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48833724)) "I highly recommend using it as a backend for the Ibis dataframe library" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46654824)) "a similar dplyr-like API on duckdb I recommand the excellent" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49681752))
- One API across multiple backends (2 comments): "It's a dataframe API that translates calls to it into various backends, including Polars and DuckDB." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46657245)) "I highly recommend using it as a backend for the Ibis dataframe library" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46654824))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Polars](https://hackerapproved.com/p/polars.md): 152 recommend
- [pandas](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pandas.md): 93 recommend
- [NumPy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/numpy.md): 86 recommend
- [SciPy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/scipy.md): 12 recommend
- [sh Python library](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sh.md): 10 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Ibis dataframe library", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ibis/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).