diff --git a/web-admin/src/routes/[organization]/[project]/-/edit/(workspace)/files/[...file]/+page.svelte b/web-admin/src/routes/[organization]/[project]/-/edit/(workspace)/files/[...file]/+page.svelte
index e7ed9a167321..1e61b5e33c68 100644
--- a/web-admin/src/routes/[organization]/[project]/-/edit/(workspace)/files/[...file]/+page.svelte
+++ b/web-admin/src/routes/[organization]/[project]/-/edit/(workspace)/files/[...file]/+page.svelte
@@ -11,8 +11,15 @@
 
   // Fetch file content reactively once the runtime is available.
   // Unlike web-local, the runtime credentials aren't ready during +page.ts load.
+  // Data files like .parquet have no editable text content and are rendered as
+  // a data preview instead, so skip fetching their (binary) content.
   $effect(() => {
-    if (client.host && client.instanceId && fileArtifact) {
+    if (
+      client.host &&
+      client.instanceId &&
+      fileArtifact &&
+      !fileArtifact.isPreviewableDataFile
+    ) {
       void fileArtifact.fetchContent();
     }
   });
diff --git a/web-common/src/features/entity-management/file-artifact.ts b/web-common/src/features/entity-management/file-artifact.ts
index fba5e3c001d7..4dcb98df3704 100644
--- a/web-common/src/features/entity-management/file-artifact.ts
+++ b/web-common/src/features/entity-management/file-artifact.ts
@@ -41,11 +41,17 @@ import type { FileIO } from "./file-io";
 import type { EditorSelection } from "@codemirror/state";
 import type { EditorView } from "@codemirror/view";
 
+// Data files that can't be edited as text, but whose contents can be
+// previewed by querying them with DuckDB (see ParquetWorkspace).
+// NOTE: When adding an extension here, also map it to its preview query in
+// `invalidateDataFilePreview` (file-invalidators.ts) so edits on disk refresh
+// the preview.
+const PREVIEWABLE_DATA_EXTENSIONS = [".parquet"];
+
 const UNSUPPORTED_EXTENSIONS = [
   // Data formats
   ".db",
   ".db.wal",
-  ".parquet",
   ".xls",
   ".xlsx",
 
@@ -85,6 +91,9 @@ export class FileArtifact {
   );
   readonly fileExtension: string;
   readonly fileTypeUnsupported: boolean;
+  // True for data files (e.g. .parquet) that have no editable text content and
+  // are instead rendered as a queryable data preview.
+  readonly isPreviewableDataFile: boolean;
   readonly folderName: string;
   readonly fileName: string;
   readonly disableAutoSave: boolean;
@@ -130,6 +139,9 @@ export class FileArtifact {
     this.fileTypeUnsupported = UNSUPPORTED_EXTENSIONS.includes(
       this.fileExtension,
     );
+    this.isPreviewableDataFile = PREVIEWABLE_DATA_EXTENSIONS.includes(
+      this.fileExtension,
+    );
 
     this.pinned = isPinned(filePath);
     this.managed = isManaged(filePath);
diff --git a/web-common/src/features/entity-management/resource-icon-mapping.ts b/web-common/src/features/entity-management/resource-icon-mapping.ts
index 18de4a345dae..3027b4e3ea48 100644
--- a/web-common/src/features/entity-management/resource-icon-mapping.ts
+++ b/web-common/src/features/entity-management/resource-icon-mapping.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ import ModelIcon from "@rilldata/web-common/components/icons/ModelIcon.svelte";
 import File from "@rilldata/web-common/components/icons/File.svelte";
 import SettingsIcon from "@rilldata/web-common/components/icons/SettingsIcon.svelte";
 import { isEnvFile } from "@rilldata/web-common/features/entity-management/actions/protected-files.ts";
+import { extractFileExtension } from "@rilldata/web-common/features/entity-management/file-path-utils";
+import { Sheet } from "lucide-svelte";
 
 export const resourceIconMapping = {
   [ResourceKind.Source]: TableIcon,
@@ -60,9 +62,14 @@ export function getIconComponent(
   kind: ResourceKind | undefined,
   filePath: string,
 ) {
-  return kind
-    ? resourceIconMapping[kind]
-    : isEnvFile(filePath) || filePath === "/rill.yaml"
-      ? SettingsIcon
-      : File;
+  if (kind) {
+    return resourceIconMapping[kind];
+  }
+  if (isEnvFile(filePath) || filePath === "/rill.yaml") {
+    return SettingsIcon;
+  }
+  if (extractFileExtension(filePath) === ".parquet") {
+    return Sheet;
+  }
+  return File;
 }
diff --git a/web-common/src/features/workspaces/ParquetWorkspace.svelte b/web-common/src/features/workspaces/ParquetWorkspace.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..ffe5158d21f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web-common/src/features/workspaces/ParquetWorkspace.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+<script lang="ts">
+  import PreviewTable from "@rilldata/web-common/components/preview-table/PreviewTable.svelte";
+  import type { VirtualizedTableColumns } from "@rilldata/web-common/components/virtualized-table/types";
+  import ReconcilingSpinner from "@rilldata/web-common/features/entity-management/ReconcilingSpinner.svelte";
+  import type { FileArtifact } from "@rilldata/web-common/features/entity-management/file-artifact";
+  import WorkspaceContainer from "@rilldata/web-common/layout/workspace/WorkspaceContainer.svelte";
+  import WorkspaceHeader from "@rilldata/web-common/layout/workspace/WorkspaceHeader.svelte";
+  import { m } from "@rilldata/web-common/lib/i18n/gen/messages";
+  import { createRuntimeServiceGetInstance } from "@rilldata/web-common/runtime-client";
+  import { useRuntimeClient } from "@rilldata/web-common/runtime-client/v2";
+  import { createParquetPreviewQuery } from "./parquet-preview";
+
+  let { fileArtifact }: { fileArtifact: FileArtifact } = $props();
+
+  const runtimeClient = useRuntimeClient();
+
+  let { path } = $derived(fileArtifact);
+  let fileName = $derived(fileArtifact.fileName);
+
+  let instanceQuery = createRuntimeServiceGetInstance(runtimeClient, {
+    sensitive: true,
+  });
+
+  // DuckDB resolves relative paths against its own working directory, not the
+  // project root, so we must read the file by its absolute path. The project's
+  // local root is the `dsn` of the repo connector (only present in Rill
+  // Developer, where the project lives on the local filesystem).
+  let repoRoot = $derived.by(() => {
+    const instance = $instanceQuery.data?.instance;
+    const repo = instance?.connectors?.find(
+      (c) => c.name === instance?.repoConnector,
+    );
+    const dsn = repo?.config?.dsn;
+    return typeof dsn === "string" ? dsn : "";
+  });
+
+  // read_parquet is DuckDB-specific, so the query must run against a DuckDB
+  // connector even when the project's default OLAP connector is something else
+  // (e.g. ClickHouse). Prefer the default OLAP connector if it is DuckDB,
+  // otherwise fall back to any DuckDB connector in the project.
+  let duckDbConnector = $derived.by(() => {
+    const instance = $instanceQuery.data?.instance;
+    const connectors = instance?.connectors ?? [];
+    const olap = connectors.find((c) => c.name === instance?.olapConnector);
+    if (olap?.type === "duckdb") return olap.name ?? "";
+    return connectors.find((c) => c.type === "duckdb")?.name ?? "";
+  });
+
+  // Join the repo root and the file's project-relative path into an absolute
+  // path for read_parquet.
+  let absolutePath = $derived(
+    repoRoot
+      ? `${repoRoot.replace(/\/+$/, "")}/${path.replace(/^\/+/, "")}`
+      : "",
+  );
+
+  let previewQuery = $derived(
+    createParquetPreviewQuery(runtimeClient, {
+      path,
+      absolutePath,
+      connector: duckDbConnector,
+    }),
+  );
+
+  // While the instance is loading we don't yet know the repo root, so treat it
+  // as part of the preview's loading state.
+  let isLoading = $derived($instanceQuery.isLoading || $previewQuery.isLoading);
+  let error = $derived.by(() => {
+    if ($instanceQuery.isLoading) return null;
+    if (!repoRoot) return new Error(m.parquet_preview_no_project_dir());
+    if (!duckDbConnector)
+      return new Error(m.parquet_preview_requires_duckdb());
+    return $previewQuery.error;
+  });
+  let data = $derived($previewQuery.data);
+
+  let rows = $derived(data?.data ?? []);
+  let columns = $derived(
+    (data?.schema?.fields?.map((field) => ({
+      name: field.name,
+      type: field.type?.code,
+    })) ?? []) as VirtualizedTableColumns[],
+  );
+</script>
+
+<svelte:head>
+  <title>Rill Developer | {fileName}</title>
+</svelte:head>
+
+<WorkspaceContainer inspector={false}>
+  <WorkspaceHeader
+    slot="header"
+    filePath={path}
+    resourceKind={undefined}
+    titleInput={fileName}
+    editable={false}
+    showInspectorToggle={false}
+    hasUnsavedChanges={false}
+  />
+
+  <svelte:fragment slot="body">
+    {#if isLoading}
+      <ReconcilingSpinner />
+    {:else if error}
+      <div
+        class="flex flex-col size-full items-center justify-center text-fg-secondary gap-y-1"
+      >
+        <p class="font-semibold">{m.parquet_preview_read_error_title()}</p>
+        <p class="text-sm">
+          {error.message ?? m.parquet_preview_unknown_error()}
+        </p>
+      </div>
+    {:else}
+      <div class="size-full overflow-hidden border rounded-[2px]">
+        <PreviewTable {rows} columnNames={columns} name={fileName} />
+      </div>
+    {/if}
+  </svelte:fragment>
+</WorkspaceContainer>
diff --git a/web-common/src/features/workspaces/WorkspaceDispatcher.svelte b/web-common/src/features/workspaces/WorkspaceDispatcher.svelte
index 62209c1c5452..b625f965687c 100644
--- a/web-common/src/features/workspaces/WorkspaceDispatcher.svelte
+++ b/web-common/src/features/workspaces/WorkspaceDispatcher.svelte
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
   import ExploreWorkspace from "@rilldata/web-common/features/workspaces/ExploreWorkspace.svelte";
   import MetricsWorkspace from "@rilldata/web-common/features/workspaces/MetricsWorkspace.svelte";
   import ModelWorkspace from "@rilldata/web-common/features/workspaces/ModelWorkspace.svelte";
+  import ParquetWorkspace from "@rilldata/web-common/features/workspaces/ParquetWorkspace.svelte";
   import WorkspaceContainer from "@rilldata/web-common/layout/workspace/WorkspaceContainer.svelte";
   import WorkspaceEditorContainer from "@rilldata/web-common/layout/workspace/WorkspaceEditorContainer.svelte";
   import { queryClient } from "@rilldata/web-common/lib/svelte-query/globalQueryClient.js";
@@ -91,6 +92,8 @@
   <div class="flex-1 overflow-hidden">
     {#if isGeneratingThisFile}
       <GeneratingMessage title="Generating your Canvas dashboard..." />
+    {:else if fileArtifact.isPreviewableDataFile}
+      <ParquetWorkspace {fileArtifact} />
     {:else if WorkspaceComponent}
       <WorkspaceComponent {fileArtifact} />
     {:else}
diff --git a/web-common/src/features/workspaces/parquet-preview.ts b/web-common/src/features/workspaces/parquet-preview.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..128da27ee4fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web-common/src/features/workspaces/parquet-preview.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import type { PartialMessage, Struct } from "@bufbuild/protobuf";
+import { createRuntimeServiceQueryResolver } from "@rilldata/web-common/runtime-client";
+import type { RuntimeClient } from "@rilldata/web-common/runtime-client/v2";
+
+// Number of rows to preview. Parquet files can be large, so we cap the preview
+// the same way the model results table does.
+export const PARQUET_PREVIEW_LIMIT = 150;
+
+/**
+ * Query key for the DuckDB-powered preview of a Parquet file rendered by
+ * ParquetWorkspace. It is keyed on the file's project-relative path (the same
+ * form as file watch events) so the preview can be invalidated when the
+ * underlying file is rewritten.
+ */
+export function getParquetPreviewQueryKey(instanceId: string, path: string) {
+  return ["parquet-preview", instanceId, path];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Creates the query that previews a Parquet file by reading it with DuckDB.
+ *
+ * `read_parquet` is DuckDB-specific and resolves relative paths against its own
+ * working directory, so the caller must pass the file's absolute path and a
+ * DuckDB connector to run the query against.
+ */
+export function createParquetPreviewQuery(
+  client: RuntimeClient,
+  {
+    path,
+    absolutePath,
+    connector,
+  }: { path: string; absolutePath: string; connector: string },
+) {
+  // Single quotes are escaped to keep the generated SQL valid.
+  const sql = `SELECT * FROM read_parquet('${absolutePath.replaceAll("'", "''")}')`;
+  return createRuntimeServiceQueryResolver(
+    client,
+    {
+      resolver: "sql",
+      resolverProperties: {
+        connector,
+        sql,
+        limit: PARQUET_PREVIEW_LIMIT,
+      } as unknown as PartialMessage<Struct>,
+    },
+    {
+      query: {
+        enabled: !!absolutePath && !!connector,
+        queryKey: getParquetPreviewQueryKey(client.instanceId, path),
+      },
+    },
+  );
+}
diff --git a/web-common/src/lib/i18n/messages/en.json b/web-common/src/lib/i18n/messages/en.json
index 1c1b2c7e56be..2d80b97dc2fb 100644
--- a/web-common/src/lib/i18n/messages/en.json
+++ b/web-common/src/lib/i18n/messages/en.json
@@ -2169,5 +2169,9 @@
   ],
   "users_yes_remove": "Yes, remove",
   "users_yes_upgrade": "Yes, upgrade",
-  "workspace_generating_sample_data": "Generating your sample data..."
+  "workspace_generating_sample_data": "Generating your sample data...",
+  "parquet_preview_read_error_title": "Unable to read Parquet file",
+  "parquet_preview_unknown_error": "Unknown error",
+  "parquet_preview_no_project_dir": "Could not resolve the project directory for this file.",
+  "parquet_preview_requires_duckdb": "Previewing Parquet files requires a DuckDB connector."
 }
diff --git a/web-common/src/lib/i18n/messages/es.json b/web-common/src/lib/i18n/messages/es.json
index 6abbcd049465..db49c32ef9af 100644
--- a/web-common/src/lib/i18n/messages/es.json
+++ b/web-common/src/lib/i18n/messages/es.json
@@ -2178,5 +2178,9 @@
   ],
   "users_yes_remove": "Sí, eliminar",
   "users_yes_upgrade": "Sí, promover",
-  "workspace_generating_sample_data": "Generando tus datos de ejemplo..."
+  "workspace_generating_sample_data": "Generando tus datos de ejemplo...",
+  "parquet_preview_read_error_title": "No se pudo leer el archivo Parquet",
+  "parquet_preview_unknown_error": "Error desconocido",
+  "parquet_preview_no_project_dir": "No se pudo resolver el directorio del proyecto para este archivo.",
+  "parquet_preview_requires_duckdb": "La vista previa de archivos Parquet requiere un conector DuckDB."
 }
diff --git a/web-common/src/runtime-client/invalidation/file-invalidators.ts b/web-common/src/runtime-client/invalidation/file-invalidators.ts
index 0a821a92f610..eccb98f0f39f 100644
--- a/web-common/src/runtime-client/invalidation/file-invalidators.ts
+++ b/web-common/src/runtime-client/invalidation/file-invalidators.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import { invalidate } from "$app/navigation";
 import { fileArtifacts } from "@rilldata/web-common/features/entity-management/file-artifacts";
+import { extractFileExtension } from "@rilldata/web-common/features/entity-management/file-path-utils";
+import { getParquetPreviewQueryKey } from "@rilldata/web-common/features/workspaces/parquet-preview";
 import { eventBus } from "@rilldata/web-common/lib/event-bus/event-bus";
 import { Throttler } from "@rilldata/web-common/lib/throttler";
 import type { QueryClient } from "@tanstack/svelte-query";
@@ -52,8 +54,15 @@ export async function handleFileEvent(
 
   if (!event.isDir) {
     switch (event.event) {
-      case V1FileEvent.FILE_EVENT_WRITE:
-        await fileArtifacts.getFileArtifact(event.path).fetchContent(true);
+      case V1FileEvent.FILE_EVENT_WRITE: {
+        const artifact = fileArtifacts.getFileArtifact(event.path);
+        if (artifact.isPreviewableDataFile) {
+          // Data files (e.g. .parquet) have no editable text content; refresh
+          // their data preview instead of fetching binary content.
+          invalidateDataFilePreview(queryClient, instanceId, event.path);
+        } else {
+          await artifact.fetchContent(true);
+        }
         if (event.path === "/rill.yaml") {
           void queryClient.invalidateQueries({
             queryKey: getRuntimeServiceIssueDevJWTQueryKey(instanceId),
@@ -65,6 +74,7 @@ export async function handleFileEvent(
         }
         state.seenFiles.add(event.path);
         break;
+      }
 
       case V1FileEvent.FILE_EVENT_DELETE:
         void queryClient.resetQueries({
@@ -101,6 +111,23 @@ export async function handleFileEvent(
   }
 }
 
+// Refreshes the data-preview query for a rewritten data file. Keyed per
+// extension so each previewable file type (see
+// FileArtifact.isPreviewableDataFile) maps to its own preview query.
+function invalidateDataFilePreview(
+  queryClient: QueryClient,
+  instanceId: string,
+  path: string,
+) {
+  switch (extractFileExtension(path)) {
+    case ".parquet":
+      void queryClient.invalidateQueries({
+        queryKey: getParquetPreviewQueryKey(instanceId, path),
+      });
+      break;
+  }
+}
+
 function resetGitStatusQuery(queryClient: QueryClient, instanceId: string) {
   const queryKey = getRuntimeServiceGitStatusQueryKey(instanceId, {});
 
diff --git a/web-local/src/routes/(application)/(workspace)/files/[...file]/+page.ts b/web-local/src/routes/(application)/(workspace)/files/[...file]/+page.ts
index 6c2e5fd06508..e66e3a78e9a0 100644
--- a/web-local/src/routes/(application)/(workspace)/files/[...file]/+page.ts
+++ b/web-local/src/routes/(application)/(workspace)/files/[...file]/+page.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,14 @@ export const load = async ({ params: { file }, parent }) => {
     );
   }
 
+  // Data files like .parquet have no editable text content to fetch; they are
+  // rendered as a queryable data preview instead.
+  if (fileArtifact.isPreviewableDataFile) {
+    return {
+      fileArtifact,
+    };
+  }
+
   try {
     await fileArtifact.fetchContent();