diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 7898b2b..1c434c6 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5)
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.5...3.31.5)
 
 # Set extension name here
 set(TARGET_NAME ui)
@@ -9,19 +9,26 @@ set(TARGET_NAME ui)
 find_package(OpenSSL REQUIRED)
 
 set(EXTENSION_NAME ${TARGET_NAME}_extension)
-set(LOADABLE_EXTENSION_NAME ${TARGET_NAME}_loadable_extension)
 
 project(${TARGET_NAME})
-include_directories(src/include)
+include_directories(
+  src/include
+  ${DuckDB_SOURCE_DIR}/third_party/httplib
+)
 
-set(EXTENSION_SOURCES src/ui_extension.cpp)
+set(EXTENSION_SOURCES
+  src/ui_extension.cpp
+  src/http_server.cpp
+  src/utils/encoding.cpp
+  src/utils/env.cpp
+  src/utils/helpers.cpp
+  src/utils/serialization.cpp
+)
 
 build_static_extension(${TARGET_NAME} ${EXTENSION_SOURCES})
 build_loadable_extension(${TARGET_NAME} " " ${EXTENSION_SOURCES})
 
-# Link OpenSSL in both the static library as the loadable extension
 target_link_libraries(${EXTENSION_NAME} OpenSSL::SSL OpenSSL::Crypto)
-target_link_libraries(${LOADABLE_EXTENSION_NAME} OpenSSL::SSL OpenSSL::Crypto)
 
 install(
   TARGETS ${EXTENSION_NAME}
diff --git a/src/http_server.cpp b/src/http_server.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d42626
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/http_server.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,408 @@
+#include "http_server.hpp"
+
+#include <duckdb/common/serializer/memory_stream.hpp>
+#include <duckdb/common/serializer/binary_serializer.hpp>
+#include <duckdb/parser/parser.hpp>
+#include "utils/env.hpp"
+#include "utils/serialization.hpp"
+#include "utils/encoding.hpp"
+
+// Chosen to be no more than half of the lesser of the two limits:
+//  - The default httplib thread pool size = 8
+//  - The browser limit on the number of server-sent event connections = 6
+#define MAX_EVENT_WAIT_COUNT 3
+
+namespace duckdb {
+namespace ui {
+
+// An empty Server-Sent Events message. See
+// https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/server-sent-events.html#authoring-notes
+constexpr const char *EMPTY_SSE_MESSAGE = ":\r\r";
+constexpr idx_t EMPTY_SSE_MESSAGE_LENGTH = 3;
+
+bool EventDispatcher::WaitEvent(httplib::DataSink *sink) {
+	std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lock(mutex_);
+	// Don't allow too many simultaneous waits, because each consumes a thread in the httplib thread pool, and also
+	// browsers limit the number of server-sent event connections.
+	if (closed_ || wait_count_ >= MAX_EVENT_WAIT_COUNT) {
+		return false;
+	}
+	int target_id = next_id_;
+	wait_count_++;
+	cv_.wait_for(lock, std::chrono::seconds(5));
+	wait_count_--;
+	if (closed_) {
+		return false;
+	}
+	if (current_id_ == target_id) {
+		sink->write(message_.data(), message_.size());
+	} else {
+		// Our wait timer expired. Write an empty, no-op message.
+		// This enables detecting when the client is gone.
+		sink->write(EMPTY_SSE_MESSAGE, EMPTY_SSE_MESSAGE_LENGTH);
+	}
+	return true;
+}
+
+void EventDispatcher::SendEvent(const std::string &message) {
+	std::lock_guard<std::mutex> guard(mutex_);
+	if (closed_) {
+		return;
+	}
+
+	current_id_ = next_id_++;
+	message_ = message;
+	cv_.notify_all();
+}
+
+void EventDispatcher::Close() {
+	std::lock_guard<std::mutex> guard(mutex_);
+	if (closed_) {
+		return;
+	}
+	current_id_ = next_id_++;
+	closed_ = true;
+	cv_.notify_all();
+}
+
+unique_ptr<HttpServer> HttpServer::instance_;
+
+HttpServer* HttpServer::instance() {
+	if (!instance_) {
+		instance_ = make_uniq<HttpServer>();
+		std::atexit(HttpServer::StopInstance);
+	}
+	return instance_.get();
+}
+
+bool HttpServer::Started() {
+	return instance_ && instance_->thread_;
+}
+
+void HttpServer::StopInstance() {
+	if (instance_) {
+		instance_->Stop();
+	}
+}
+
+bool HttpServer::Start(const uint16_t local_port, const std::string &remote_url,
+                        const shared_ptr<DatabaseInstance> &ddb_instance) {
+	if (thread_) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	local_port_ = local_port;
+	remote_url_ = remote_url;
+	ddb_instance_ = ddb_instance;
+#ifndef EXT_VERSION_UI
+#error "EXT_VERSION_UI must be defined"
+#endif
+	user_agent_ = StringUtil::Format("duckdb-ui/%s(%s)", EXT_VERSION_UI, DuckDB::Platform());
+	event_dispatcher_ = make_uniq<EventDispatcher>();
+	thread_ = make_uniq<std::thread>(&HttpServer::Run, this);
+	return true;
+}
+
+bool HttpServer::Stop() {
+	if (!thread_) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	event_dispatcher_->Close();
+	server_.stop();
+	thread_->join();
+	thread_.reset();
+	event_dispatcher_.reset();
+	connections_.clear();
+	ddb_instance_.reset();
+	remote_url_ = "";
+	local_port_ = 0;
+	return true;
+}
+
+uint16_t HttpServer::LocalPort() {
+	return local_port_;
+}
+
+void HttpServer::SendConnectedEvent(const std::string &token) {
+	SendEvent(StringUtil::Format("event: ConnectedEvent\ndata: %s\n\n", token));
+}
+
+void HttpServer::SendCatalogChangedEvent() {
+	SendEvent("event: CatalogChangeEvent\ndata:\n\n");
+}
+
+void HttpServer::SendEvent(const std::string &message) {
+	if (event_dispatcher_) {
+		event_dispatcher_->SendEvent(message);
+	}
+}
+
+void HttpServer::Run() {
+	server_.Get("/localEvents",
+	            [&](const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res) { HandleGetLocalEvents(req, res); });
+	server_.Get("/localToken",
+	            [&](const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res) { HandleGetLocalToken(req, res); });
+	server_.Get("/.*", [&](const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res) { HandleGet(req, res); });
+	server_.Post("/ddb/interrupt",
+	             [&](const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res) { HandleInterrupt(req, res); });
+	server_.Post("/ddb/run",
+	             [&](const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res,
+	                 const httplib::ContentReader &content_reader) { HandleRun(req, res, content_reader); });
+	server_.Post("/ddb/tokenize",
+	             [&](const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res,
+	                 const httplib::ContentReader &content_reader) { HandleTokenize(req, res, content_reader); });
+	server_.listen("localhost", local_port_);
+}
+
+void HttpServer::HandleGetLocalEvents(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res) {
+	res.set_chunked_content_provider("text/event-stream", [&](size_t /*offset*/, httplib::DataSink &sink) {
+		if (event_dispatcher_->WaitEvent(&sink)) {
+			return true;
+		}
+		sink.done();
+		return false;
+	});
+}
+
+void HttpServer::HandleGetLocalToken(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res) {
+	throw new std::runtime_error("Not implemented"); // FIXME
+	// auto md_config = ClientExtension::GetState(*ddb_instance_).GetConfig();
+	// std::string md_token = md_config ? md_config->token : "";
+	// res.set_content(md_token, "text/plain");
+}
+
+void HttpServer::HandleGet(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res) {
+	// Create HTTP client to remote URL
+	// TODO: Can this be created once and shared?
+	httplib::Client client(remote_url_);
+	client.set_keep_alive(true);
+
+	// Provide a way to turn on or off server certificate verification, at least for now, because it requires httplib to
+	// correctly get the root certficates on each platform, which doesn't appear to always work.
+	// Currently, default to no verification, until we understand when it breaks things.
+	if (IsEnvEnabled("ui_enable_server_certificate_verification")) {
+		client.enable_server_certificate_verification(true);
+	} else {
+		client.enable_server_certificate_verification(false);
+	}
+
+	// forward GET to remote URL
+	auto result = client.Get(req.path, req.params, {{"User-Agent", user_agent_}});
+	if (!result) {
+		res.status = 500;
+		return;
+	}
+
+	// Repond with result of forwarded GET
+	res = result.value();
+
+	// If this is the config request, set the X-MD-DuckDB-Mode header to HTTP.
+	// The UI looks for this to select the appropriate DuckDB mode (HTTP or Wasm).
+	if (req.path == "/config") {
+		res.set_header("X-MD-DuckDB-Mode", "HTTP");
+	}
+}
+
+void HttpServer::HandleInterrupt(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res) {
+	auto description = req.get_header_value("X-MD-Description");
+	auto connection_name = req.get_header_value("X-MD-Connection-Name");
+
+	auto connection = FindConnection(connection_name);
+	if (!connection) {
+		res.status = 404;
+		return;
+	}
+
+	connection->Interrupt();
+
+	SetResponseEmptyResult(res);
+}
+
+void HttpServer::HandleRun(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res,
+                             const httplib::ContentReader &content_reader) {
+	try {
+		auto description = req.get_header_value("X-MD-Description");
+		auto connection_name = req.get_header_value("X-MD-Connection-Name");
+
+		auto database_name = DecodeBase64(req.get_header_value("X-MD-Database-Name"));
+		auto parameter_count = req.get_header_value_count("X-MD-Parameter");
+
+		std::string content = ReadContent(content_reader);
+
+
+		auto connection = FindOrCreateConnection(connection_name);
+
+		// Set current database if optional header is provided.
+		if (!database_name.empty()) {
+			connection->context->RunFunctionInTransaction(
+			    [&] { ddb_instance_->GetDatabaseManager().SetDefaultDatabase(*connection->context, database_name); });
+		}
+
+		// We use a pending query so we can execute tasks and fetch chunks incrementally.
+		// This enables cancellation.
+		unique_ptr<PendingQueryResult> pending;
+
+		// Create pending query, with request content as SQL.
+		if (parameter_count > 0) {
+			auto prepared = connection->Prepare(content);
+			if (prepared->HasError()) {
+				SetResponseErrorResult(res, prepared->GetError());
+				return;
+			}
+
+			vector<Value> values;
+			for (idx_t i = 0; i < parameter_count; ++i) {
+				auto parameter = DecodeBase64(req.get_header_value("X-MD-Parameter", i));
+				values.push_back(Value(parameter)); // TODO: support non-string parameters? (SURF-1546)
+			}
+			pending = prepared->PendingQuery(values, true);
+		} else {
+			pending = connection->PendingQuery(content, true);
+		}
+
+		if (pending->HasError()) {
+			SetResponseErrorResult(res, pending->GetError());
+			return;
+		}
+
+		// Execute tasks until result is ready (or there's an error).
+		auto exec_result = PendingExecutionResult::RESULT_NOT_READY;
+		while (!PendingQueryResult::IsResultReady(exec_result)) {
+			exec_result = pending->ExecuteTask();
+			if (exec_result == PendingExecutionResult::BLOCKED ||
+			    exec_result == PendingExecutionResult::NO_TASKS_AVAILABLE) {
+				std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(1));
+			}
+		}
+
+		switch (exec_result) {
+
+		case PendingExecutionResult::EXECUTION_ERROR: {
+			SetResponseErrorResult(res, pending->GetError());
+		} break;
+
+		case PendingExecutionResult::EXECUTION_FINISHED:
+		case PendingExecutionResult::RESULT_READY: {
+			// Get the result. This should be quick because it's ready.
+			auto result = pending->Execute();
+
+			// Fetch the chunks and serialize the result.
+			SuccessResult success_result;
+			success_result.column_names_and_types = {std::move(result->names), std::move(result->types)};
+
+			// TODO: support limiting the number of chunks fetched (SURF-1540)
+			auto chunk = result->Fetch();
+			while (chunk) {
+				success_result.chunks.push_back({static_cast<uint16_t>(chunk->size()), std::move(chunk->data)});
+				chunk = result->Fetch();
+			}
+
+			MemoryStream success_response_content;
+			BinarySerializer::Serialize(success_result, success_response_content);
+			SetResponseContent(res, success_response_content);
+		} break;
+
+		default: {
+			SetResponseErrorResult(res, "Unexpected PendingExecutionResult");
+		} break;
+		}
+
+	} catch (const std::exception &ex) {
+		SetResponseErrorResult(res, ex.what());
+	}
+}
+
+void HttpServer::HandleTokenize(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res,
+                                  const httplib::ContentReader &content_reader) {
+	auto description = req.get_header_value("X-MD-Description");
+
+	std::string content = ReadContent(content_reader);
+
+
+	auto tokens = Parser::Tokenize(content);
+
+	// Read and serialize result
+	TokenizeResult result;
+	result.offsets.reserve(tokens.size());
+	result.types.reserve(tokens.size());
+
+	for (auto token : tokens) {
+		result.offsets.push_back(token.start);
+		result.types.push_back(token.type);
+	}
+
+	MemoryStream response_content;
+	BinarySerializer::Serialize(result, response_content);
+	SetResponseContent(res, response_content);
+}
+
+std::string HttpServer::ReadContent(const httplib::ContentReader &content_reader) {
+	std::ostringstream oss;
+	content_reader([&](const char *data, size_t data_length) {
+		oss.write(data, data_length);
+		return true;
+	});
+	return oss.str();
+}
+
+shared_ptr<Connection> HttpServer::FindConnection(const std::string &connection_name) {
+	if (connection_name.empty()) {
+		return nullptr;
+	}
+
+	// Need to protect access to the connections map because this can be called from multiple threads.
+	std::lock_guard<std::mutex> guard(connections_mutex_);
+
+	auto result = connections_.find(connection_name);
+	if (result != connections_.end()) {
+		return result->second;
+	}
+
+	return nullptr;
+}
+
+shared_ptr<Connection> HttpServer::FindOrCreateConnection(const std::string &connection_name) {
+	if (connection_name.empty()) {
+		// If no connection name was provided, create and return a new connection but don't remember it.
+		return make_shared_ptr<Connection>(*ddb_instance_);
+	}
+
+	// Need to protect access to the connections map because this can be called from multiple threads.
+	std::lock_guard<std::mutex> guard(connections_mutex_);
+
+	// If an existing connection with the provided name was found, return it.
+	auto result = connections_.find(connection_name);
+	if (result != connections_.end()) {
+		return result->second;
+	}
+
+	// Otherwise, create a new one, remember it, and return it.
+	auto connection = make_shared_ptr<Connection>(*ddb_instance_);
+	connections_[connection_name] = connection;
+	return connection;
+}
+
+void HttpServer::SetResponseContent(httplib::Response &res, const MemoryStream &content) {
+	auto data = content.GetData();
+	auto length = content.GetPosition();
+	res.set_content(reinterpret_cast<const char *>(data), length, "application/octet-stream");
+}
+
+void HttpServer::SetResponseEmptyResult(httplib::Response &res) {
+	EmptyResult empty_result;
+	MemoryStream response_content;
+	BinarySerializer::Serialize(empty_result, response_content);
+	SetResponseContent(res, response_content);
+}
+
+void HttpServer::SetResponseErrorResult(httplib::Response &res, const std::string &error) {
+	ErrorResult error_result;
+	error_result.error = error;
+	MemoryStream response_content;
+	BinarySerializer::Serialize(error_result, response_content);
+	SetResponseContent(res, response_content);
+}
+
+} // namespace ui
+} // namespace md
diff --git a/src/include/http_server.hpp b/src/include/http_server.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..12e811e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/include/http_server.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "duckdb.hpp"
+
+#define CPPHTTPLIB_OPENSSL_SUPPORT
+#include "httplib.hpp"
+
+#include <memory>
+#include <mutex>
+#include <string>
+#include <thread>
+#include <unordered_map>
+
+namespace httplib = duckdb_httplib_openssl;
+
+namespace duckdb {
+class MemoryStream;
+
+namespace ui {
+
+class EventDispatcher {
+public:
+	bool WaitEvent(httplib::DataSink *sink);
+	void SendEvent(const std::string &message);
+	void Close();
+
+private:
+	std::mutex mutex_;
+	std::condition_variable cv_;
+	std::atomic_int next_id_ {0};
+	std::atomic_int current_id_ {-1};
+	std::atomic_int wait_count_ {0};
+	std::string message_;
+	std::atomic_bool closed_ {false};
+};
+
+class HttpServer {
+
+public:
+	static HttpServer* instance();
+	static bool Started();
+	static void StopInstance();
+
+	bool Start(const uint16_t localPort, const std::string &remoteUrl,
+			   const shared_ptr<DatabaseInstance> &ddbInstance);
+	bool Stop();
+	uint16_t LocalPort();
+	void SendConnectedEvent(const std::string &token);
+	void SendCatalogChangedEvent();
+
+private:
+	void SendEvent(const std::string &message);
+	void Run();
+	void HandleGetLocalEvents(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res);
+	void HandleGetLocalToken(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res);
+	void HandleGet(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res);
+	void HandleInterrupt(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res);
+	void HandleRun(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res, const httplib::ContentReader &contentReader);
+	void HandleTokenize(const httplib::Request &req, httplib::Response &res,
+						const httplib::ContentReader &contentReader);
+	std::string ReadContent(const httplib::ContentReader &contentReader);
+	shared_ptr<Connection> FindConnection(const std::string &connectionName);
+	shared_ptr<Connection> FindOrCreateConnection(const std::string &connectionName);
+	void SetResponseContent(httplib::Response &res, const MemoryStream &content);
+	void SetResponseEmptyResult(httplib::Response &res);
+	void SetResponseErrorResult(httplib::Response &res, const std::string &error);
+
+	uint16_t local_port_;
+	std::string remote_url_;
+	shared_ptr<DatabaseInstance> ddb_instance_;
+	std::string user_agent_;
+	httplib::Server server_;
+	unique_ptr<std::thread> thread_;
+	std::mutex connections_mutex_;
+	std::unordered_map<std::string, shared_ptr<Connection>> connections_;
+	unique_ptr<EventDispatcher> event_dispatcher_;
+
+	static unique_ptr<HttpServer> instance_;
+};;
+
+} // namespace ui
+} // namespace duckdb
diff --git a/src/include/utils/encoding.hpp b/src/include/utils/encoding.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..34cb5e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/include/utils/encoding.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <string>
+
+namespace duckdb {
+
+std::string DecodeBase64(const std::string &str);
+
+} // namespace duckdb
diff --git a/src/include/utils/env.hpp b/src/include/utils/env.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..74a6cba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/include/utils/env.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <string>
+
+namespace duckdb {
+
+const char *TryGetEnv(const char *name);
+
+std::string GetEnvOrDefault(const char *name, const char *default_value);
+
+bool IsEnvEnabled(const char *name);
+
+} // namespace duckdb
diff --git a/src/include/utils/helpers.hpp b/src/include/utils/helpers.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..70c7bc0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/include/utils/helpers.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <duckdb.hpp>
+
+namespace duckdb {
+
+struct RunOnceTableFunctionState : GlobalTableFunctionState {
+	RunOnceTableFunctionState() : run(false) {};
+	std::atomic<bool> run;
+
+	static unique_ptr<GlobalTableFunctionState> Init(ClientContext &,
+																TableFunctionInitInput &) {
+		return make_uniq<RunOnceTableFunctionState>();
+	}
+};
+
+template <typename T>
+T GetSetting(const ClientContext &context, const char *setting_name, const T default_value) {
+	Value value;
+	return context.TryGetCurrentSetting(setting_name, value) ? value.GetValue<T>() : default_value;
+}
+
+bool ShouldRun(TableFunctionInput &input);
+
+void RegisterTF(DatabaseInstance &instance, const char* name, table_function_t func);
+
+} // namespace duckdb
diff --git a/src/include/utils/serialization.hpp b/src/include/utils/serialization.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9772a4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/include/utils/serialization.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "duckdb.hpp"
+
+#include <string>
+
+namespace duckdb {
+namespace ui {
+
+struct EmptyResult {
+	void Serialize(duckdb::Serializer &serializer) const;
+};
+
+struct TokenizeResult {
+	duckdb::vector<idx_t> offsets;
+	duckdb::vector<duckdb::SimplifiedTokenType> types;
+
+	void Serialize(duckdb::Serializer &serializer) const;
+};
+
+struct ColumnNamesAndTypes {
+	duckdb::vector<std::string> names;
+	duckdb::vector<duckdb::LogicalType> types;
+
+	void Serialize(duckdb::Serializer &serializer) const;
+};
+
+struct Chunk {
+	uint16_t row_count;
+	duckdb::vector<duckdb::Vector> vectors;
+
+	void Serialize(duckdb::Serializer &serializer) const;
+};
+
+struct SuccessResult {
+	ColumnNamesAndTypes column_names_and_types;
+	duckdb::vector<Chunk> chunks;
+
+	void Serialize(duckdb::Serializer &serializer) const;
+};
+
+struct ErrorResult {
+	std::string error;
+
+	void Serialize(duckdb::Serializer &serializer) const;
+};
+
+} // namespace ui
+} // namespace duckdb
diff --git a/src/ui_extension.cpp b/src/ui_extension.cpp
index e313375..b66f8f9 100644
--- a/src/ui_extension.cpp
+++ b/src/ui_extension.cpp
@@ -1,47 +1,111 @@
 #define DUCKDB_EXTENSION_MAIN
 
+#include "utils/env.hpp"
+#include "utils/helpers.hpp"
 #include "ui_extension.hpp"
-#include "duckdb.hpp"
-#include "duckdb/common/exception.hpp"
-#include "duckdb/common/string_util.hpp"
-#include "duckdb/function/scalar_function.hpp"
-#include "duckdb/main/extension_util.hpp"
-#include <duckdb/parser/parsed_data/create_scalar_function_info.hpp>
+#include "http_server.hpp"
+#include <duckdb.hpp>
+#include <duckdb/common/string_util.hpp>
 
-// OpenSSL linked through vcpkg
-#include <openssl/opensslv.h>
+#ifdef _WIN32
+#define OPEN_COMMAND "start"
+#elif __linux__
+#define OPEN_COMMAND "xdg-open"
+#else
+#define OPEN_COMMAND "open"
+#endif
+
+#define UI_LOCAL_PORT_SETTING_NAME        "ui_local_port"
+#define UI_LOCAL_PORT_SETTING_DESCRIPTION "Local port on which the UI server listens"
+#define UI_LOCAL_PORT_SETTING_DEFAULT     4213
+
+#define UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_NAME        "ui_remote_url"
+#define UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_DESCRIPTION "Remote URL to which the UI server forwards GET requests"
+#define UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_DEFAULT     "https://app.motherduck.com"
 
 namespace duckdb {
 
-inline void UiScalarFun(DataChunk &args, ExpressionState &state, Vector &result) {
-    auto &name_vector = args.data[0];
-    UnaryExecutor::Execute<string_t, string_t>(
-	    name_vector, result, args.size(),
-	    [&](string_t name) {
-			return StringVector::AddString(result, "Ui "+name.GetString()+" 🐥");
-        });
+namespace internal {
+
+bool StartHttpServer(const ClientContext &context) {
+	const auto url = GetSetting<std::string>(context, UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_NAME,
+		GetEnvOrDefault(UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_NAME, UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_DEFAULT));
+	const uint16_t port = GetSetting(context, UI_LOCAL_PORT_SETTING_NAME, UI_LOCAL_PORT_SETTING_DEFAULT);;
+	return ui::HttpServer::instance()->Start(port, url, context.db);
 }
 
-inline void UiOpenSSLVersionScalarFun(DataChunk &args, ExpressionState &state, Vector &result) {
-    auto &name_vector = args.data[0];
-    UnaryExecutor::Execute<string_t, string_t>(
-	    name_vector, result, args.size(),
-	    [&](string_t name) {
-			return StringVector::AddString(result, "Ui " + name.GetString() +
-                                                     ", my linked OpenSSL version is " +
-                                                     OPENSSL_VERSION_TEXT );
-        });
+std::string GetHttpServerLocalURL() {
+	return StringUtil::Format("http://localhost:%d/", ui::HttpServer::instance()->LocalPort());
 }
 
+} // namespace internal
+
+void OutputResult(const std::string &result, DataChunk &out_chunk) {
+	out_chunk.SetCardinality(1);
+	out_chunk.SetValue(0, 0, result);
+}
+
+void StartUIFunction(ClientContext &context, TableFunctionInput &input,
+							DataChunk &out_chunk) {
+	if (!ShouldRun(input)) {
+		return;
+	}
+
+	internal::StartHttpServer(context);
+	auto local_url = internal::GetHttpServerLocalURL();
+
+	const std::string command = StringUtil::Format("%s %s", OPEN_COMMAND, local_url);
+	std::string result = system(command.c_str()) ?
+		  StringUtil::Format("Navigate browser to %s", local_url) // open command failed
+	 	: StringUtil::Format("MotherDuck UI started at %s", local_url);
+	OutputResult(result, out_chunk);
+}
+
+void StartUIServerFunction(ClientContext &context, TableFunctionInput &input,
+									DataChunk &out_chunk) {
+	if (!ShouldRun(input)) {
+		return;
+	}
+
+	const bool already = internal::StartHttpServer(context);
+	const char* already_str = already ? "already " : "";
+	auto result = StringUtil::Format("MotherDuck UI server %sstarted at %s", already_str, internal::GetHttpServerLocalURL());
+	OutputResult(result, out_chunk);
+}
+
+void StopUIServerFunction(ClientContext &, TableFunctionInput &input,
+									DataChunk &out_chunk) {
+	if (!ShouldRun(input)) {
+		return;
+	}
+
+	auto result = ui::HttpServer::instance()->Stop() ? "UI server stopped" : "UI server already stopped";
+	OutputResult(result, out_chunk);
+}
+
+// FIXME
+// void HandleConnected(const std::string &token) {
+// 	ui::HttpServer::instance()->SendConnectedEvent(token);
+// }
+
+// FIXME
+// void HandleCatalogChanged() {
+// 	ui::HttpServer::instance()->SendCatalogChangedEvent();
+// }
+
 static void LoadInternal(DatabaseInstance &instance) {
-    // Register a scalar function
-    auto ui_scalar_function = ScalarFunction("ui", {LogicalType::VARCHAR}, LogicalType::VARCHAR, UiScalarFun);
-    ExtensionUtil::RegisterFunction(instance, ui_scalar_function);
+    auto &config = DBConfig::GetConfig(instance);
 
-    // Register another scalar function
-    auto ui_openssl_version_scalar_function = ScalarFunction("ui_openssl_version", {LogicalType::VARCHAR},
-                                                LogicalType::VARCHAR, UiOpenSSLVersionScalarFun);
-    ExtensionUtil::RegisterFunction(instance, ui_openssl_version_scalar_function);
+	config.AddExtensionOption(UI_LOCAL_PORT_SETTING_NAME, UI_LOCAL_PORT_SETTING_DESCRIPTION,
+								LogicalType::USMALLINT, Value::USMALLINT(UI_LOCAL_PORT_SETTING_DEFAULT));
+
+	config.AddExtensionOption(
+		UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_NAME, UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_DESCRIPTION, LogicalType::VARCHAR,
+		Value(GetEnvOrDefault(UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_NAME, UI_REMOTE_URL_SETTING_DEFAULT)));
+
+	RegisterTF(instance, "start_ui", StartUIFunction);
+	RegisterTF(instance, "start_ui_server", StartUIServerFunction);
+	RegisterTF(instance, "stop_ui_server", StopUIServerFunction);
 }
 
 void UiExtension::Load(DuckDB &db) {
diff --git a/src/utils/encoding.cpp b/src/utils/encoding.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1cd876d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/encoding.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+#include "utils/encoding.hpp"
+
+#include <vector>
+
+namespace duckdb {
+
+// Copied from https://www.mycplus.com/source-code/c-source-code/base64-encode-decode/
+constexpr char k_encoding_table[] = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+_";
+
+std::vector<char> BuildDecodingTable() {
+	std::vector<char> decoding_table;
+	decoding_table.resize(256);
+	for (int i = 0; i < 64; ++i) {
+		decoding_table[static_cast<unsigned char>(k_encoding_table[i])] = i;
+	}
+	return decoding_table;
+}
+
+const static std::vector<char> k_decoding_table = BuildDecodingTable();
+
+std::string DecodeBase64(const std::string &data) {
+	size_t input_length = data.size();
+	if (input_length < 4 || input_length % 4 != 0) {
+		// Handle this exception
+		return "";
+	}
+
+	size_t output_length = input_length / 4 * 3;
+	if (data[input_length - 1] == '=') {
+		output_length--;
+	}
+	if (data[input_length - 2] == '=') {
+		output_length--;
+	}
+
+	std::string decoded_data;
+	decoded_data.resize(output_length);
+	for (size_t i = 0, j = 0; i < input_length;) {
+		uint32_t sextet_a = data[i] == '=' ? 0 & i++ : k_decoding_table[data[i++]];
+		uint32_t sextet_b = data[i] == '=' ? 0 & i++ : k_decoding_table[data[i++]];
+		uint32_t sextet_c = data[i] == '=' ? 0 & i++ : k_decoding_table[data[i++]];
+		uint32_t sextet_d = data[i] == '=' ? 0 & i++ : k_decoding_table[data[i++]];
+
+		uint32_t triple = (sextet_a << 3 * 6) + (sextet_b << 2 * 6) + (sextet_c << 1 * 6) + (sextet_d << 0 * 6);
+
+		if (j < output_length) {
+			decoded_data[j++] = (triple >> 2 * 8) & 0xFF;
+		}
+		if (j < output_length) {
+			decoded_data[j++] = (triple >> 1 * 8) & 0xFF;
+		}
+		if (j < output_length) {
+			decoded_data[j++] = (triple >> 0 * 8) & 0xFF;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return decoded_data;
+}
+
+} // namespace duckdb
diff --git a/src/utils/env.cpp b/src/utils/env.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c96110
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/env.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+#include "utils/env.hpp"
+
+#include <cstdlib>
+#include <duckdb.hpp>
+
+namespace duckdb {
+
+const char *TryGetEnv(const char *name) {
+	const char *res = std::getenv(name);
+	if (res) {
+		return res;
+	}
+	return std::getenv(StringUtil::Upper(name).c_str());
+}
+
+std::string GetEnvOrDefault(const char *name, const char *default_value) {
+	const char *res = TryGetEnv(name);
+	if (res) {
+		return res;
+	}
+	return default_value;
+}
+
+bool IsEnvEnabled(const char *name) {
+	const char *res = TryGetEnv(name);
+	if (!res) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	auto lc_res = StringUtil::Lower(res);
+	return lc_res == "1" || lc_res == "true";
+}
+
+} // namespace duckdb
diff --git a/src/utils/helpers.cpp b/src/utils/helpers.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..71c21d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/helpers.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+#include "utils/helpers.hpp"
+#include <duckdb/main/extension_util.hpp>
+
+namespace duckdb {
+
+bool ShouldRun(TableFunctionInput &input) {
+	auto state = dynamic_cast<RunOnceTableFunctionState *>(input.global_state.get());
+	D_ASSERT(state != nullptr);
+	if (state->run) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	state->run = true;
+	return true;
+}
+
+unique_ptr<FunctionData> ResultBind(ClientContext &, TableFunctionBindInput &,
+	vector<LogicalType> &out_types,
+	vector<std::string> &out_names) {
+	out_names.emplace_back("result");
+	out_types.emplace_back(LogicalType::VARCHAR);
+	return nullptr;
+}
+
+void RegisterTF(DatabaseInstance &instance, const char* name, table_function_t func) {
+	TableFunction tf(name, {}, func, ResultBind, RunOnceTableFunctionState::Init);
+	ExtensionUtil::RegisterFunction(instance, tf);
+}
+
+} // namespace duckdb
diff --git a/src/utils/serialization.cpp b/src/utils/serialization.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c04fc12
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/serialization.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+#include "utils/serialization.hpp"
+
+#include "duckdb/common/serializer/deserializer.hpp"
+#include "duckdb/common/serializer/serializer.hpp"
+
+namespace duckdb {
+namespace ui {
+
+void EmptyResult::Serialize(Serializer &) const {
+}
+
+void TokenizeResult::Serialize(Serializer &serializer) const {
+	serializer.WriteProperty(100, "offsets", offsets);
+	serializer.WriteProperty(101, "types", types);
+}
+
+// Adapted from parts of DataChunk::Serialize
+void ColumnNamesAndTypes::Serialize(Serializer &serializer) const {
+	serializer.WriteProperty(100, "names", names);
+	serializer.WriteProperty(101, "types", types);
+}
+
+// Adapted from parts of DataChunk::Serialize
+void Chunk::Serialize(Serializer &serializer) const {
+	serializer.WriteProperty(100, "row_count", row_count);
+	serializer.WriteList(101, "vectors", vectors.size(), [&](Serializer::List &list, idx_t i) {
+		list.WriteObject([&](Serializer &object) {
+			// Reference the vector to avoid potentially mutating it during serialization
+			Vector serialized_vector(vectors[i].GetType());
+			serialized_vector.Reference(vectors[i]);
+			serialized_vector.Serialize(object, row_count);
+		});
+	});
+}
+
+void SuccessResult::Serialize(Serializer &serializer) const {
+	serializer.WriteProperty(100, "success", true);
+	serializer.WriteProperty(101, "column_names_and_types", column_names_and_types);
+	serializer.WriteList(102, "chunks", chunks.size(),
+	                     [&](Serializer::List &list, idx_t i) { list.WriteElement(chunks[i]); });
+}
+
+void ErrorResult::Serialize(Serializer &serializer) const {
+	serializer.WriteProperty(100, "success", false);
+	serializer.WriteProperty(101, "error", error);
+}
+
+} // namespace ui
+} // namespace duckdb