diff --git a/src/platform/notebooks/deepnote/sqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider.ts b/src/platform/notebooks/deepnote/sqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider.ts
index f42598127..cfd9df1bd 100644
--- a/src/platform/notebooks/deepnote/sqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider.ts
+++ b/src/platform/notebooks/deepnote/sqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider.ts
@@ -199,6 +199,19 @@ export class SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider implements ISqlIntegrati
             return envVars;
         }
 
+        // Always add the internal DuckDB integration
+        const dataframeSqlIntegrationEnvVarName = convertToEnvironmentVariableName(
+            getSqlEnvVarName(DATAFRAME_SQL_INTEGRATION_ID)
+        );
+        const dataframeSqlIntegrationCredentialsJson = JSON.stringify({
+            url: 'deepnote+duckdb:///:memory:',
+            params: {},
+            param_style: 'qmark'
+        });
+
+        envVars[dataframeSqlIntegrationEnvVarName] = dataframeSqlIntegrationCredentialsJson;
+        logger.debug(`SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider: Added env var for dataframe SQL integration`);
+
         // Scan all cells for SQL integration IDs
         const integrationIds = this.scanNotebookForIntegrations(notebook);
         if (integrationIds.size === 0) {
@@ -219,17 +232,7 @@ export class SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider implements ISqlIntegrati
             try {
                 // Handle internal DuckDB integration specially
                 if (integrationId === DATAFRAME_SQL_INTEGRATION_ID) {
-                    const envVarName = convertToEnvironmentVariableName(getSqlEnvVarName(integrationId));
-                    const credentialsJson = JSON.stringify({
-                        url: 'deepnote+duckdb:///:memory:',
-                        params: {},
-                        param_style: 'qmark'
-                    });
-
-                    envVars[envVarName] = credentialsJson;
-                    logger.debug(
-                        `SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider: Added env var for dataframe SQL integration`
-                    );
+                    // Internal DuckDB integration is handled above
                     continue;
                 }
 
diff --git a/src/platform/notebooks/deepnote/sqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider.unit.test.ts b/src/platform/notebooks/deepnote/sqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider.unit.test.ts
index 5a15e4f30..171d4a214 100644
--- a/src/platform/notebooks/deepnote/sqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider.unit.test.ts
+++ b/src/platform/notebooks/deepnote/sqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider.unit.test.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ import {
 } from './integrationTypes';
 import { mockedVSCodeNamespaces, resetVSCodeMocks } from '../../../test/vscode-mock';
 
+const EXPECTED_DATAFRAME_ONLY_ENV_VARS = {
+    SQL_DEEPNOTE_DATAFRAME_SQL: '{"url":"deepnote+duckdb:///:memory:","params":{},"param_style":"qmark"}'
+};
+
 suite('SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider', () => {
     let provider: SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider;
     let integrationStorage: IntegrationStorage;
@@ -55,7 +59,7 @@ suite('SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider', () => {
         when(mockedVSCodeNamespaces.workspace.notebookDocuments).thenReturn([notebook]);
 
         const envVars = await provider.getEnvironmentVariables(uri);
-        assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, {});
+        assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, EXPECTED_DATAFRAME_ONLY_ENV_VARS);
     });
 
     test('Returns empty object when SQL cells have no integration ID', async () => {
@@ -67,7 +71,7 @@ suite('SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider', () => {
         when(mockedVSCodeNamespaces.workspace.notebookDocuments).thenReturn([notebook]);
 
         const envVars = await provider.getEnvironmentVariables(uri);
-        assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, {});
+        assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, EXPECTED_DATAFRAME_ONLY_ENV_VARS);
     });
 
     test('Returns environment variable for internal DuckDB integration', async () => {
@@ -186,9 +190,9 @@ suite('SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider', () => {
 
         const envVars = await provider.getEnvironmentVariables(uri);
 
-        // Should only have one environment variable
+        // Should only have one environment variable apart from the internal DuckDB integration
         assert.property(envVars, 'SQL_MY_POSTGRES_DB');
-        assert.strictEqual(Object.keys(envVars).length, 1);
+        assert.strictEqual(Object.keys(envVars).length, 2);
     });
 
     test('Handles multiple SQL cells with different integrations', async () => {
@@ -230,10 +234,10 @@ suite('SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider', () => {
 
         const envVars = await provider.getEnvironmentVariables(uri);
 
-        // Should have two environment variables
+        // Should have two environment variables apart from the internal DuckDB integration
         assert.property(envVars, 'SQL_MY_POSTGRES_DB');
         assert.property(envVars, 'SQL_MY_BIGQUERY');
-        assert.strictEqual(Object.keys(envVars).length, 2);
+        assert.strictEqual(Object.keys(envVars).length, 3);
     });
 
     test('Handles missing integration configuration gracefully', async () => {
@@ -251,8 +255,8 @@ suite('SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider', () => {
 
         const envVars = await provider.getEnvironmentVariables(uri);
 
-        // Should return empty object when integration config is missing
-        assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, {});
+        // Should return only dataframe integration when integration config is missing
+        assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, EXPECTED_DATAFRAME_ONLY_ENV_VARS);
     });
 
     test('Properly encodes special characters in PostgreSQL credentials', async () => {
@@ -621,9 +625,9 @@ suite('SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider', () => {
             when(mockedVSCodeNamespaces.workspace.notebookDocuments).thenReturn([notebook]);
             when(integrationStorage.getIntegrationConfig(integrationId)).thenResolve(config);
 
-            // Should return empty object when unsupported auth method is encountered
+            // Should return only dataframe integration when unsupported auth method is encountered
             const envVars = await provider.getEnvironmentVariables(uri);
-            assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, {});
+            assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, EXPECTED_DATAFRAME_ONLY_ENV_VARS);
         });
 
         test('Skips unsupported Snowflake auth method (AZURE_AD)', async () => {
@@ -647,7 +651,7 @@ suite('SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider', () => {
             when(integrationStorage.getIntegrationConfig(integrationId)).thenResolve(config);
 
             const envVars = await provider.getEnvironmentVariables(uri);
-            assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, {});
+            assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, EXPECTED_DATAFRAME_ONLY_ENV_VARS);
         });
 
         test('Skips unsupported Snowflake auth method (KEY_PAIR)', async () => {
@@ -671,7 +675,7 @@ suite('SqlIntegrationEnvironmentVariablesProvider', () => {
             when(integrationStorage.getIntegrationConfig(integrationId)).thenResolve(config);
 
             const envVars = await provider.getEnvironmentVariables(uri);
-            assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, {});
+            assert.deepStrictEqual(envVars, EXPECTED_DATAFRAME_ONLY_ENV_VARS);
         });
     });
 });