Charts

A chart in Quary is a way to visualize data. A chart represents a single visualization. Like models, they are represented by a file but rather than an .sql file, they are .chart.yaml file. They are a yaml file and the contents represent the configuration of the chart. Most of the time you will be using the chart editor to create charts but you can also create them manually. To understand the structure of a chart file, let's look at an example chart file.

Suppose we have a chart file named shifts_by_month_bar.chart.yaml and it contains the following content:

reference:
  name: shifts_by_month
description: Charting shifts by month
tags:
  - monthly
config:
  aggregates: {}
  columns:
    - total_shifts
  columns_config: {}
  expressions: {}
  filter: []
  group_by:
    - shift_month
  plugin: Y Bar
  plugin_config: {}
  settings: true
  sort:
    - - shift_month
      - asc
  split_by: []
  theme: Pro Light
  title: shifts_by_month.chart.yaml
  version: 2.10.0

The name of the chart comes from the name of the file. The name of the file is shifts_by_month_bar.chart.yaml and the name of the chart is shifts_by_month.

The chart file has the following three main sections:

• reference: This section contains the source of the chart's data. In this case the source is a model named shifts_by_month.
• description & tags: This represents some general metadata.
• config: This section contains the configuration of the chart visualization.

Reference section

The reference section contains the source of the chart's data. Charts can point to data in three different ways:

Asset reference

A reference is just a direct reference to another model/snapshot/source in the project. It is what is used in the example and is the most common way to refer to data.

reference:
  name: shifts_by_month
tags:
  - monthly
config:
  ...

Raw Sql

Raw sql is just what it sounds like, it's a raw query that is sent to the database. It's not templated nor can you refer to other models, nor is it checked at compile time against any sources/models or snapshots that you are referring in it. Rather than reference, the raw_sql key is used.

raw_sql: SELECT * FROM hello
description: Charting shifts by month
tags:
  - monthly
config:
  ...

Templated Sql

Raw sql is just what it sounds like, it's a raw query that is sent to the database. But it goes through the quary engine and so you can refer to any other model/snapshot/source in your query with the q. schema, and it gets templated correctly. The references are also checked at compile time. The following example does the same as the above example for reference as it essentially just selects the model but it gives you the flexibility to do more complex queries just for the chart.

templated_sql: SELECT * FROM q.shifts_by_month
description: Charting shifts by month
tags:
  - monthly
config:
  ...

Description and tags

The description and tags work like they do in models. They are just metadata about the chart.

Config section

The config section contains the configuration of the chart visualization. The configuration is specific to the chart plugin being used. The configuration is a yaml object and the keys and values are specific to the chart plugin. The configuration is what is used to customize the chart. The configuration is specific to the chart plugin being used. The configuration is a yaml object and the keys and values are specific to the chart plugin. The configuration is what is used to customize the chart. We recommend using the chart editor to create charts as it will help you create the configuration.