Building queries

Pick dimensions and measures, add filters, sorts, and a limit, and watch results update as Flax recompiles and re-runs the query in your warehouse.

A query in Explore is a set of choices: what to group by, what to measure, which rows to include, and how to order them. This page walks through each control and how results are produced.

#Choose dimensions and measures

From the field-picker, toggle on:

• Dimensions — attributes you group or slice by, such as region or order_date. Time dimensions add a Grain control (day, week, month, quarter, year) so you can roll dates up to the level you want.
• Measures — aggregated values, such as revenue or order_count.

Flax groups by every selected dimension and aggregates every selected measure. You need at least one dimension or measure before you can run the query. Fields from a joined model appear in their own section, and Flax resolves the join for you when you combine fields across related models.

#Add filters

Filters narrow the rows the query considers. Add a filter on a dimension or measure and pick an operator: equals or not-equals, is one of / not one of a set, the numeric and date comparisons (greater/less than, or between), contains for text, and is-null / is-not-null. All filter values are passed as bound parameters, never concatenated into SQL.

#Sort, compare, and calculate

• Sort by a single field, ascending or descending (toggle Desc).
• Compare to the previous period with the vs. previous period switch, available once you have a time-grain dimension and a measure selected.
• Table calculations add a running total or % of total to a measure.

#Running the query

Building a query is deliberate: your selections do not run until you click Run. Flax then compiles the SQL for your connection's dialect (Postgres, Snowflake, Databricks, or BigQuery) and executes it in your warehouse, and the result view refreshes.

Large results are capped server-side (up to 5,000 rows) so the browser stays responsive; when a result is cut off, Flax flags it as truncated. Reach for tighter filters or a coarser grain if you hit the cap.

#From result to output

Once a result looks right you can:

• Switch it to a chart and save it.
• Open it in a sheet for formulas and formatting.
• Drill down into a value to see its rows.
• Inspect the compiled SQL.

#Next steps

• The SQL runner
• Drill-down
• Query detail