# Querying & exploring

> The Explore page is Flax's point-and-click query builder — pick dimensions and measures and Flax compiles dialect-correct SQL that runs in your own warehouse.

*[View this page in the Flax docs](https://flax-analytics.com/docs/exploring/overview)*

Explore is where you turn the semantic model into answers. You point and click to
assemble a query — no SQL required — and Flax compiles it to dialect-correct SQL
that runs directly in your warehouse. This page is for analysts and viewers who
want to ask questions of governed data.

## How Explore works

Open **Explore** at `/app/explore` and pick a semantic layer, then a model. The
page has two parts:

- A **field-picker** panel listing the dimensions and measures defined in the
  model, with controls for grain, sort, period comparison, and table calculations.
- A **result view** with **Chart**, **Table**, and **SQL** tabs.

Assemble your query by toggling fields, then click **Run**. Flax compiles your
selections to dialect-correct SQL, executes it in your warehouse, and shows the
rows. The footer reports how many rows came back and how long the query took.

## Warehouse-native, governed by the model

Explore never copies your data into Flax. Every query is compiled to SQL for your
connection's dialect (Postgres, Snowflake, Databricks, or BigQuery) and executed in
place. Because queries are built from the semantic model, metric definitions,
joins, and [row-access filters](/docs/modeling/row-access-filters) apply
automatically — everyone sees numbers that mean the same thing, restricted to the
rows they are allowed to see.

## What you can do from Explore

- [Build queries](/docs/exploring/building-queries) by choosing dimensions,
  measures, filters, sorts, and a limit.
- Write SQL by hand in the [governed SQL runner](/docs/exploring/sql-runner) when a
  question needs more than point-and-click.
- [Drill down](/docs/exploring/drill-down) from a summarized value to the
  underlying rows.
- Inspect the [compiled SQL and raw results](/docs/exploring/query-detail) of any
  query.
- Turn a result into a saved [chart](/docs/visualizations/overview) or continue in
  a [sheet](/docs/sheets/overview) for spreadsheet-style modelling.

## Next steps

- [Building queries](/docs/exploring/building-queries)
- [The SQL runner](/docs/exploring/sql-runner)
- [Sheets overview](/docs/sheets/overview)
- [Visualizing data](/docs/visualizations/overview)