Questions

A question is a saved query with its visualization, stored in a folder. It can be written in three ways, all of which run in Trino under the identity of the person reading it: their permissions on tables, columns and rows always apply.

Way	For whom	Query level required
Visual editor	everyone, without SQL	Visual editor
Trino SQL	analysts; joins several sources	SQL
Native SQL	the database’s dialect, sent as is	Native SQL, and no restriction on the source

Reading a saved question requires the right to read its data, not a query level, with two exceptions: a native SQL question remains reserved for those who can write native SQL on the source, and a visual question that contains a custom column or a condition written in SQL requires the SQL level from its reader.

The visual editor

New › Question (or Explore a table from the home page) opens the step-by-step editor:

Step	What you do there
Data	the starting table or model
Filter	conditions on columns: is, is not, contains, starts with, between, before, after, empty…; for a date, a period (This month, Last 12 months…)
Summarize	measures — row count, distinct values, sum, average, median, minimum, maximum, standard deviation, cumulative count and sum, or a metric — and groupings
Columns	without a summary, the columns displayed
Custom columns	a column computed by a Trino SQL expression (prix - cout)
Sort and limit	the order of rows and their number

A date can be grouped by minute, hour, day, week, month, quarter or year, or by rank: hour of the day, day of the week, day of the month, week of the year, month, quarter. A number can be grouped by values or into bins.

Implicit joins. Columns from tables linked by a foreign key — detected or declared in Structure — are offered alongside those of the starting table: choosing one adds the join, and removing it takes it away.

Join data. In the Data step, Join data adds a join of your choice: the table, the type (left, inner, right, full) and the two columns of the condition — the key between the two tables is suggested automatically. The join stays even if no step references its columns; without a summary, its columns are displayed after those of the source, and are chosen, filtered and sorted just like them. Its chip edits or removes it (along with the steps that referenced its columns). Four joins at most.

Drill into a point. Clicking a bar or a point on a chart offers Filter on this value or Exclude this value.

Convert to SQL turns the question into a SQL question, starting from the SQL the editor generated.

Custom columns and SQL conditions

A custom column or a condition written in SQL requires the SQL level on the source.

The SQL editor

SQL editor (or New › SQL query) is written in Trino SQL:

• autocompletion knows catalog.schema.table and the columns of every table you can read, and nothing else;
• Ctrl+Enter runs the query, or the selection when there is one; Cancel stops the execution in Trino;
• Format (Shift+Alt+F) formats the SQL;
• a Trino error is placed on the line and column it points to; Fix with the copilot asks it for a fix;
• several tabs, kept in your browser;
• a side panel: the schema (click to insert a name), snippets and the history of your queries.

Editor queries never go through the result cache: you always see the current state of the data. A preview reads at most 2,000 rows (MAX_ROWS).

Save as question stores the query in a folder; it becomes a SQL question.

Snippets

A snippet is a reusable SQL fragment, shared across the whole instance. Save the current selection under a name, then reference it anywhere:

SELECT * FROM boutique.public.commandes
WHERE {{snippet: commandes_payees}}

Native SQL

The Dialect selector offers, in addition to “Trino SQL (all data sources)”, a native SQL for each source that allows it: the query is sent as is to the database, in its own dialect, through Trino’s system.query function. MongoDB and raw Trino connectors don’t have one.

Reserved for full access

Row and column rules cannot be applied to text that Trino does not read. Native SQL is therefore reserved for people who have the Native SQL level on the source and can read it entirely, without any restriction, on a source where the option is enabled. Trino itself refuses it to everyone else.

Variables

A SQL question accepts variables {{name}}. Each one appears below the editor as soon as it is written, with its type:

Type	{{name}} becomes
Text	an escaped text literal: 'Bretagne'
Number	a number
Date	a date: DATE '2026-01-01'
Filter	an entire condition on a SQL column, TRUE without a value

A value always becomes an escaped literal: what is entered cannot change the shape of the query. A Filter variable applies to a SQL expression (c.passee_le) and its kind — text, number, date or timestamp —; it is the one a dashboard filter narrows down most naturally:

SELECT canal, count(*) AS commandes
FROM boutique.public.commandes c
WHERE {{periode}}
[[ AND canal = {{canal}} ]]
GROUP BY 1

An optional section [[ … ]] is kept only if all its variables have a value; otherwise it disappears. A variable outside a section with no value prevents execution.

A date accepts a date (2026-03-01), a relative period (today, yesterday, thismonth, lastmonth, past30days, next2weeks…) or a range 2026-01-01~2026-03-31, open-ended on one side if needed (2026-01-01~).

Visualizations

Sixteen chart types, organized by purpose — key figures, compare (including the radar), trend, distribution, relationship, detail —, with color-blind-safe palettes, highlighting of a value, the average, sorting, top N… and forecasts that extend a line in green dashes. Everything is described in Visualizations and Forecasts.

Export, share, organize

• Export downloads the result as CSV, XLSX or JSON, up to 100,000 rows, always under your permissions.
• Add to a dashboard places the question on an existing dashboard.
• Move… stores it in another folder, or hands it over to a dashboard (and to one of its tabs): it then belongs to the dashboard, like a question created within it.
• Duplicate, Save a copy, Share: see Sharing.
• Turn into a model or into a metric: see Models and metrics.

Query history

History lists every query sent to Trino with the SQL actually executed, its duration, its row count, any error and its origin: editor, question, dashboard card, API (including the MCP server), copilot or shared link. Everyone sees their own; an administrator can display those of all users.