Virtual views

Virtual Views are created in the SQL Runner and allow other users to reuse your custom SQL queries in Lightdash. They get listed in your Tables and can be used like the tables that come from your dbt project.

A Virtual View won’t be saved to or managed in your dbt project.

If you’re expecting to use this query regularly, we recommend writing it back to dbt.

Create a Virtual View

To create a Virtual View from the SQL Runner, select the Create Virtual View option from the save drop-down.

Your Virtual View will appear in the list of Tables available to explore in Lightdash. Everyone in your team can use Virtual Views to build queries and charts just like they would any other Table.

Edit or delete a Virtual View

To edit a Virtual View, you need to open it in the Explorer, then beside the name, there’s a three-dot-menu where you can choose to edit or delete the Virtual View.

Any changes you make will affect all existing content built using the Virtual View.