Glossary
The words the interface uses, each with where you will meet it and one example from the ecommerce sample. For file-format and analysis vocabulary (delimiters, encodings, Parquet, joins, percentiles) see the data file glossary.
Examples use ecommerce.csv from the templates: 170 orders with status, country, items, shipping and total columns.
| Term | What it is | Where you see it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipeline | The ordered list of transformations applied to a file. Each one is a SQL SELECT over the one before. | The panel on the left of the grid. | Filter to delivered, add shipping_pct, group by country. |
| Step | One card in the pipeline. It keeps its settings, its SQL and a one-line description. | A card in the Pipeline panel, with Edit step, Delete step and Show SQL. | keeping rows where "status" ILIKE 'delivered' ESCAPE '\' |
| Operation | A kind of step: Filter, Convert Type, Join, Pivot and 34 more. Choosing one opens its panel. | Results under Search transforms, or the full list behind the + button. | Group & Aggregate. |
| Function panel | The form for one operation. Fill it in, read the preview, click Apply. | Opens beside the pipeline when you pick an operation. | Group by country, Aggregations: SUM of total. |
| Apply | Runs the step and adds its card. Nothing changes in the grid until you click it. | The button at the bottom of every function panel. | Apply on the Filter panel takes the grid from 170 rows to 38. |
| Show SQL | The statement a card runs. The FROM names the previous step's view. | A toggle on each card. | SELECT * FROM "ecommerce" WHERE "status" ILIKE 'delivered' ESCAPE '\' |
| data | An alias that always means the input to the current step, whatever the file is called. | Hand-written SQL Query steps and AI prompts. | SELECT "country", COUNT(*) FROM data GROUP BY 1 |
| Column Explorer | The strip of cards above the grid, one per opened column, each with a chart and click-to-filter. | Open a card with the Explore & filter icon on a column header. | The status card shows delivered 38, cancelled 37, returned 35. |
| Explore card | One card in that strip: bars for text, a histogram for numbers, a time series for dates. | Above the grid. | The total card: Sum 57,311.92, Avg 337.13, Min 20.36, Max 635.82. |
| View | A separate pipeline and grid on the same file, like a worksheet. | Tabs under the file tab. | One view keeps the raw orders; a second holds the country summary. |
| Grid and Canvas | Two ways to look at a view: the table of rows, or a dashboard built from the same rows. | The Grid / Canvas toggle in the toolbar. /app?view=dashboard opens the Canvas. | The Canvas for ecommerce.csv breaks total down by country. |
| Condition Builder | The visual WHERE clause: rows of column, operator, value, grouped with AND and OR. | Filter, and the optional condition on most other operations. | status is delivered AND total > 500. |
| Match case | A checkbox on the Condition Builder. Off, and Alice and alice both match. | Top of the Condition Builder. | Off writes ILIKE; on writes =. |
| Apply results into | Where a transform writes: a new column you name, or an existing column it overwrites. | Convert Type, Math, Text Transform, Find & Replace and others. | Convert order_date to text into a new column order_month. |
| Intent | The AI generator inside a panel: describe what you want and a condition or expression is written for you. Needs a key. | Buttons named Generate condition from intent, Generate expression from intent, Generate regex from intent. | "orders over 500 from Brazil" becomes "total" > 500 AND "country" = 'Brazil'. |
| Describe a transformation | The box at the bottom of the pipeline that turns a sentence into a whole SQL step. Needs a key. | Bottom of the Pipeline panel, with a Go button. | "average items per order by status". |
| Ask panel | Plain-English questions answered by a parser, with the SQL shown. No key. | The Ask a question button above the grid. | "How many rows by status?" runs SELECT "status", COUNT(*) AS "rows" FROM ask_data GROUP BY "status". |
| Share link | A URL holding a Canvas's filters, layout and, under 200 KB, its data. | The Share link button on the Canvas. | The dialog reports Link includes the data (41 KB). |
| DuckDB | The SQL engine doing all of the work, compiled to WebAssembly and running in your tab. | Everywhere; you meet it by name in error messages. | Binder Error: Referenced column "amount" not found in FROM clause! |
Three that people mix up
A view is a whole separate pipeline; a step is one card inside it. Deleting a step recomputes the rest of the view. Deleting a view removes every card in it, and the grid state with them.
Ask and Describe a transformation both take a sentence. Ask answers a question and touches nothing; it needs no key and refuses anything it cannot compile. Describe a transformation adds a step to the pipeline, sends your column names, types and counts to the provider you chose (example values only if you opt in under Settings), and shows you the SQL before you apply it.
Convert Type and Apply results into meet in one place: converting into an existing column keeps that column's type, so a value that cannot convert lands as empty. Converting into a new column takes the type you asked for.
Open ecommerce.csv and find each of these in the app →