> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.workshop.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Build Trusted Dashboards

> Connect your databases and build interactive, governed dashboards with natural language. Native dbt integration keeps your metrics trustworthy.

## What you'll build

An interactive, data-connected dashboard — with charts, KPI cards, filters, and drill-downs — deployed as a shareable web app with built-in authentication.

## Before you start

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a Workshop account">
    Sign up at [app.workshop.ai](https://app.workshop.ai). Workshop Cloud is the recommended platform for dashboards.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect your data">
    Dashboards need data. Workshop supports a wide range of data connectors — connect at least one before you start building.

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="Databases">
        Connect directly to your production or analytics database:

        * **PostgreSQL**, **MySQL**, **Microsoft SQL Server**, **MongoDB**
        * **Supabase**, **Neon** (managed Postgres)
        * **TiDB**, **TigerGraph**

        Go to **Hub** → **Connectors**, select your database type, and enter the connection credentials.
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Data warehouses">
        Connect to your warehouse for analytics-scale queries:

        * **BigQuery** (GCP service account)
        * **Snowflake** (account, user, password, optional warehouse/schema)

        These are ideal for large datasets and complex analytical queries.
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Spreadsheets and files">
        For lighter data needs:

        * **Google Sheets** (public or private with service account)
        * **CSV / Excel uploads** — paste data or upload files directly into the conversation

        Great for quick dashboards or when your data isn't in a database yet.
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Step-by-step flow

<Steps>
  <Step title="Connect your data source">
    Open the **Hub** → **Connectors** and set up a connection to your database, warehouse, or spreadsheet. Workshop stores credentials securely and makes the data available to your projects.

    <Tip>
      You can also mention connectors inline: type `@` in the chat and select a connector to reference it directly in your prompt.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Describe the dashboard you want">
    Tell Workshop what metrics and visualizations you need. Reference the connected data source.

    **Example prompts:**

    * *"Build a sales analytics dashboard from my Postgres database showing revenue trends over time, top customers, regional performance on a heatmap, and key KPI cards with quarter-over-quarter comparisons."*
    * *"Create a financial reporting dashboard with P\&L statement, cash flow analysis, budget vs. actuals, and drill-down by department."*
    * *"Build a product analytics dashboard with user cohort retention heatmap, feature adoption funnel, and daily/weekly active users with date range filtering."*
  </Step>

  <Step title="Iterate on the visualizations">
    Refine specific charts, add filters, or change the layout:

    * *"Change the revenue chart to a stacked area chart broken down by product line."*
    * *"Add a date range picker that filters all charts on the page."*
    * *"Replace the table with a bar chart for the regional breakdown."*
    * *"Add a row of KPI cards at the top: total revenue, new customers, average deal size, and churn rate."*
  </Step>

  <Step title="Share the dashboard">
    Click **Publish** and Workshop handles hosting and compute. Anyone you share it with gets a live, interactive view — not a static screenshot. Make it public or limit access to specific people or teams. Built-in authentication controls who can see the data.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Tips and best practices

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Describe the metrics, not the SQL">
    You don't need to know SQL. Say *"Show me monthly recurring revenue by customer segment"* and Workshop will write the queries for you. If you do know SQL, you can paste queries directly for more precise control.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Use dbt for governed metrics">
    If your organization uses dbt, Workshop can read your dbt models, metrics, and documentation natively. This means your dashboards are built on governed, version-controlled metric definitions — not ad-hoc queries that drift over time.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Import a data skill with dbt-skillz">
    For even deeper governance, compile your dbt project into a structured agent skill using [dbt-skillz](https://github.com/atlasfutures/dbt-skillz) — an open-source compiler available on [PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/dbt-skillz/):

    ```bash theme={null}
    pip install dbt-skillz
    dbt-skillz compile --project-dir ./analytics --output ./skills/data
    ```

    Push the compiled skill to a GitHub repo and import it into Workshop. The agent will use your metric definitions, column documentation, and lineage graph to write correct queries from the start. See [Skills](/core-concepts/skills) for import instructions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Start with KPIs, then add detail">
    Begin with the 3-5 key numbers your audience cares about. Once those are right, add supporting charts and drill-downs. This keeps the dashboard focused.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Add interactive filters">
    Ask for date range pickers, dropdown filters, and search bars: *"Add filters for date range, region, and product category that affect all charts."* Interactive dashboards are far more useful than static reports.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Test with real data volumes">
    If your production database has millions of rows, tell Workshop: *"This table has 10M+ rows — make sure the queries are performant and use appropriate aggregations."* Workshop will optimize accordingly.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Trusted dashboards lifecycle

Building the dashboard is step one. Keeping it accurate as your data model evolves is the real challenge. Workshop supports a full trusted dashboards lifecycle — from grounded creation through automated review and maintenance.

<Card title="Learn about the Trusted Dashboards lifecycle" icon="shield-check" href="/solutions/trusted-dashboards">
  Automated review on deploy, downstream impact analysis, and dashboard maintenance when your dbt models change.
</Card>

## Next steps

* [Connectors](/connectors) — Full list of supported data sources and setup guides
* [Publishing](/workshop-cloud/publishing) — Deploy and share your dashboard
* [Sharing and teams](/workshop-cloud/sharing-and-teams) — Control access to your dashboards
* [Working with the Agent](/core-concepts/working-with-the-agent) — Prompting tips and communicating with Workshop
* [Skills](/core-concepts/skills) — Import data skills from GitHub to ground your dashboards
* [Trusted Dashboards](/solutions/trusted-dashboards) — The full lifecycle for keeping dashboards accurate

***

<Card title="Start Building Free" icon="arrow-right" href="https://app.workshop.ai">
  Connect your data and build a dashboard you can trust.
</Card>