Data apps

Build interactive, data-powered apps in Lightdash with the help of an AI agent.

Data apps let you describe what you want in natural language and have an AI agent build a custom, interactive experience on top of your Lightdash data. Apps are generated by Claude in a secure sandbox and rendered inside Lightdash in an iframe, so you get a fully custom UI without leaving your analytics tool.

Behind the scenes, every query the app runs is executed by Lightdash using the viewer’s permissions. That means data access is always governed by your existing semantic layer, spaces, and user attributes—no matter who is using the app.

What you can do with data apps

• Build internal tools, calculators, and bespoke dashboards tailored to a specific workflow.
• Combine charts, tables, and custom UI (forms, filters, controls) that wouldn’t fit a standard dashboard.
• Share apps with the rest of your organization through Lightdash spaces.
• Inspect every query the app runs to understand exactly what data is being fetched.

How data apps work

1. You describe the app you want and (optionally) attach context like saved queries, dashboards, and reference images.
2. An AI agent builds the app inside a sandboxed environment.
3. The app is embedded in Lightdash as an iframe and runs against your project.
4. When the app needs data, it asks Lightdash to execute a query. Lightdash runs the query using the current user’s permissions and returns the results to the app.
5. You can share the app by moving it into a space, where it behaves like any other piece of content in that space.

In this section

Creating a new app

Start a new app, choose a template, and add data context.

Sharing an app

Move your app into a space so others in your organization can use it.

Best practices

Tips to get higher-quality apps with fewer iterations.

Data context and the app model

Understand how the agent reasons about your data and runs queries.