> Documentation index: https://docs.beetl.io/llms.txt

# Query and datasets

> Asking questions of the data once it is in.

Source: https://docs.beetl.io/query/
Last updated: 2026-10-03

Query, in the sidebar, is where you write SQL against your datasets. Every dataset in the tenant is
a table you can name in `FROM`, whatever brought it in: a sync, a webhook, a File Set, a pipeline,
or a registered or external dataset. Beetl runs the SQL on DataFusion with the PostgreSQL dialect,
and a query can read data but never change it.

Each run saves a result with its own URL. You can page through it, chart it, click a cell to see
where a value came from, and download it as CSV. A result keeps at most 1,000 rows and expires
after 7 days, so anything you need for longer, or in full, belongs in a dataset written by a
pipeline. [Query results](https://docs.beetl.io/concepts/query-results) covers the limits, ownership and retention.

## In this section

### Guides

| Page                                              | What it covers                                                  |
| ------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [The SQL editor](https://docs.beetl.io/query/sql-editor)               | Autocomplete, multi-tab, cancellation, and addressable results. |
| [Result charts](https://docs.beetl.io/query/charts)                    | Plotting a result as a bar, line, area, scatter or pie chart.   |
| [Lineage and drill-down](https://docs.beetl.io/query/lineage)          | Following a cell back to the records behind it.                 |
| [The Data Landscape graph](https://docs.beetl.io/query/data-landscape) | Every connection, dataset and pipeline on one map.              |
| [Export](https://docs.beetl.io/query/export)                           | CSV, and only CSV, up to 1,000 rows.                            |

### SQL reference

| Page                                     | What it covers                                                                                              |
| ---------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [DataFusion SQL](https://docs.beetl.io/query/datafusion-sql)  | The SQL Beetl runs: Apache DataFusion 54 with the PostgreSQL dialect, and where it differs from PostgreSQL. |
| [JSON extraction](https://docs.beetl.io/query/json-functions) | Reading fields, nested values and arrays out of JSON text, and turning them into typed columns.             |

## Related

- [Query results](https://docs.beetl.io/concepts/query-results): What a saved result holds, who can open it, and how long it lasts.

- [Pipelines](https://docs.beetl.io/pipelines): Turning a query into a dataset that updates when its sources do.