Datasets and refresh
What is a dataset, and when does it refresh?
Elly's dashboards read the Sales source she uploaded last month. Before she shows them to her team she wants to know where the numbers come from and how fresh they are.
Sources and datasets
A source is where data comes from: a file upload, a database sync, a table already in the warehouse, or a modeled dataset built from another one. Each source loads into one or more datasets: tables in your workspace's warehouse, which charts, the SQL Editor and AI read.
To see a source's datasets, open Data and expand the source's row with the arrow.
Each dataset shows its table name, here raw_sales, its rows and columns, and a dot for its
status: green when it is ready to chart. A file upload's table is named raw_ followed by the
source name. Use the table name in the SQL Editor.
| Link | What it opens |
|---|---|
| Metrics | The dataset's metric model: the measures and dimensions charts use (Metric models) |
| Transform | A new modeled dataset built from this one, for a dataset with text columns (Modeled datasets) |
| Edit recipe, Refresh now | On a modeled dataset: change how it is built, or rebuild it now |
When data refreshes
A dataset changes only when its source loads again. How that happens depends on the source:
| Source | Refreshes |
|---|---|
| File upload | When someone uploads a new file into it; there is no schedule |
| Database (n8n) | On its cron schedule, and when someone selects Sync (Connect a source) |
| Existing table | When someone selects Refresh on its row, which re-reads the table's columns and row count |
| Modeled dataset | On the interval in its recipe (every 15 minutes, hour, 6 hours or day), and on Refresh now |
| Airbyte or OpenFN | When that tool runs, or when someone selects Sync under More → Integrations |
A dashboard left open keeps up on its own: each chart asks for its data again every five minutes, so a reload is not needed. A chart whose data has not arrived yet says Waiting for the first data and fills in when it lands; one whose source synced but has no records says No records yet.
The plan also limits how often a schedule may run: daily on the trial and Starter, hourly on Growth, every 15 minutes on Business. When a read-only workspace is waiting for a plan, scheduled syncs pause until one is chosen.
Next
- Upload a file to load or reload a file source
- Metric models to turn a dataset into measures
- Write and save queries to query a dataset in SQL