Skip to content

Getting Started With Apache Superset

This article aims to demonstrate how to use Apache Superset to build a simple dashboard. Let’s dive in…

Why Apache Superset?#

Apache Superset is open source and completely free as compared to Tableau and Power BI, which is awesome if you are running a startup of smaller scale business.

Once connected to your database, you can start exploring your data in Superset. You can create datasets by selecting your database tables and defining filters and joins.

You can also create charts using a wide variety of visualization types, including bar charts, line charts, scatter plots, and more. Superset also offers many customization options, such as adding filters, legends, and annotations to your visualizations.

Using your datasets and charts, you can build dashboards tailored to your need including adjustable time filters to compare data over time and make the best decisions for your projects.

Quick Demo#

Pre-requisites:#

  • a reliable internet connection
  • an ametnes instance of Apache Superset

Step 1: Adding a dataset#

  • Switch to Datasets view and Click ‘+ DATASET’

Adding a dataset

  • Pick the right ‘DATABASE’, ‘SCHEMA’ and ‘SEE TABLE SCHEMA’ and then click “ADD DATASET AND CREATE CHART”

Adding a dataset

Afterwards, you should be directed to the next step ‘Create a new chart’

Step 2: Create a new chart#

For this example, let’s create a pie chart.

  • Click ‘Pie Chart’ and then ‘CREATE NEW CHART’

Adding a dataset

  • Name this chart, and drag and drop the data columns and then click “click here” on the right to see preview

Adding a dataset

Adding a dataset

If it looks good, let’s save it and we could add to the dashboard for quick access.

SQL Lab#

One of the powerful features of Apache Superset is SQL Lab. This tool allows you to write SQL queries and see the results in a tabular format or as a visualization by using it as a dataset for your charts. This is a bit trickier than the visual editor on Metabase to link multiple tables.

Conclusion#

Apache Superset is a powerful open-source tool for data exploration and visualization. It offers a user-friendly interface, supports many databases, and allows you to create beautiful charts and dashboards. While it may be more difficult to use than other tools like Metabase, it offers more advanced charting capabilities but is only compatible with relational SQL databases. If you are looking for a free and open-source solution for your data analysis needs, then Apache Superset is definitely worth exploring.