Your First Query
You've connected a datasource and have some metrics. Here's how to start getting answers.
Using the Dashboard (recommended)
The easiest way to query is through the Dashboard chat.
Step 1: Open the Dashboard
Click Dashboard in the left sidebar. If you have metrics defined, you'll see smart cards showing key numbers. If not, you'll see an empty state with a chat input.
Step 2: Ask a question
Type a question in the chat bar at the bottom. Examples:
| What you want | What to type |
|---|---|
| A single number | "What is our total revenue?" |
| A trend over time | "How has revenue changed month over month?" |
| A breakdown | "Show me revenue by country" |
| A ranked list | "What are our top 10 products by revenue?" |
| Data quality check | "Is our data reliable right now?" |
Step 3: Read the response
The agent responds with:
- Narrative (left pane) — written insights with bold key numbers
- Visualizations (right pane) — metric cards, charts, and tables
The right pane auto-opens when the response includes visual data. You can drag the divider to resize.
Step 4: Follow up
The chat keeps context. After seeing revenue by country, you can ask:
- "Why is Germany so low?"
- "What would happen without France?"
- "How does this compare to last quarter?"
Using the Metrics page
For quick one-off queries without the AI:
- Go to Metrics
- Find the metric you want
- Click Test Query → on its card
- See the raw result immediately
Using time periods
You can ask about specific time periods naturally:
| You say | The agent uses |
|---|---|
| "Revenue last month" | Previous calendar month |
| "Orders this quarter" | Quarter-to-date |
| "Trends over the last 90 days" | last_90d lookback |
| "Compare this year to last year" | YTD vs. previous year |
OnlyMetrix supports fiscal calendars — if your fiscal year starts in April, "this year" means April 1 onward. See Date Periods for the full list.
Understanding visualizations
The agent picks the chart type automatically based on your question:
| Data shape | Visualization |
|---|---|
| Single number (e.g., total revenue) | Metric card with big number and accent bar |
| Time series (e.g., monthly revenue) | Area/line chart |
| Categorical breakdown (e.g., by country) | Horizontal rank bars |
| Multi-column data | Formatted table |
What if something looks wrong?
The agent checks data reliability before every query. If there's an issue, you'll see a warning like:
"Note: revenue data may be incomplete — the invoices table hasn't refreshed in 6 hours (SLA: 2 hours)."
This means the data exists but might not be up-to-date. If the data is critically broken, the query is blocked entirely and the agent explains why.
Next steps
- Dashboard & Chat — full guide to the chat interface
- Metrics — managing your metric catalog
- Date Periods — all time period keywords and fiscal calendar setup