---
title: Views
description: Views are curated datasets that sit on top of cubes and create a user-friendly facade of your data model for downstream consumers, AI agents, and embedded analytics.
---

Views sit on top of the data graph of [cubes][ref-cubes] and create a facade
of your whole data model with which data consumers can interact. They bring
together relevant measures, dimensions, and join paths into a logical
structure that matches how business users think about their data.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://lgo0ecceic.ucarecd.net/cdfe8858-f01d-4c25-af32-26502db62f1c/" />
</Frame>

<Note>

See the [view reference][ref-view-reference] for the full list of
parameters and configuration options.

</Note>

## Why views matter

Views are the primary interface between your data model and your users.
While cubes model the raw relationships and logic in your warehouse, views
reshape that model into business-friendly datasets for easier exploration.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Self-service analytics">
    Views shield end-users from complex database schemas, table
    relationships, and raw SQL. Business users can pick fields from
    a curated dataset in [Explore][ref-explore] or
    [Workbooks][ref-workbooks] without needing to understand the joins
    or cube structure underneath.

    For example, an analyst could pick `product`, `total_amount`, and
    `users_city` from an `orders` view without thinking about the underlying
    join path from `base_orders` through `line_items` to `products`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="AI reliability">
    [AI agents][ref-ai-context] query your data model through views.
    By curating which members are included and providing descriptive
    metadata via `description` and `meta.ai_context`, you control the
    context AI uses to generate accurate queries. Well-designed views
    with clear naming and descriptions lead to significantly better
    AI results.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Governance and access control">
    Views give you fine-grained control over what users can see.
    Each view can be scoped with [access policies][ref-access-policies]
    to enforce row-level and member-level security. You can also set
    `public: false` to hide internal views or use
    [COMPILE_CONTEXT][ref-compile-context] for dynamic visibility
    based on the security context.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Join path clarity">
    In complex data models, the same pair of cubes might be reachable
    through multiple join paths. Views eliminate this ambiguity by
    specifying the exact `join_path` for each included cube, ensuring
    queries always follow the intended path.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Embedded analytics">
    Views are a natural fit for [embedded analytics][ref-embedding].
    Different customer tiers can get access to different views,
    allowing you to tailor the analytics experience to your
    monetization strategy without duplicating cubes.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## How views work

Views do **not** define their own members. Instead, they reference cubes by
specific join paths and selectively include measures, dimensions, hierarchies,
and segments from those cubes.

<CodeGroup>

```yaml title="YAML"
views:
  - name: orders

    cubes:
      - join_path: base_orders
        includes:
          - status
          - created_date
          - total_amount
          - count
          - average_order_value

      - join_path: base_orders.line_items.products
        includes:
          - name: name
            alias: product

      - join_path: base_orders.users
        prefix: true
        includes: "*"
        excludes:
          - company
```

```javascript title="JavaScript"
view(`orders`, {
  cubes: [
    {
      join_path: base_orders,
      includes: [
        `status`,
        `created_date`,
        `total_amount`,
        `count`,
        `average_order_value`
      ]
    },
    {
      join_path: base_orders.line_items.products,
      includes: [
        {
          name: `name`,
          alias: `product`
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      join_path: base_orders.users,
      prefix: true,
      includes: `*`,
      excludes: [`company`]
    }
  ]
})
```

</CodeGroup>

In this example, the `orders` view pulls in members from three cubes
along their join paths. End-users see a flat list of fields — `status`,
`created_date`, `product`, `users_city`, etc. — without being exposed to
the underlying cube structure.

## Designing effective views

### Build for your audience

Design views around how your business users think about data, not around
how your database is structured. Group related fields into views that align
with departments or use cases — for example, `sales_overview`,
`customer_360`, or `product_analytics`.

<Tip>

A single cube can be included in multiple views. For example, a `users`
cube might appear in both a `customer_360` view and a `sales_overview`
view, with different fields exposed in each.

</Tip>

### Favor focused views

Smaller, focused views are easier to navigate and lead to better AI
results. Rather than one massive view with hundreds of fields, create
several purpose-built views:

- Views are easier for business users to understand when they're
  scoped to a specific domain
- AI agents perform better with focused context
- Simpler views translate to simpler SQL queries with fewer joins

### Curate with metadata

Help your users understand what a view is for and how to use it:

- Set a clear [`description`][ref-view-description] to explain the
  view's purpose
- Use [`title`][ref-view-title] for user-friendly display names
- Add [`meta.ai_context`][ref-ai-context] to guide AI agents
- Organize fields into [`folders`][ref-view-folders] for logical
  grouping

<CodeGroup>

```yaml title="YAML"
views:
  - name: sales_overview
    description: >
      Revenue and order metrics for the sales team.
      Includes order status, product details, and customer segments.
    meta:
      ai_context: >
        Use this view for questions about sales performance,
        revenue trends, and order analysis. The total_revenue
        measure includes only completed orders.

    cubes:
      - join_path: orders
        includes:
          - status
          - total_revenue
          - count
          - created_date

      - join_path: orders.customers
        prefix: true
        includes:
          - segment
          - region

    folders:
      - name: Order Metrics
        includes:
          - total_revenue
          - count
          - status

      - name: Customer Info
        includes:
          - customers_segment
          - customers_region
```

```javascript title="JavaScript"
view(`sales_overview`, {
  description: `Revenue and order metrics for the sales team.
    Includes order status, product details, and customer segments.`,
  meta: {
    ai_context: `Use this view for questions about sales performance,
      revenue trends, and order analysis. The total_revenue
      measure includes only completed orders.`
  },

  cubes: [
    {
      join_path: orders,
      includes: [
        `status`,
        `total_revenue`,
        `count`,
        `created_date`
      ]
    },
    {
      join_path: orders.customers,
      prefix: true,
      includes: [
        `segment`,
        `region`
      ]
    }
  ],

  folders: [
    {
      name: `Order Metrics`,
      includes: [
        `total_revenue`,
        `count`,
        `status`
      ]
    },
    {
      name: `Customer Info`,
      includes: [
        `customers_segment`,
        `customers_region`
      ]
    }
  ]
})
```

</CodeGroup>

### Keep shared logic in cubes

Views are a curation layer. All business logic — SQL definitions, measure
calculations, join relationships — should live in cubes. Views should only
control which members are exposed, how they're named, and how they're
organized. This keeps your model [DRY][wiki-dry] and makes maintenance
straightforward.

### Define a metric on a view when it spans cubes

The exception is a metric whose parts live in different cubes. A view can define
its own [measures][ref-view-measures] and [dimensions][ref-view-dimensions] as
long as their `sql` only combines members the view already includes — a member
that reads a column instead is rejected at compile time:

<CodeGroup>

```yaml title="YAML"
views:
  - name: orders_overview
    # cubes: … includes orders.total_amount and line_items.count

    measures:
      - name: average_line_value
        type: number
        multi_stage: true
        sql: "{CUBE.total_amount} / NULLIF({CUBE.count}, 0)"
```

```javascript title="JavaScript"
view(`orders_overview`, {
  // cubes: … includes orders.total_amount and line_items.count

  measures: {
    average_line_value: {
      type: `number`,
      multi_stage: true,
      sql: `${CUBE.total_amount} / NULLIF(${CUBE.count}, 0)`
    }
  }
})
```

</CodeGroup>

[`multi_stage`][ref-multi-stage] matters whenever the parts come from different
cubes: it aggregates each of them before combining, instead of evaluating the
expression inside one joined scan where a `one_to_many` join between them would
inflate the numerator. If the cubes don't join to each other at all, see
[multi-fact views][ref-multi-fact-views]. The full example, with the `cubes`
block, is on the [view reference][ref-view-measures].

A cube can also own such a metric, by referencing the other cube's member
directly — that keeps it defined once for every view that includes it, at the
cost of one cube naming another. The [average order value
recipe][ref-recipe-aov] compares the two placements.

### Control visibility

Not every view should be publicly accessible. Use [`public`][ref-view-public]
to hide views that are meant for internal use or are still in development:

<CodeGroup>

```yaml title="YAML"
views:
  - name: internal_diagnostics
    public: false

    cubes:
      - join_path: system_metrics
        includes: "*"
```

```javascript title="JavaScript"
view(`internal_diagnostics`, {
  public: false,

  cubes: [
    {
      join_path: system_metrics,
      includes: `*`
    }
  ]
})
```

</CodeGroup>

For dynamic visibility based on user roles, use `COMPILE_CONTEXT`:

<CodeGroup>

```yaml title="YAML"
views:
  - name: arr
    description: Annual Recurring Revenue
    public: COMPILE_CONTEXT.security_context.is_finance

    cubes:
      - join_path: revenue
        includes:
          - arr
          - date
```

```javascript title="JavaScript"
view(`arr`, {
  description: `Annual Recurring Revenue`,
  public: COMPILE_CONTEXT.security_context.is_finance,

  cubes: [
    {
      join_path: revenue,
      includes: [`arr`, `date`]
    }
  ]
})
```

</CodeGroup>

## Organizing members with folders

When a view includes many fields, [folders][ref-view-folders] help organize
them into logical groups. Cube supports both flat and nested folder
structures:

<CodeGroup>

```yaml title="YAML"
views:
  - name: customers

    cubes:
      - join_path: users
        includes: "*"

      - join_path: users.orders
        prefix: true
        includes:
          - status
          - price
          - count

    folders:
      - name: Personal Details
        includes:
          - name
          - gender
          - created_at

      - name: Order Analytics
        includes:
          - orders_status
          - orders_price
          - orders_count
```

```javascript title="JavaScript"
view(`customers`, {
  cubes: [
    {
      join_path: `users`,
      includes: `*`
    },
    {
      join_path: `users.orders`,
      prefix: true,
      includes: [`status`, `price`, `count`]
    }
  ],

  folders: [
    {
      name: `Personal Details`,
      includes: [`name`, `gender`, `created_at`]
    },
    {
      name: `Order Analytics`,
      includes: [
        `orders_status`,
        `orders_price`,
        `orders_count`
      ]
    }
  ]
})
```

</CodeGroup>

Folders are displayed in supported [visualization tools][ref-viz-tools].
Check [APIs & Integrations][ref-apis-support] for details on folder
support. For tools that don't support nested folders, the structure is
automatically flattened.

## Grouping views with view groups

When a data model contains many views, [view groups][ref-view-groups] help
organize them into named collections by domain or purpose — for example,
`sales`, `finance`, or `people`. They're exposed through the
[`/v1/meta`][ref-meta-endpoint] API so downstream tools, AI agents, and
embedded analytics can present a navigable catalog.

See [View groups][ref-view-groups] for the full guide and the
[view group reference][ref-view-group-ref] for the complete list of
parameters.

## Next steps

- See the [view reference][ref-view-reference] for the full list of
  parameters
- Learn about [view groups][ref-view-groups] to organize views into
  named collections
- Learn about [access policies][ref-access-policies] to govern view access
- Explore [AI context][ref-ai-context] to improve AI query accuracy
- Use the [Semantic Model IDE][ref-ide] to develop views interactively

[ref-cubes]: /docs/data-modeling/cubes
[ref-view-reference]: /reference/data-modeling/view
[ref-view-description]: /reference/data-modeling/view#description
[ref-view-title]: /reference/data-modeling/view#title
[ref-view-public]: /reference/data-modeling/view#public
[ref-view-measures]: /reference/data-modeling/view#measures
[ref-view-dimensions]: /reference/data-modeling/view#dimensions
[ref-multi-stage]: /reference/data-modeling/measures#multi_stage
[ref-multi-fact-views]: /docs/data-modeling/multi-fact-views
[ref-recipe-aov]: /recipes/data-modeling/average-order-value#where-to-put-the-measure
[ref-view-folders]: /reference/data-modeling/view#folders
[ref-access-policies]: /reference/data-modeling/data-access-policies
[ref-ai-context]: /docs/data-modeling/ai-context
[ref-compile-context]: /docs/data-modeling/access-control/context
[ref-explore]: /docs/explore-analyze/explore
[ref-workbooks]: /docs/explore-analyze/workbooks
[ref-embedding]: /embedding
[ref-ide]: /docs/data-modeling/data-model-ide
[ref-viz-tools]: /admin/connect-to-data/visualization-tools
[ref-apis-support]: /reference#data-modeling
[ref-view-groups]: /docs/data-modeling/view-groups
[ref-view-group-ref]: /reference/data-modeling/view-group
[ref-meta-endpoint]: /reference/core-data-apis/rest-api/reference
[wiki-dry]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_repeat_yourself
