Notebooks¶

Notebooks are the primary screen type in the analytics web app. A notebook is an ordered list of cells that execute top-to-bottom, combining SQL queries, visualizations, markdown documentation, and user-controlled variables into a single interactive document.

Notebooks can replicate everything the built-in screen types (process list, metrics, log, table) can do, with greater flexibility and composability. Each cell's query results are automatically registered in a local WebAssembly query engine, so downstream cells can query upstream results without additional server round-trips.

Notebook with charts, logs, and variable cells

Layout¶

A notebook has two panels:

Cell list (left) — the ordered sequence of cells. Each cell has a header showing its name, type, status, and execution stats.
Editor panel (right) — configuration for the currently selected cell. Click a cell header to select it and open its editor. A draggable resize handle separates the two panels.

Editor panel open showing cell configuration

Creating a Notebook¶

Go to Screens in the sidebar.
Click + and select Notebook.
The notebook opens with an empty cell list. Use the Add Cell button to add your first cell.

Working with Cells¶

Adding Cells¶

Click the Add Cell button below the cell list to add a new cell. Choose from the 11 available cell types.

Selecting and Editing¶

Click a cell's header to select it. The editor panel on the right shows the cell's configuration — SQL query, markdown content, variable settings, or other type-specific options.

Removing and Duplicating¶

Use the cell's context menu (three-dot button) to duplicate or delete a cell.

Downloading Data as CSV¶

Data cells (table, chart, log, etc.) with results show a Download CSV option in the context menu. Clicking it converts the cell's Arrow Table result to CSV format and triggers a browser download named cellName.csv. This also works for cells inside horizontal groups. The option is hidden for cells with no data (e.g., markdown cells or cells that haven't been executed).

Reordering (Drag and Drop)¶

Drag a cell by its handle to reorder it vertically within the notebook. The execution order follows the visual order top-to-bottom.

Collapsing¶

Click the collapse toggle on a cell header to hide its content area, keeping just the header visible. Useful for focusing on specific cells in long notebooks.

Horizontal Groups¶

A Horizontal Group (HG) cell arranges its children side by side. This is useful for placing related charts or tables next to each other.

Drag a cell into an HG to add it as a child.
Drag a child out (vertically) to extract it back to the main cell list.
Reorder children by dragging horizontally within the group.
HG cells cannot be nested — you cannot place an HG inside another HG.

During execution, HG children are flattened into the main sequence and execute in left-to-right order. Variables defined inside an HG are visible to cells below the group.

Saving¶

Click Save (or use the keyboard shortcut) to persist the notebook configuration to the server. The notebook's name, cell definitions, and default variable values are all saved.

Variable values and time range are encoded in the URL as delta parameters — only values that differ from the saved defaults appear in the URL. This keeps URLs clean while allowing precise state sharing:

/screen/my-notebook?from=now-1h&metric=cpu_usage

Sharing this URL gives the recipient the same view. After saving, URL parameters that match the new saved defaults are automatically removed.

Source View¶

Click View Source to switch to a JSON editor showing the raw notebook configuration. This is useful for:

Bulk editing cell properties
Copy/pasting cell configurations between notebooks
Debugging unexpected behavior

Config Diff¶

When you have unsaved changes, the Config Diff modal shows a side-by-side comparison of the saved configuration versus the current state, making it easy to review changes before saving.