Quick start
Go from an empty workspace to your first live Reveal in three steps — connect, model, explore.
When to use it — your very first session in a new workspace, or any time you need a refresher on the connect → model → explore arc.
Where to find it — everything below lives on the bottom floating navigation bar (the PillNav): Lumen for connections, Loom → Forge for modelling, and Discover for exploring.
Who can use it — connecting a warehouse is Luminary only; building nodes in Forge is Weaver or Luminary; running Reveals in Discover is open to all roles (Lens, Tracer, Weaver, Luminary).
This guide walks you through the three things every workspace needs before anyone can ask a question: a connected warehouse, at least one modelled node, and a saved Reveal. If your workspace is already set up and you just want to query, jump straight to Run your first Reveal and pick a node that already exists.
Overview
Celiq turns raw warehouse tables into a governed semantic layer your whole team can query in plain language or by clicking. Getting there is three moves:
- Connect your data warehouse through the Connection Wizard, an Orion-guided flow that generates a read-only setup script for you to run.
- Model a table as a node in Forge — you can write CML by hand, or let Orion generate the node from your schema.
- Explore by running a Reveal in Discover — pick fields, run the query with
Cmd/Ctrl + Enter, switch to a chart, and save it.
Navigation in Celiq lives on the PillNav, the floating pill-shaped bar pinned to the bottom-centre of the screen. It auto-hides as you scroll down and reappears when you scroll up. Which pills you see depends on your role.
When to use it
- You just created a workspace and there is nothing to query yet.
- You are a Luminary onboarding a new data source.
- You are a Weaver who needs to expose a new table to the team.
- You are a Tracer learning where things live before running your first query.
If your workspace already has connections and nodes, you do not need to repeat the connect and model steps — go straight to Discover.
Concepts
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Connection | A read-only link to a data warehouse (Snowflake, BigQuery, PostgreSQL, Redshift, or MySQL). Created with the Connection Wizard. Managed under Lumen → Connections. |
| Node | Celiq's semantic representation of a warehouse table. A node defines the dimensions and metrics that map to that table's columns. Built in Forge. |
| Domain | A grouping of related nodes (with their joins) that backs the Reveals your team queries. |
| Reveal | A live query session in Discover — a selection of dimensions and metrics, optional filters, and a visualization. |
| Prism | A saved Reveal. Reusable, shareable, and pinnable to a Mosaic. (Prisms were formerly called "Scenes.") |
| Vault | The space a Prism is saved into. Your personal Vault is the default home for things you create. |
| Orion | Celiq's AI layer. It guides the Connection Wizard, generates nodes from your schema, and answers questions about the semantic model. |
Getting started
You need an account in a Celiq workspace. The role you need depends on which step you are doing:
| Step | Minimum role | Where it lives in the PillNav |
|---|---|---|
| Connect a warehouse | Luminary | Lumen → Connections (/lumen/connections) |
| Build a node | Weaver | Loom → Forge (/forge) |
| Run a Reveal | Lens (any role) | Discover (/discover) |
If you are a Tracer or Lens joining a workspace that already has nodes built, you can skip the first two steps — a Luminary or Weaver has already done them for you.
Step-by-step
Open the Connection Wizard
On the PillNav, open the Lumen pill (visible to Luminaries) and go to Connections, then start a new connection to launch the Connection Wizard. Orion introduces itself and asks you to choose your warehouse type: BigQuery, Snowflake, PostgreSQL, Redshift, or MySQL.
For the full walkthrough, see Connection Wizard.
Answer Orion's questions and run the setup script
After you pick a warehouse, Orion asks a short series of questions (host, database, and the like). When it has enough, it generates a read-only setup script for you to run against your warehouse. Run the script, copy its output, and paste it back into the wizard. Orion extracts the credentials automatically — you never type secrets into a form.
Test the connection
The wizard tests the connection live. On success you see "You're connected!"; if it fails, fix the credentials and choose Try Again. Click Continue to Setup to hand off to Auto-Provisioning, where Celiq inspects your schema and proposes starter nodes — the fastest way to get something queryable. See Auto-Provisioning.
Open Forge to model a node
On the PillNav, open the Loom pill (visible to Weavers and Luminaries) and choose Forge. Forge is where you build the semantic layer. If Auto-Provisioning already created nodes for you, you will see them here; otherwise you will create one in the next step.
Generate a node with Orion
In the Forge editor, click Generate with Orion ✦. Tell Orion which table to model and which columns to include. Orion reads your schema, infers field types, writes sensible labels, and produces a draft node in CML. Review the generated dimensions and metrics, edit any labels or descriptions, and run Validate to check for errors.
Save your changes through the Check & Save gate
When the node is right, save it. Forge runs a Check & Save gate that validates your work before it is committed — if anything is off, it tells you what to fix first. Once saved, the node is available to query in Discover. See Forge for the full Build / Browse / Validate / Evals workflow.
Open Discover and pick a node
On the PillNav, click Discover (available to every role). Choose the domain and Reveal — or the node you just created — from the field picker on the left. You will see dimensions and metrics you can add to the canvas.
Build and run your first Reveal
Add at least one dimension (for example, Status) and one metric (for example, Total Revenue) from the field picker. Then run the query by pressing Cmd/Ctrl + Enter (or clicking Run). Results appear in the table below the canvas.
Visualize and save it as a Prism
Switch to a chart — a bar chart is a good first pick — and Celiq maps your dimension and metric to the axes automatically. When you are happy, save the Reveal (press Cmd/Ctrl + S), name it, choose a Vault (your personal Vault is fine), and save. It is now a reusable Prism you can share or pin to a Mosaic.
Examples
A minimal node Orion might generate for an orders table looks like this. You can review and edit it in Forge before saving:
<span class="c-key">node</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">orders</span>
<span class="c-attr">label</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">Orders</span>
<span class="c-attr">sql_table</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">analytics.orders</span>
<span class="c-key">dimension</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">order_id</span>
<span class="c-attr">type</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">string</span>
<span class="c-attr">label</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">Order</span> <span class="c-name">ID</span>
<span class="c-attr">sql</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> %%CODEBLOCK0%%lt;span class="c-punc">{</span><span class="c-name">TABLE</span><span class="c-punc">}</span>.<span class="c-name">order_id</span>
<span class="c-attr">primary_key</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-bool">true</span>
<span class="c-key">dimension</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">status</span>
<span class="c-attr">type</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">string</span>
<span class="c-attr">label</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">Status</span>
<span class="c-attr">sql</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> %%CODEBLOCK0%%lt;span class="c-punc">{</span><span class="c-name">TABLE</span><span class="c-punc">}</span>.<span class="c-name">status</span>
<span class="c-key">dimension</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">created_at</span>
<span class="c-attr">type</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">date</span>
<span class="c-attr">label</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">Created</span> <span class="c-name">At</span>
<span class="c-attr">sql</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> %%CODEBLOCK0%%lt;span class="c-punc">{</span><span class="c-name">TABLE</span><span class="c-punc">}</span>.<span class="c-name">created_at</span>
<span class="c-key">metric</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">total_revenue</span>
<span class="c-attr">type</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">sum</span>
<span class="c-attr">label</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">Total</span> <span class="c-name">Revenue</span>
<span class="c-attr">sql</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> %%CODEBLOCK0%%lt;span class="c-punc">{</span><span class="c-name">TABLE</span><span class="c-punc">}</span>.<span class="c-name">revenue</span>
<span class="c-attr">format</span><span class="c-punc">:</span> <span class="c-name">currency</span>
With that node saved, your first Reveal in Discover is as simple as: add the Status dimension, add the Total Revenue metric, press Cmd/Ctrl + Enter, switch to a bar chart, and save it as a Prism named "Revenue by status."
Best practices
- Let Orion do the first draft. Generating a node from your schema is far faster than writing CML by hand, especially for wide tables — Orion adds labels and types automatically. Refine afterward.
- Validate before you save. Run Validate in Forge so the Check & Save gate has nothing to block on.
- Start small. One node with a few well-labelled fields is enough to prove the connect → model → explore loop. Expand once the basics work.
- Use your personal Vault first. Save your first Prism into your own Vault while you experiment; promote it to a shared Vault when it is ready for the team.
Tips
In Discover, Cmd/Ctrl + Enter runs the current Reveal and Cmd/Ctrl + S opens the save dialog — you rarely need to reach for the mouse while iterating. For the full list, see Keyboard shortcuts.
Common mistakes
- Looking for connections in the wrong place. Connections live under Lumen, not on the Discover or Forge screens — and only Luminaries can see the Lumen pill.
- Expecting the Loom pill as a Tracer. Forge lives under Loom, which is visible only to Weavers and Luminaries. If you cannot see it, you do not have a builder role.
- Typing credentials into a form. The Connection Wizard never asks you to type secrets — it generates a script, you run it, and you paste the output back. If you are hunting for a password field, you are off the happy path.
- Saving a node before validating. The Check & Save gate will stop a node with errors. Run Validate first so save is clean.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No Lumen pill on the nav | You are not a Luminary | Connecting a warehouse is Luminary-only. Ask a Luminary to add the connection, or have your role upgraded. |
| No Loom pill on the nav | You are a Tracer or Lens | Forge is for Weavers and Luminaries. Ask a builder to model the node you need. |
| Wizard shows a connection-limit message | Your plan's connection limit is reached | The wizard surfaces an upgrade prompt naming your current plan and limit. Remove an unused connection or upgrade the plan. |
| "Connection failed" at the test step | Wrong credentials or the setup script was not run correctly | Choose Try Again, re-run the read-only script, and paste fresh output. Confirm host and database details. |
| Generated node has wrong types or labels | Orion inferred from column names and sample data | Edit the dimensions and metrics in Forge, then run Validate before saving. |
| Save is blocked in Forge | The Check & Save gate found validation errors | Open the gate's message, fix the listed issues, re-validate, then save. |
Cmd/Ctrl + Enter does nothing in Discover | No fields selected, or focus is in a text input | Add at least one dimension and one metric, click on the canvas, then run again. |
Related pages
- Connection Wizard — the full Orion-guided warehouse connection flow.
- Auto-Provisioning — how Celiq inspects your schema and proposes starter nodes.
- Forge — model nodes and domains with the Build / Browse / Validate / Evals modes.
- Discover — the full field-picker, query, and visualization workflow.
- Key concepts — the core building blocks behind nodes, Reveals, and Prisms.
- Keyboard shortcuts — every shortcut, including Discover's run and save keys.