Lightdash

Lightdash is an open-source business intelligence platform that transforms dbt models into interactive dashboards. It functions as a business intelligence platform that allows organizations to define metrics and dimensions within their data transformation layer rather than inside the visualization tool. This approach ensures that business logic is centralized and consistent across all reports.

The software is deployed as a server and accessed via a web application. It can be self-hosted using Kubernetes via community Helm charts, run locally through an installation script, or deployed via a cloud service. Users connect their dbt projects to the platform to create a semantic layer, which enables non-technical users to answer their own data questions without writing SQL.

Key features

• Definition of dimensions and metrics in YAML files within dbt projects
• Automatic creation of dimensions from existing dbt models
• Synchronization of dbt descriptions and metadata for end users
• Data drill-down capabilities to access underlying records of charts
• On the fly table calculations for data exploration
• Lineage tracking to view upstream and downstream model dependencies
• Version history for charts with the ability to roll back changes
• Scheduled report delivery via Slack or Email

Lightdash is specifically designed for data teams who use dbt to manage their data transformation and business logic. By integrating directly with dbt, the platform ensures that metrics remain consistent across the organization, which reduces discrepancies in data reporting and increases trust in the output. The platform provides a developer experience that includes preview BI environments and automated content validation through CI/CD pipelines to maintain data quality.

Users can build a library of metrics and dimensions that serve as building blocks for the rest of the company. This allows business users to combine, segment, and filter data independently while the data team maintains control over the underlying definitions. The architecture focuses on keeping the logic in the code rather than in the UI.

It is a configurable BI tool for teams seeking to maintain a single source of truth for their business logic.