Getting started

You can go from an empty workspace to a live dashboard in a few steps. This page is the shortest path. Use the index on the left when you need the details behind a step.

1. Create your workspace

Sign in at app.customerdashboard.io/login. New accounts finish a short onboarding flow: your name, then a workspace. A workspace holds data sources, dashboards, and members.

2. Connect a data source

Open Data sources and add a connection. CustomerDashboard runs your widget queries against this connection. Typical first connections:

  • PostgreSQL or MySQL for an application database
  • BigQuery, Snowflake, or Redshift for a warehouse
  • Google Sheets for a spreadsheet that already has the numbers

See Data sources for the fields each connector needs. If the database is behind a firewall, allow 63.183.37.130 through so CustomerDashboard can connect. The password or service-account key is stored with the connection and is never shown to dashboard viewers.

3. Create a dashboard

Open Dashboards and create one. Choose the type carefully — you cannot treat them as the same thing later:

Type Who sees it Data isolation
Internal Workspace members, or anyone you publish to Every viewer sees the same data from the same query
Customer (multi-customer) Each customer signs in with their own user Queries should filter with :customer_id

If you are building a client portal, pick Customer. Read Multi-customer dashboards before you write the first query.

4. Add a view and a widget

A dashboard can have several views (tabs). Each view is a grid of widgets.

  1. Open the dashboard editor.
  2. Drag a widget type from the palette, or click to add one.
  3. Pick the data source.
  4. Write a query and run it so columns appear.
  5. Map those columns on the visualization step.
  6. Size the widget on the layout step and save.

5. Preview as a customer (customer dashboards only)

On a multi-customer dashboard the editor asks for a test customer ID so :customer_id has a value while you build. Add real customers and logins when you are ready to share.

6. Publish

Internal dashboards have three visibility options: private, password-protected, or public. Customer dashboards are always login-gated. Copy the share URL from dashboard settings.

Suggested first widget

A number or table is the fastest way to confirm the connection. Then move to a bar chart or line chart once the query shape is right.

If an AI assistant should do this work for you, connect the MCP server.