cube README

The project's README from github.com/cube-js/cube. As one markdown file: README.md.

Cube Core — Open-Source Semantic Layer


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Cube Core is the open-source semantic layer. Define metrics, dimensions, joins, and access rules once in code, then expose them through SQL, REST, and GraphQL APIs to anything downstream — BI tools, custom applications, or AI agents. Cube Core is headless: it doesn't ship a UI, so you can build the analytics experience that fits your product.

Cube Core works with all SQL data sources, including cloud data warehouses like Snowflake, Databricks, and BigQuery; query engines like Presto and Amazon Athena; and application databases like Postgres. It has a built-in relational caching engine to provide sub-second latency and high concurrency for API requests.

Cube Core — semantic layer connecting data sources to embedded analytics, BI tools, and AI agents

Learn more about connecting Cube to data sources and analytics & visualization tools.

Why Cube Core?

Every BI tool relies on a semantic layer as its core engine — the component that defines metrics, dimensions, and business logic and hides the complexity of the underlying data sources. Most semantic layers are proprietary, tightly coupled to a single BI platform, and can't be reused across other tools.

Cube Core is an open, standalone semantic layer that any analytics application or AI agent can consume through standard APIs. Define your metrics once and use them everywhere — internal BI, embedded analytics, AI agents — without re-implementing the model in each place.

Getting Started

You can run Cube Core locally or self-host it with Docker.

Once Docker is installed, in a new folder for your project, run:

docker run -p 4000:4000 \
  -p 15432:15432 \
  -v ${PWD}:/cube/conf \
  -e CUBEJS_DEV_MODE=true \
  cubejs/cube

Then open http://localhost:4000 in your browser to continue setup.

Development mode is an authentication bypass. In the official images — whose entrypoint is the cubejs CLI — CUBEJS_DEV_MODE=true also forces NODE_ENV=development, which switches off JWT verification on the REST (JSON) and GraphQL APIs, so they accept requests with no token at all. Playground and its supporting endpoints are served with no authentication either, so anyone who can reach the instance is handed a ready-to-use API token (and can mint others carrying any security context, signed with your API secret), can read your data model, and can overwrite it and your .env. With no CUBEJS_SQL_PASSWORD set, the SQL API accepts any credentials as well, allowing arbitrary SQL against connected data sources.

This is intentional — development mode is designed to run on a developer's local machine for ease of use and debugging. Never expose it to the internet or use it in production. Using development mode in the Cube cloud platform is highly discouraged, as it bypasses the platform's security model. Cube is also in development mode whenever NODE_ENV is not production, but cubejs server and the official images already set it to production. See CUBEJS_DEV_MODE.

For a step-by-step guide, see the docs.

Cube Core vs. Cube

Cube is our commercial product — an agentic analytics platform built on Cube Core. Same semantic layer underneath, plus the rest of what makes it a full BI platform: Analytics Chat, workbooks and dashboards, embedded analytics surfaces, managed deployment, RBAC, multi-tenancy, and integrations with Tableau, Power BI, Excel, and Google Sheets.

The data model is fully compatible both ways: a model you build in Cube Core runs unchanged in Cube, and vice versa. Cube Core stays open-source and is what we run inside Cube ourselves.

For more on how we think about the split, see The Future of Cube Core and Cube.

For a tour of what's in Cube today, watch the workshop:

Cube agentic analytics workshop on YouTube

Or try Cube for free.

Resources

Contributing

There are many ways you can contribute to Cube Core! Here are a few possibilities:

All sorts of contributions are welcome and extremely helpful 🙌 Please refer to the contribution guide for more information.

License

Cube Client is MIT licensed.

Cube Backend is Apache 2.0 licensed.

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cube (cube-js/cube)

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21K ·GitHub
Cube
What is this?An open-source semantic layer: define metrics, dimensions, joins and access rules once in code, and it serves them through SQL, REST and GraphQL APIs to BI tools, custom apps and AI agents.
Is it a library I add to my code, or a server I run?It's a standalone server you run next to your data, not a library. It's headless — no UI ships with it; you build your own analytics experience on top of its APIs.
How do I get it running?Install Docker, then in a new folder for your project run the Cube Core Docker command from the README and open the local URL in your browser to continue setup.
Which data sources can it sit on top of?Any SQL data source: cloud warehouses like Snowflake, Databricks and BigQuery, query engines like Presto and Amazon Athena, and application databases like Postgres.
Is it safe to put straight onto a public server?Not in development mode — it's an authentication bypass: JWT checks are switched off, the Playground is open, and without a SQL password the SQL API accepts any credentials. Local development only; never expose it to the internet.
Should I use Cube Core or the commercial Cube?Core if you want to own the stack — a custom BI experience, deeply integrated embedded analytics, or AI agents on a governed foundation. Cube if you want a managed, full-featured BI platform out of the box.
Is the whole thing open source?Yes, under a split license: Cube Client is MIT and Cube Backend is Apache 2.0 — both permissive, free to use commercially.
How does it cope with lots of concurrent queries?It has a built-in relational caching engine designed to deliver sub-second latency and high concurrency for API requests.
I'm building AI agents on top of a warehouse — is this useful for me?Yes, that's a first-class use case: agents consume the same governed metrics through the standard SQL, REST and GraphQL APIs, so metric logic isn't re-implemented in every agent or tool.
If I later move to the paid Cube, is my work portable?Fully: the data model is compatible both ways, so a model you build in Cube Core runs unchanged in Cube, and vice versa.
What are similar projects?redash, WrenAI, doris, metabase, dataease, superset, airbyte, starrocks
Which topics is it in?bi, databricks, snowflake, bigquery, data-warehouse, business-intelligence, headless, big-data, graphql, caching, analytics, mysql
Creator
cube-js
Size
510.6 MB
Stars
21K
Updated
CommitOct 16Releasev1.8.8Oct 16
Age
8y
Commits · 90 Days