Graphene is an everything-as-code data analytics framework built to let coding agents perform SQL-based exploration, visualization, and reporting. It provides a semantic layer called Graphene SQL that combines full SQL capability (CTEs, subqueries, window functions, set operators, and 170+ functions) with modeled metrics and joins so agents can generate accurate, governed queries without learning bespoke APIs. Projects are organized as .gsql semantic models and .md “pages” for dashboards; a CLI (installable via npm/pnpm/yarn) compiles queries, renders pages, runs syntax checks, and serves a dev UI. Pages support rich visuals, inputs, HTML/CSS/JS/ECharts, and two layout modes for monitoring versus narrative use. Supported backends include Snowflake, BigQuery, ClickHouse, Postgres, MotherDuck, and local DuckDB.
Design goals prioritize token efficiency, agent ergonomics, and high ceilings so agents can iterate quickly and produce consistent, polished outputs. Everything-as-code enables version control, CI, deterministic metric definitions, and safer bulk refactors compared with ad hoc notebooks or React dashboards. Licensing permits free internal use under the Elastic License 2.0; a hosted Graphene Cloud and managed services (MCP server, Slack bot) are offered for turnkey deployments. The stack targets teams that want agent-driven analytics, reproducible metrics, and freedom from proprietary dashboard lock-in.
Summary generated by AI from the linked article. hn.today is not affiliated with Hacker News or Y Combinator.