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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://archie.com/docs/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

A View is a virtual table whose contents are defined by a saved SQL SELECT query. Views don’t store data themselves — every time you query a view, the underlying SQL runs and returns a fresh result set built from the real tables. In the auto-generated GraphQL API, a view appears as a regular table. Clients query it the same way they query any other table.

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When to use a View

Use caseWhy a View fits
Pre-joined dataCombine students, courses, and grades into one query so the frontend doesn’t have to.
Computed columnsConcatenate first_name and last_name into a full_name field without storing it.
Hide sensitive columnsExpose only public fields to a specific API consumer; keep internal IDs and PII in the underlying tables.
Live aggregatesUse COUNT, SUM, or AVG to surface statistics like “monthly sales total” automatically.
Schema stabilityRefactor underlying tables and update the view’s SQL to keep the API output stable for clients.
If you need to run ad-hoc queries that don’t need to be exposed in the API, use the SQL Playground instead.

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Creating a View

1

Open the Data Model sidebar

Find the + Add Table button at the top of the sidebar.
2

Open the dropdown

Click the dropdown arrow next to + Add Table.
3

Choose Add View

Select Add View. The view editor opens with an inline SQL playground.
4

Write the query

Enter a SELECT statement that returns the columns and rows you want to expose.
SELECT first_name, last_name, email
FROM students
WHERE is_active = true;
5

Run the query

Click the Play button (▶) to preview the result set immediately. This catches syntax errors and verifies the shape of the output before saving.
6

Name and describe the view

Enter a unique system identifier (for example active_students). This name is what the GraphQL API exposes. Add a description so your team knows what the view returns.
7

Save

The view appears in the Views section of the sidebar and becomes immediately queryable.
View creation interface View configuration panel View result preview

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Editing a View

To modify an existing view’s query or description:
  1. Open the Views section in the Data Model sidebar.
  2. Hover the view you want to edit and click the pencil icon.
  3. Update the SQL or metadata, run the query to verify, and save.
View schema definition The same context menu has the trash can icon to delete the view permanently.

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How it appears in the API

Each view is exposed in GraphQL as a queryable type with the columns from the SELECT clause. Because views are read-only by nature, the API surfaces queries — but not mutations — for them. See the GraphQL API Explorer to confirm the exact shape generated for your view.

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Permissions

Views obey Role-Based Access. You can grant read access to a view independently of the underlying tables — that’s one reason to use a view to expose a sanitized projection of a sensitive table.

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FAQ

Yes. Views compute their result set from the underlying tables on every query, so they don’t accept inserts or updates through the auto-generated API. Mutate the underlying tables directly.
Define a view whose SELECT includes the calculation — for example, SELECT id, first_name || ' ' || last_name AS full_name FROM users. Clients query the view and get the computed value without it ever being stored.
Stick to tables in your project’s schema. The auto-generated API works against your project’s namespace, and cross-schema joins fall outside the supported surface area.
The view’s query may break. Edit the view to reference the new column name. Test by clicking the play button before saving — the editor will surface SQL errors.
Views are best for SQL-only logic that maps cleanly to a SELECT. For logic that needs procedural code, third-party API calls, or complex authorization, write a custom function instead.