---
title: SQL Lab
sidebar_position: 1
---

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# SQL Lab Extension Points

SQL Lab provides 4 extension points where extensions can contribute custom UI components. Each area serves a specific purpose and supports different types of customizations. These areas will evolve over time as new features are added to SQL Lab.

## Layout Overview

```
┌──────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────┬─────────────┐
│          │                                         │             │
│          │                                         │             │
│          │                Editor                   │             │
│          │                                         │             │
│   Left   │                                         │    Right    │
│  Sidebar ├─────────────────────────────────────────┤   Sidebar   │
│          │                                         │             │
│          │                Panels                   │             │
│          │                                         │             │
│          │                                         │             │
│          │                                         │             │
└──────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────┴─────────────┘
```

| Extension Point   | ID                    | Views | Menus | Description                                    |
| ----------------- | --------------------- | ----- | ----- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| **Left Sidebar**  | `sqllab.leftSidebar`  | —     | ✓     | Menu actions for the database explorer         |
| **Editor**        | `sqllab.editor`       | ✓\*   | ✓     | Custom editors + toolbar actions               |
| **Right Sidebar** | `sqllab.rightSidebar` | ✓     | —     | Custom panels (AI assistants, query analysis)  |
| **Panels**        | `sqllab.panels`       | ✓     | ✓     | Custom tabs + toolbar actions (data profiling) |

\*Editor views are contributed via [Editor Contributions](./editors), not standard view contributions.

## Customization Types

### Views

Extensions can add custom views (React components) to **Right Sidebar** and **Panels**. Views appear as new panels or tabs in their respective areas.

### Menus

Extensions can add toolbar actions to **Left Sidebar**, **Editor**, and **Panels**. Menu contributions support:

```
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  [Button] [Button]   [•••]                                    │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                          Area Content                         │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

| Action Type           | Location         | Use Case                                              |
| --------------------- | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| **Primary Actions**   | Toolbar buttons  | Frequently used actions (e.g., run, refresh, add new) |
| **Secondary Actions** | 3-dot menu (•••) | Less common actions (e.g., export, settings)          |

### Custom Editors

Extensions can replace the default SQL editor with custom implementations (Monaco, CodeMirror, etc.). See [Editor Contributions](./editors) for details.

## Examples

### Adding a Panel

This example adds a "Data Profiler" panel to SQL Lab:

```json
{
  "name": "data_profiler",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "frontend": {
    "contributions": {
      "views": {
        "sqllab": {
          "panels": [
            {
              "id": "data_profiler.main",
              "name": "Data Profiler"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

```typescript
import { core } from '@apache-superset/core';
import DataProfilerPanel from './DataProfilerPanel';

export function activate(context) {
  // Register the panel view with the ID declared in extension.json
  const disposable = core.registerView('data_profiler.main', <DataProfilerPanel />);
  context.subscriptions.push(disposable);
}
```

### Adding Actions to the Editor

This example adds primary, secondary, and context actions to the editor:

```json
{
  "name": "query_tools",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "frontend": {
    "contributions": {
      "commands": [
        {
          "command": "query_tools.format",
          "title": "Format Query",
          "icon": "FormatPainterOutlined"
        },
        {
          "command": "query_tools.explain",
          "title": "Explain Query"
        },
        {
          "command": "query_tools.copy_as_cte",
          "title": "Copy as CTE"
        }
      ],
      "menus": {
        "sqllab": {
          "editor": {
            "primary": [
              {
                "view": "builtin.editor",
                "command": "query_tools.format"
              }
            ],
            "secondary": [
              {
                "view": "builtin.editor",
                "command": "query_tools.explain"
              }
            ],
            "context": [
              {
                "view": "builtin.editor",
                "command": "query_tools.copy_as_cte"
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

```typescript
import { commands, sqlLab } from '@apache-superset/core';

export function activate(context) {
  // Register the commands declared in extension.json
  const formatCommand = commands.registerCommand(
    'query_tools.format',
    async () => {
      const tab = sqlLab.getCurrentTab();
      if (tab) {
        const editor = await tab.getEditor();
        // Format the SQL query
      }
    },
  );

  const explainCommand = commands.registerCommand(
    'query_tools.explain',
    async () => {
      const tab = sqlLab.getCurrentTab();
      if (tab) {
        const editor = await tab.getEditor();
        // Show query explanation
      }
    },
  );

  const copyAsCteCommand = commands.registerCommand(
    'query_tools.copy_as_cte',
    async () => {
      const tab = sqlLab.getCurrentTab();
      if (tab) {
        const editor = await tab.getEditor();
        // Copy selected text as CTE
      }
    },
  );

  context.subscriptions.push(formatCommand, explainCommand, copyAsCteCommand);
}
```

## Next Steps

- **[Contribution Types](../contribution-types)** - Learn about other contribution types (commands, menus)
- **[Development](../development)** - Set up your development environment
- **[Quick Start](../quick-start)** - Build a complete extension