How to publish and export data from DataLens
Work that stays in the platform helps nobody. Get it out as a file, an API endpoint, or a formatted report.
What you will do
You will export a dataset in the format the recipient actually needs, or publish it as an API endpoint that other systems can call.
Report exports to PDF and Word are Pro capabilities; the file and API exports are not.
When this is useful
- Somebody needs the data in Excel and will not be logging in.
- Another system needs to consume the result programmatically.
- A formatted report is required for a meeting or a record.
- A schema needs sharing without the data itself.
Before you start
- A finished dataset or view — Clean and shape it first. Exporting a half-finished dataset is how a stale file ends up circulating.
- Knowing what the recipient needs — Excel for a person, JSON or JSONL for a system, schema-only for a structure discussion.
Steps
Open Deliver → Publish
Select Deliver in the navigation, then Publish, and choose your dataset.
The screen has three tabs: Publish, Monitoring, and Dashboards & Reports.
The Publish tab with export options.
Choose an export format
Available formats are CSV, TSV, JSON, JSONL, Excel (XLSX), and Schema Only.
JSONL is the one to pick for large exports a system will stream line by line. Schema Only sends the structure without the data, which is often what an architecture discussion actually needs.
The exported file downloaded in your chosen format.
Publish an API endpoint
The API Access section publishes the dataset so other systems can fetch it. Options include fetching the data as JSON, exporting CSV, and a JavaScript fetch snippet to copy.
The snippet is there so an integration starts from working code rather than from documentation.
The endpoint details and a copyable code snippet.
Generate a reportPro
The Dashboards & Reports tab produces report exports: Export CSV and Export Excel, plus Export PDF Report and Export Word Report.
PDF and Word report export are Pro. Where the workspace is not entitled, the app shows an upgrade card in their place rather than a button that fails.
Check what you are publishing
Before sharing anything, profile it. Govern → Keys & PII takes seconds and is the check whose absence causes the incidents.
Watch it afterwards
The Monitoring tab covers what happens to published data after it leaves the screen you published it from.
What happens next
Where the export is part of a repeating process, put it behind a pipeline rather than repeating it by hand.
Where the recipient needs a governed, reusable dataset rather than a file, a data product is the better shape.
Example
A monthly summary goes to three audiences: the finance team gets Excel, the reporting system fetches JSON from the published endpoint, and the board pack takes a PDF report. One dataset, three formats, no re-exports by hand.
Tips
- Run a PII check before every publish. It is the cheapest incident prevention available.
- Use JSONL rather than JSON for large machine-consumed exports.
- Schema Only is the right answer more often than people expect — most structure conversations do not need the rows.
- Copy the fetch snippet when handing an endpoint to a developer. It removes a round of questions.
Limitations
- Export formats are CSV, TSV, JSON, JSONL, Excel (XLSX) and Schema Only.
- PDF and Word report export are Pro capabilities and show an upgrade card when the workspace is not entitled.
- An export is a point-in-time file. It does not update when the dataset does.
- A published endpoint serves the dataset as DataLens holds it, not as a live query against your source system.
Related how-to guides
Chart and pivot a dataset
Bar, line and scatter charts, histograms, a correlation matrix and a pivot table over your data.
Build a data productPro
Turn scattered datasets into a defined, governed product with a named owner and a documented schema.
Profile a dataset and find PII
See what is really in each column, and find the personal data before it ends up somewhere it should not.
Generate a data document
Produce an architecture document, a model spec, a mapping or a runbook from what you have already built.
Related questions
More of these on the DataLens FAQ page.
What formats can I export data to from DataLens?
CSV, TSV, JSON, JSONL, Excel (XLSX) and Schema Only, which exports the structure without the rows. Report exports to PDF and Word are also available on the Pro tier.
Can other systems fetch data from DataLens automatically?
Yes. The API Access section on the Publish screen exposes a dataset as an endpoint, with options to fetch it as JSON or CSV and a JavaScript fetch snippet to copy into an integration.
Are PDF reports available on the free tier?
No. PDF and Word report export are Pro capabilities. Where a workspace is not entitled, the app shows an upgrade card in place of those buttons. CSV and Excel report exports are available regardless.
Try this in DataLens
DataLens is in private beta. Request access and work through this guide on your own data.
Request beta access