Data Explorer

The Data Explorer is your hub for browsing and working with data in CARTO. Use it to navigate your data warehouse connections, preview datasets, and create maps or workflows.

The interface has two main panels: the left panel shows your data hierarchy in an expandable tree view, while the right panel displays previews of whatever item you select.

The data explorer is only visible to users with the Editor role and up. See Managing user roles for more information.

All CARTO organizations come with a default connection to the CARTO Data Warehouse, which you can use to browse pre-loaded example datasets and import your own data straight away. To create new connections to your own data warehouse(s), click the Add new connection button at the bottom of the left pane. Once connected, use the refresh button at the top right corner to update the selected connection.

To import your own data, use thebutton at the top right corner. This will open the import modal, where you will be able to import local files or files from a public URL. For more details, see importing data.

Partitioned BigQuery tables will fail to preview, since they always require a WHERE clause in the query that filters by the column used for the partition.

They can still be loaded in Builder, adding them as a SQL Query source like:

SELECT * 
FROM project.dataset.my_partitioned_table 
WHERE partition_column = 'value'

Previewing your data

When you select a dataset using the left panel, the right panel will show its details, as well as a map preview and full table preview.

You can create a map or workflow from the selected dataset by clicking the Create map or Create workflow buttons in the top right. This will open the dataset as a layer in Builder or as a source in Workflows.

Starring items for quick access

You can star connections, folders, and tables to quickly filter and find your most used data. Starred items are personal to each user and appear with a star icon across CARTO.

To star an item, click the star icon next to any connection, folder (such as databases, projects, or schemas), or table. Use the Starred only filter to show just your starred items.

Deleting datasets from the data explorer

Editors can delete a specific dataset from the Data Explorer, which permanently deletes it from the connected data warehouse. To delete a dataset, select it, open the three-dot menu in the top right, and select Delete table.

The deletion requires your connection to have delete permissions in the data warehouse. If you are using a connection with viewer credentials, your individual user must have these permissions.

Any maps, workflows, or applications that relied on the deleted table will break. This action cannot be undone from CARTO, but it may be possible to recover a deleted table from your data warehouse.