Extra filters (to the chart as query params)

[richardfogaca]

Extra Filters

Contribution Summary

We added the ability to pass filters to Superset charts via URL parameters. This feature lets you:

1. Apply filters to charts without modifying the underlying configuration
2. Dynamically share filtered views of charts via URLs, extending beyond the static views available through permanent embed links
3. Integrate Superset with external applications that need to pass filter parameters

How It Works

The extra filters feature works by:

1. Accepting filter definitions through a URL parameter called extra_filters
2. Applying these filters to individual charts or all charts in a dashboard
3. Preserving these filters when sharing chart links

This approach keeps the original chart configuration intact while allowing for dynamic filtering based on URL parameters.

Working URL Example

This example shows how to filter a chart to show data for the UK (GBR), metric 1 greater than 3, and metric 2 greater than 0:

Original chart URL (without filters):

https://yourapplication.com/superset/explore/p/abcd1234/?form_data_key=form-data-key-123

Simplified URL (decoded):

https://yourapplication.com/superset/explore/p/abcd1234/?form_data_key=form-data-key-123&extra_filters={"upgrade_filters":[{"col":"country","op":"IN","val":"GBR"},{"col":"Metric 1","op":">","val":3},{"col":"Metric 2","op":">","val":0}]}

Simplified URL (encoded):

https://yourapplication.com/superset/explore/p/abcd1234/?form_data_key=form-data-key-123&extra_filters=%7B%22upgrade_filters%22%3A%5B%7B%22col%22%3A%22country%22%2C%22op%22%3A%22IN%22%2C%22val%22%3A%22GBR%22%7D%2C%7B%22col%22%3A%22Metric%201%22%2C%22op%22%3A%22%3E%22%2C%22val%22%3A3%7D%2C%7B%22col%22%3A%22Metric%202%22%2C%22op%22%3A%22%3E%22%2C%22val%22%3A0%7D%5D%7D

Screenshot (chart with extra_filters)

Common Filter Operations

The extra filters feature supports all standard Superset filter operations:

• Equality: ==, !=
• Comparison: >, >=, <, <=
• Sets: IN, NOT IN
• Ranges: BETWEEN
• Text: LIKE, ILIKE
• Null checks: IS NULL, IS NOT NULL

Why This Matters

This feature solves several real-world problems:

1. Dynamic Filtering: Apply filters without modifying chart configurations
2. Shareable Views: Share specific filtered views of charts with colleagues
3. External Integration: Integrate Superset charts with other applications in your stack
4. Parameterized Reporting: Create links to pre-filtered chart views

The extra filters functionality makes Superset charts more flexible and easier to integrate with your existing systems and workflows.

[richardfogaca]

Hi,

For those interested in testing the improvement, there's a branch where you can install and verify here

Here's one example introducing the filter to the chart via URL:

channel_name in ["general", "beginners", "introductions", "apache-releases", "newsletter"]

decoded_url:

http://localhost:9000/explore/?form_data_key=K_A4DU7z8JQ&slice_id=103&extra_filters={"upgrade_filters":[{"col":"channel_name","op":"IN","val":["general","beginners","apache-releases","introductions","newsletter"]}]}

encoded url:

http://localhost:9000/explore/?form_data_key=K_A4DU7z8JQ&slice_id=103&extra_filters=%7B%22upgrade_filters%22%3A%5B%7B%22col%22%3A%22channel_name%22%2C%22op%22%3A%22IN%22%2C%22val%22%3A%5B%22general%22%2C%22beginners%22%2C%22apache-releases%22%2C%22introductions%22%2C%22newsletter%22%5D%7D%5D%7D

I'm also attaching a chart I created. Please let me know if you find this feature useful for superset :)

[rusackas]

Seems highly valuable. Worth noting that @mistercrunch and @Vitor-Avila were also discussing similar filter URL schemas for dashboard context (embedded or otherwise), so these should probably be aligned in approach.

[jpdeloitte]

Agree this will be highly valuable. The biggest value creator in my mind, which I think this solves for but Richard please confirm, is that this would enable a way to - in an embedded dashboard - retrieve a dashboard that is "pre-filtered" with a handful of selections. Equally valuable would be if this also opens up a method of retrieving (again in an embedded dashboard) what filters a user selected so that those can be saved to a database and later retrieved (essentially creating dynamic bookmarking functionality for embedded dashboards).

[mistercrunch]

Used to be a feature in early Superset - not sure if there's still a [documented/undocumented] way to do this.

Note that we have support for Rison (url-friendly-encoded-json), and that it could be great to have simplified semantics for simple equalities. Currently you have to pass complex data structures where you specify operators (in, equals, different, greater, ...) but in many cases you just need ?filter=(country=Canada) having shortcuts for simple equalities would be sweet, where you can easily compose a url without looking up the docs or url-encoding complex JSON