Apache Superset

Apache Superset connects to Elasticsearch via the Arrow Flight SQL protocol, enabling full SQL dashboards and data exploration. Superset is a Tested tool (dedicated dialect).

Some advanced SQL (subqueries, CTEs) is not in this release yet — see Known Limitations.

Prerequisites

• A running Arrow Flight SQL server (see Arrow Flight SQL guide)
• Apache Superset installed

Quick Start with Docker

The demo includes a pre-configured Superset with sample e-commerce dashboards:

docker compose --profile superset-flight up

Then open Superset at http://localhost:8088.

Manual Setup

1. Install the Flight SQL driver

In your Superset environment:

pip install adbc-driver-flightsql

2. Add Database Connection

1. Go to Settings > Database Connections > + Database
2. Select Other as the database type
3. Enter the SQLAlchemy URI:

adbc_flight_sql://localhost:32010

3. Create Charts and Dashboards

Once connected, you can use the full SoftClient4ES SQL syntax directly in Superset:

SELECT
  customer_name,
  SUM(total_price) AS revenue,
  COUNT(*) AS orders
FROM ecommerce
GROUP BY customer_name
ORDER BY revenue DESC;

Cross-index JOIN

The superpower of this release: Elasticsearch SQL can’t JOIN across indices — SoftClient4ES does, and the JOIN runs straight through Superset’s Flight SQL dialect. In SQL Lab, join two indices in one query:

SELECT e.name, e.salary, d.dept_name
FROM jdbc_join_emp e
JOIN jdbc_join_dept d ON e.dept_id = d.dept_id;
-- 5 rows (the orphan employee with dept_id=99 is dropped by the INNER JOIN)

Build a chart or dashboard directly on the joined result set.

For the full JOIN matrix (INNER / LEFT / RIGHT / FULL / cross-cluster), see the Cross-Index JOIN walkthrough. JOIN depth and cluster count are metered — see Pricing.

Screenshot coming in a follow-up release. Captured with Apache Superset against SoftClient4ES 0.2.1 (Arrow Flight SQL), 2026-06.

Supported Features

Feature	Status
SELECT queries	Tested
Aggregations (GROUP BY)	Tested
Window functions	Tested
DDL (CREATE/ALTER/DROP)	Tested
DML (INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE)	Tested
SHOW/DESCRIBE	Tested
Chart creation	Tested
Dashboard creation	Tested
Cross-index JOIN	Compatible (JOIN runs via the Flight SQL server; verify before upgrading to Tested)

Known limitations

Subqueries, CTEs (WITH), and set operators beyond UNION ALL are not in this release — and the Question/chart builder can auto-generate them. See Known Limitations & Roadmap for exactly what works today, what’s coming in the next release (Quarter 4 2026), and the per-tool workaround.

License

Superset integration uses the Arrow Flight SQL server, licensed under the Elastic License 2.0.