# SQL interface

The SQL interface reads your stored test and telemetry data directly, with ordinary read-only `SELECT` statements sent over HTTP or from a [Postgres client](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/postgres-clients.md). It queries the same data that backs Nominal, so the datasets, assets, runs, and events you already work with in the app are the tables you query here, without copying anything out or standing up a separate data warehouse.

That makes it the path to take when you want data in your own tools: pull a channel into a notebook, feed a dashboard, or run a scheduled check.

Once a query returns what you’re after, a companion export endpoint runs it again unbounded and writes the whole result to a file for download.

- [Quickstart: in the browser](https://dev.nominal.io/quickstart/quick/quick-sql.md#in-the-nominal-app)
- [Quickstart: from code](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/quickstart.md)
- [Schema](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-reference/schema.md)

## Next steps

- [SQL console quickstart](https://dev.nominal.io/quickstart/quick/quick-sql.md#in-the-nominal-app): run your first query in the browser.
- [SQL REST API quickstart](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/quickstart.md): run your first query from code.
- [Postgres clients](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/postgres-clients.md): connect with JDBC, MATLAB, psycopg, or tokio-postgres.
- [Python with Ibis](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/ibis.md): build queries as Python expressions instead of SQL strings.
- [Writing queries](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/writing-queries.md): scoping, limits, and query patterns.
- [Schema](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-reference/schema.md): the tables you can query, and the function allowlist.
- [SQL REST API](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-reference/rest-api.md): the endpoint contract and error codes.

- [SQL REST API quickstart](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/quickstart.md)
- [Postgres clients](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/postgres-clients.md)
- [Python with Ibis](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/ibis.md)
- [Writing queries](https://dev.nominal.io/sql-guides/writing-queries.md)