Quickstart Guide
Get up and running with Meridian in less than 5 minutes. This guide walks you through signing up, uploading your first dataset, running natural language queries, and generating AI-powered insights.Prerequisites: You’ll need a Google account for authentication. No credit card required to get started.
Step 1: Sign Up and Access Dashboard
View the Dashboard
After signing in, you’ll land on the dashboard at
/dashboard. You’ll see:- Analytics cards: Files uploaded, tables processed, total storage used
- Recent activity: Your upload and processing history
- Quick actions: Upload file, search tables, view documentation
The dashboard uses real-time subscriptions. If you upload files in another tab or a teammate uploads data, you’ll see updates instantly.
Step 2: Upload Your First Dataset
Meridian supports two upload methods: file upload and URL extraction.- Upload CSV File
- Extract from URL
Upload from Local File
Click Upload File
From the dashboard, click the Upload File button in the top right or from the sidebar.
Drag and Drop
Drag a CSV, XLSX, or XLS file (max 10MB) into the dropzone or click to browse.Files are uploaded to Cloudflare R2 via Convex’s R2 component for cost-effective storage.
Example: Upload Sales Data
Upload a CSV file namedsales_2024.csv:- ✅ CSV Processed: Created DuckDB table “sales_2024” with 3 rows
- 📊 Table is now queryable at
/table/sales_2024
Step 3: Run Your First Query
Now that you have data loaded, let’s query it.Navigate to Table View
From the dashboard, click View Table on any processed file. This takes you to
/table/{table_name}.You’ll see:- Data table with your rows and columns
- Query editor at the bottom of the page
- AI agent sidebar on the right
Try a SQL Query
The query editor starts with Press Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on Mac) or click Execute to run.
SELECT * FROM {table_name}. Modify it:Step 4: Use Natural Language with AI Agent
Skip SQL and ask questions in plain English.Open Agent Panel
On the table page, the right sidebar shows the AI Agent panel. It has two modes:
- Query Mode: Generates SQL queries from natural language
- Analysis Mode: Answers questions using tools (queries, charts, insights)
Ask a Question (Query Mode)
Select Query Mode and type:Click Execute or press Enter. The agent will:
- Analyze your table schema and sample rows
- Generate a SQL query
- Stream its reasoning: “Reading columns… Computing aggregates… Sorting results…”
- Return commands you can execute
The agent uses Gemini 2.5 Flash for fast, cost-effective generation. Queries stream in real-time so you see progress.
Review and Execute
The generated query appears in the query editor. You can:Execute each command in sequence. Results update live.
- Edit it before running
- Click Execute to run it
- See the agent’s reasoning in the sidebar
Step 5: Generate Insights
Meridian automatically analyzes your data for patterns, outliers, and trends.Click Generate Insights
Click Generate Insights to trigger AI analysis. Meridian will:
- Run statistical queries using DuckDB (nulls, outliers, correlations)
- Send findings to Gemini AI for interpretation
- Return actionable insights with severity ratings
Review Insights
Insights appear as cards with:Example insight:
- Title: Brief summary (e.g., “High revenue variance detected”)
- Description: Detailed explanation
- Type: outlier, trend, aggregation, pattern, anomaly
- Severity: low, medium, high
Insights are cached per query. Click Refresh to regenerate with new AI analysis. Cache is scoped to user + table + query hash.
Step 6: View Live Statistics
Switch to the Statistics tab to see auto-generated statistical findings.- Column summaries: Min, max, mean, median, stddev for numeric columns
- Null counts: Percentage of missing values per column
- Data quality: Duplicate detection, outlier identification
- Distributions: Histograms and frequency counts
Statistical findings update automatically when you execute queries. They’re computed server-side using DuckDB’s analytical functions.
Step 7: Create Charts with AI
Use the analysis agent to create interactive, draggable charts.Ask for a Chart
In Analysis Mode, type:The agent will:
- Query the data
- Determine appropriate chart type
- Configure axes and series
- Return a chart config
Step 8: Collaborate in Real-Time
Meridian’s killer feature: live collaboration.Watch Live Notifications
On the table page, live notifications appear when teammates:
- Execute queries
- Generate insights
- Create charts
- Ask AI agents questions
See Query History
Click the History tab in the sidebar to see:Click any query to see its full details and results.
- All queries executed on this table
- Who ran them and when
- Success/failure status
- Execution times
What’s Next?
You’ve completed the quickstart! You now know how to: ✅ Upload data (CSV or URL extraction)✅ Run SQL queries with the editor
✅ Use natural language with AI agents
✅ Generate automatic insights
✅ View statistical findings
✅ Create interactive charts
✅ Collaborate in real-time
Explore Key Features
Deep dive into all 10 core features with advanced examples
API Reference
Learn about the query API, agent tools, and chart configurations
Troubleshooting
Upload Failed: File Too Large
Upload Failed: File Too Large
Meridian has a 10MB limit per file. For larger datasets:
- Split the CSV into chunks
- Upload to R2 externally and provide a URL
- Contact support for enterprise limits
Query Hangs or Times Out
Query Hangs or Times Out
Server-side queries have a timeout. For very large tables:
- Add WHERE clauses to filter data
- Use LIMIT to restrict result size
- Create aggregated views for common queries
Agent Returns Invalid SQL
Agent Returns Invalid SQL
The AI agent occasionally generates syntax errors. To fix:
- Edit the query in the query editor
- Check table schema for correct column names
- Provide more context in your prompt (“use the revenue column, not price”)
Insights Not Generating
Insights Not Generating
If insights fail:
- Ensure your query returns data (at least 1 row)
- Check that Gemini API key is configured
- Try clicking Refresh to bypass cache