> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL. > For a complete documentation index, see https://help.sigmacomputing.com/llms.txt. > For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://help.sigmacomputing.com/_mcp/server. # Create a dataset from SQL (Deprecated) > One way that you can create datasets is by writing SQL against the data in your warehouse in Sigma. [Datasets](/docs/datasets) are deprecated: * Starting June 2, 2026, you will no longer be able to create datasets or edit existing datasets. * Starting September 15, 2026, you will no longer be able to use datasets as a data source or view datasets in Sigma. Migrate your datasets to data models and update any documents that use datasets as a data source to use a different source. See [Migrate a dataset to a data model](/docs/migrate-a-dataset-to-a-data-model). One way that you can create datasets is by writing SQL against the data in your warehouse. SQL-based datasets take SQL queries and turn them into reusable data sources that people can use as the basis for additional analysis. [Datasets can also be materialized](/docs/schedule-materialization-for-a-dataset) to your database, helping speed up queries. Any changes made to a dataset propagate to downstream dependencies. For details about creating datasets, see [Create and manage datasets](/docs/create-and-manage-datasets). ## Requirements * To use this feature, you must be assigned an [account type](/docs/account-type-and-license-overview) with the **Write SQL** and **Create, edit, and publish data models** permissions enabled. * To run custom SQL, you must have **Can use** access to the entire connection. See [Data permissions](/docs/manage-data-permissions). The SQL editor only appears if you have connection-level access to at least one connection in your organization. * To reference existing Sigma datasets and workbook elements in your SQL, you must have [write access](/docs/set-up-write-access) configured on your connection. ## Create a dataset by writing custom SQL To create a dataset by writing your own SQL query against your data: 1. Open **Sigma Home**. 2. In the navigation panel, click **Create New**, then select **Dataset**. 3. On the Select a Data Source page, select the **SQL** option. 4. In the side panel, click **Select a Connection** and choose the connection that you want to query. 5. In the query editor, enter your custom SQL. Sigma provides autocomplete suggestions to guide you. 6. Select **Run** to run your SQL query. You can also use keyboard shortcuts: CTRL-Enter on Windows or CMD-Return on a Mac. 7. After confirming that the results look as desired, select **Get Started** to create a dataset. For more details about writing custom SQL, see [Write custom SQL](/docs/write-custom-sql). ### Modify a dataset created from SQL To edit the SQL used to create your dataset, do the following: 1. Open the dataset that you want to modify. 2. Click **Edit**, then select the **Worksheet** tab. 3. In the side panel, open the data sources panel. 4. For **Custom SQL**, select **More** > **Edit Source**. ![](https://fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sigma.docs.buildwithfern.com/b9f92508ad822ee91bfb2b6875094d97a2e27bd680da4184ba9a184cf56dba4a/assets/docs-images/c7f2e313d5fa0904b4898e4eef2e9b9896bb168a71b8074b3a1b1cc504b8fa8a-dataset-sql-edit.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6KXJSKKNFOCF7G4B%2F20260727%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260727T004802Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=20708f23b42650e909f705f14b23f65791106cafe4d9dd78dc66941a4eee18ef&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject) 5. In the query editor that opens, modify the custom SQL. Click **Run** to validate that your query returns the desired results. 6. Click **Done** to save the query. 7. Click **Publish** to update the dataset. ## Reference existing Sigma datasets You can reference your existing Sigma dataset in your SQL by using the fully qualified name of the [warehouse view](/docs/dataset-warehouse-views) created in your data platform. If your dataset does not have a location or dataset warehouse view available, create one. The fully qualified name is a combination of the dataset location in your data platform and the name of the warehouse view: `SELECT * FROM .` To determine the fully qualified name of the dataset, select **More info** when viewing a dataset: ![Dataset information panel, showing the Location and Dataset fields in the Warehouse Views section.](https://fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sigma.docs.buildwithfern.com/d0f7f45f9e09c460d874df425ca522e0b3aedec409ef9d685b5046350e8995af/assets/docs-images/52cf6e5-Screenshot_2024-05-20_at_11.58.22_AM.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6KXJSKKNFOCF7G4B%2F20260727%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260727T004802Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=f6fcc13bfff4aae726ca642a3b2c87fb41e8265f86e718df103513fe04f7f141&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject) The **Location** field provides the database or catalog and schema in your data platform that contains the dataset, and the **Dataset** field provides the view name that you can reference. To copy the fully qualified name to your clipboard, click **More** (), then select **Copy path**. To reference individual columns from your Sigma dataset in your SQL statement, wrap the column name in double quotes. For example: ```sql SELECT "Customer Id" FROM DATABASE.SCHEMA.DATASET_WAREHOUSE_VIEW_NAME ``` For more details about writing custom SQL, see [Write custom SQL](/docs/write-custom-sql). ## Reference dataset parameters You can reference dataset parameters in your SQL by wrapping the name of the parameter in curly brackets: `{{my_parameter_name}}` For more details, see [Reference control values in SQL statements](/docs/reference-workbook-control-values-in-sql-statements).