https://github.com/malloydata/publisher
Publisher is the open-source semantic model server for the Malloy data language. It lets you define semantic models once — and use them everywhere.
https://github.com/malloydata/publisher
analytics business-intelligence data data-modeling data-transformation data-visualization database semantic-modeling transformation
Last synced: 5 days ago
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Publisher is the open-source semantic model server for the Malloy data language. It lets you define semantic models once — and use them everywhere.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/malloydata/publisher
- Owner: malloydata
- License: mit
- Created: 2024-09-16T18:29:09.000Z (over 1 year ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-04-21T21:28:14.000Z (10 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-04-21T21:36:47.179Z (10 days ago)
- Topics: analytics, business-intelligence, data, data-modeling, data-transformation, data-visualization, database, semantic-modeling, transformation
- Language: TypeScript
- Homepage:
- Size: 74.9 MB
- Stars: 88
- Watchers: 5
- Forks: 18
- Open Issues: 50
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# Publisher
**Publisher** is the open-source semantic model server for [Malloy](https://malloydata.dev). It serves Malloy models through REST and MCP APIs, enabling consistent data access for applications, tools, and AI agents.
## Quick Start
```bash
git clone https://github.com/credibledata/malloy-samples.git
cd malloy-samples
npx @malloy-publisher/server --port 4000 --server_root .
```
Open http://localhost:4000 to explore the sample models.
## Documentation
Full documentation is available at **[docs.malloydata.dev/documentation/user_guides/publishing](https://docs.malloydata.dev/documentation/user_guides/publishing/publishing)**:
- [Getting Started](https://docs.malloydata.dev/documentation/user_guides/publishing/publishing) - Setup, deployment options, configuration
- [Database Connections](https://docs.malloydata.dev/documentation/user_guides/publishing/connections) - BigQuery, Snowflake, Postgres, DuckDB, and more
- [Explorer](https://docs.malloydata.dev/documentation/user_guides/publishing/explorer) - No-code visual query builder
- [REST API](https://docs.malloydata.dev/documentation/user_guides/publishing/rest_api) - Build custom applications
- [Publisher SDK](https://docs.malloydata.dev/documentation/user_guides/publishing/publisher_sdk) - Embed analytics in React apps
- [MCP for AI Agents](https://docs.malloydata.dev/documentation/user_guides/publishing/mcp_agents) - Connect Claude and other AI assistants
## How the Pieces Fit Together
### Malloy
The core compiler and query execution engine. Malloy compiles `.malloy` files into SQL, executes queries against databases, and returns structured `Result` objects. Malloy is a pure JavaScript/TypeScript library with no UI or serving capabilities—it's the foundation everything else builds on.
**Repository:** [github.com/malloydata/malloy](https://github.com/malloydata/malloy)
### Malloy Render
A visualization library that transforms Malloy `Result` objects into interactive tables, charts, and dashboards.
When Malloy executes a query, the result includes both **data** and **rendering hints**—tags like `# bar_chart` or `# line_chart` that indicate how the data should be displayed. Malloy Render interprets these tags and produces the appropriate visualization.
**Built with:** SolidJS and Vega/Vega-Lite. Available as both a JavaScript API (`MalloyRenderer`) and a `` web component.
**Repository:** [github.com/malloydata/malloy/packages/malloy-render](https://github.com/malloydata/malloy/tree/main/packages/malloy-render)
### Publisher
An open-source semantic model server for Malloy. Publisher makes Malloy models accessible over the network and provides a professional UI for data exploration.
- **Server:** REST API for listing content, managing database connections, compiling models, and executing queries. Also provides an MCP API for AI agent integration. Supports [source filters](docs/filters.md) for model-driven, server-side query filtering.
- **App:** Web interface for browsing Malloy content, exploring models with a no-code query builder, and viewing results.
### Publisher SDK
A React component library for building custom data applications powered by Publisher:
- **API communication** — Talks to the Publisher Server via REST
- **Query execution** — Submits queries and retrieves results
- **Result visualization** — Integrates Malloy Render to display results
- **UI components** — Pre-built pages for browsing projects, packages, models, and notebooks
- **Source filters** — Automatically renders filter widgets for models with [`#(filter)` annotations](docs/filters.md)
The Publisher App is built entirely with the SDK, but the SDK is a standalone NPM package for building your own applications.
## Architecture
Publisher consists of four packages:
| Package | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| **[packages/server](packages/server/)** | Express.js backend providing REST API (port 4000) and MCP API (port 4040). Loads Malloy packages, compiles queries, executes against databases. |
| **[packages/sdk](packages/sdk/)** | React component library for building UIs that consume Publisher's REST API. |
| **[packages/app](packages/app/)** | Reference implementation and production-ready data exploration tool built with the SDK. |
| **[packages/python-client](packages/python-client/)** | Auto-generated Python SDK for the REST API. |
## Development
This project uses [bun](https://bun.sh/) as the JavaScript runtime.
```bash
git submodule init && git submodule update # Get malloy-samples
bun install
bun run build:server-deploy
bun run start # Production server
```
```bash
bun run start:dev # Dev server with watch
bun run test # Run tests
bun run lint && bun run format # Code quality
```
## Community
- Join the [Malloy Slack](https://join.slack.com/t/malloy-community/shared_invite/zt-1kgfwgi5g-CrsdaRqs81QY67QW0~t_uw)
- Report issues on [GitHub](https://github.com/malloydata/publisher/issues)