Tutorial: turn a workflow into a dashboard
Export Dashboard turns a workflow's charts, tables, graph views, 3D scenes and KPI tiles into a small React web app. You can also export a standalone Python backend, so the dashboard's viewers can change parameters and press Recalculate to re-run the real workflow.
We'll use dashboard/dashboard_parameters_demo.weave from the demo project.
1. Mark what the viewer can change
Open the demo. Its inputs come from Dashboard Parameter nodes (in the Display category). Each one has these fields:
- Name: the key the dashboard uses. It must be unique and a valid identifier.
- Label: the text shown next to the control.
- Type:
float,int,str,boolorselect. This decides the control: a number box or slider, a text box, a checkbox or a drop-down. - Default, plus Min / Max / Step for numbers or Options for
select. The exported backend enforces these limits.
In the editor a parameter just emits its Default, so the workflow runs normally. Wire it into whatever should depend on it.
2. Export
- Click Export Dashboard in the toolbar.
- A layout dialog lists every node that can become a panel. For each one,
choose whether to include it and its size: Small (1×1),
Wide (2×1), Large (2×2) or Full width. Panels appear in canvas
order, left to right and top to bottom. Your choice is saved in the
.weave, so it's waiting for you next time. - Pick an output folder.
EdgeWeave runs the workflow once to capture the panels, then writes the
dashboard and, alongside it in backend/, the standalone backend. The
summary lists any nodes that couldn't become panels, and any credential
fields that were left out (see below).
3. Run it
Open two terminals in the export folder. First, the backend, which needs Python:
cd backend
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn main:app --port 8800
Then the dashboard, which needs Node.js:
npm install
npm run dev
Open the address npm run dev prints. Change a parameter and click
Recalculate. The backend re-runs the workflow with the new value (only
declared parameters can change) and the panels update.
npm run build produces a static bundle in dist/ for any static web host.
Without the backend, the dashboard still shows the exported snapshot.
Good to know
- Credentials stay behind. Password, token and API-key fields are blanked
in the export, and
.envfiles aren't copied. Set the listed environment variables (for examplePGPASSWORD,OPENAI_API_KEY) before starting the backend. - Data files are copied. The export includes your project folder, including CSVs and SQLite databases. Check them before sharing an export.
- Marketplace nodes aren't bundled into the backend yet, so a workflow using them exports but can't recalculate those nodes.
- The backend URL is set in
src/App.jsx(BACKEND_URL) if you change the port.
Next: Chat and RAG.