Model files define Explores and their relationships to other views.

In Looker, a model comprises a combination of related Explores and dashboards. Unlike other LookML elements, a model is not declared with a specific “model” parameter. Instead, any file placed in the Models section of the Looker IDE (also known as the Develop page) defines a model. The model name is taken from the filename and must be unique across your instance, even within different projects.

A model file typically contains any explore declarations, along with a number of model-level settings.

This page links to the model-level LookML parameters. They are typically written at the top of the model file and should not be nested within other parameters.

Example usage

Hover over a parameter name to see a quick description; click it to jump to that page.
When a parameter can be set to one of several specific options, the default value is listed first.

# STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS
explore: explore_name {
  # Desired explore parameters (described on Explore Parameters page)
}
# Possibly more explore declarations

include: "filename_or_pattern"
# Possibly more include declarations

access_grant: access_grant_name {
  user_attribute: user_attribute_name
  allowed_values: ["value_1", "value_2", …]
}
# Possibly more access_grant declarations

test: test_name {
  explore_source: explore_name {
    # Desired subparameters (described on test page)
  }
  assert: assert_statement {
    expression: Looker expression ;;
  }
  # Possibly more assert declarations
}
# Possibly more test declarations

# DISPLAY PARAMETERS
label: "desired label"

# FILTER PARAMETERS
case_sensitive: yes | no

# QUERY PARAMETERS
connection: "connection_name"
datagroup: datagroup_name {
  label: "desired label"
  description: "desired description"
  max_cache_age: "N (minutes | hours | days)"
  sql_trigger: SQL query ;;
}
# Possibly more datagroup declarations
fiscal_month_offset: N
persist_for: "N (seconds | minutes | hours)"
persist_with: datagroup_name
week_start_day: monday | tuesday | wednesday | thursday | friday | saturday | sunday

# VISUALIZATION AND FORMATTING PARAMETERS
map_layer: map_name {
  extents_json_url: "URL to JSON extents file"
  feature_key: "Name of TopoJSON object"
  file: "TopoJSON filename" # or use the url subparameter
  format: topojson | vector_tile_region
  label: "desired label"
  max_zoom_level: number indicating max zoom
  min_zoom_level: number indicating min zoom
  projection: Preferred geographic projection
  property_key: "TopoJSON property"
  property_label_key: "Label for TopoJSON property"
  url: "URL that contains map file" # or use the file subparameter
}
# Possibly more map layer declarations

named_value_format: desired_name {
  value_format: "excel formatting string"
  strict_value_format: yes | no
}
# Possibly more named value format declarations

Parameter definitions

Parameter Name	Description
Structural Parameters
`access_grant`	ADDED6.0 Creates an access grant that limits access of LookML structures to only those users who are assigned an approved user attribute value. This parameter has the `user_attribute` and `allowed_values` subparameters.
`explore`	Exposes a view in the Explore menu. For more information about Explores and their parameters, see the Explore Parameter Reference page.
`include`	Adds files to a model
`test`	ADDED6.20 Creates a data test to verify your model’s logic. The project settings include an option to require data tests. When this is enabled for a project, developers on the project must run data tests before deploying their changes to production. This parameter has the `explore_source` and `assert` subparameters.
Display Parameters
`label` (for model)	Changes the way a model appears in the Explore menu
Filter Parameters
`case_sensitive` (for model)	Specifies whether filters are case-sensitive for a model
Query Parameters
`connection`	Changes the database connection for a model
`datagroup`	Creates a datagroup-caching policy for a model. This parameter has the `label`, `description`, `max_cache_age`, and `sql_trigger` subparameters.
`fiscal_month_offset`	Specifies the month your fiscal year begins (if it differs from the calendar year)
`persist_for` (for model)	Changes the cache settings for a model
`persist_with` (for model)	Specifies the datagroup to use for the model’s caching policy
`week_start_day`	Specifies the day of the week on which week-related dimensions should start
Visualization and Formatting Parameters
`map_layer` (for model)	Creates custom maps to be used with `map_layer_name`
`named_value_format`	Creates a custom value format to be used with `value_format_name`. This parameter has the `value_format` and `strict_value_format` subparameters.
Parameters to Avoid
`scoping`	REMOVED3.52 No longer required
`template`	REMOVED3.30 No longer required

Articles in this section

Model parameters

Example usage

Parameter definitions