Luminesce

  • Updated on Oct 29, 2026
  • Published on Aug 21, 2024
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Luminesce lets you query, combine and write back data from LUSID, your files, your databases and other services in one SQL statement, without copying it into a data warehouse first. Read a CSV file from Drive, join it to your LUSID instruments, value the result and save it to your own database, all in one query. Luminesce checks your permissions on every provider it calls.

Luminesce is a data virtualisation engine. Each data source is reached through a provider, and Luminesce queries the data where it lives, so you never have to extract, transform and load it into a separate store first. You can use Luminesce with LUSID or on its own. To see how the pieces fit together, read Understanding the Luminesce platform architecture.

For example, this query reads a file of trades from Drive and looks up each instrument in LUSID:

@trades = use Drive.Csv
--file=/trades/today.csv
enduse;

select t.Isin, t.Units, i.DisplayName
from @trades t
inner join Lusid.Instrument i on i.Isin = t.Isin;

What’s new in Luminesce

  • LumiCode, a terminal tool for everything Luminesce: code completion, tables, grouping, charts, query history, failure diagnosis and Candela, all from the keyboard. See LumiCode and LumiCode Commands.

  • Server table variables: cache a query’s results on the server with @!name = select ..., then reuse them in later queries, for up to 24 hours, without fetching the data again. Use ?= to fetch the data only when the cached copy is missing or out of date. See Variables.

  • Candela writes Luminesce SQL for you. Its Luminesce agent turns a plain-English request into a query and checks it against the providers and columns in your domain. See Understanding Candela’s system agents.

  • Turn a query into a Candela tool that your team can call from a conversation. See How do I create a custom tool?.

  • Save results straight to Drive, start a background query from a Saved Query, follow links from result columns into LUSID and other sites, and group rows in the results grid. See the Release notes for every Luminesce change.

In the LUSID web app, you’ll find Luminesce under the Data Virtualisation menu, provided you have a suitable licence and access permissions:

Choose how you work

Write the same Luminesce SQL wherever suits you. See What tools are available to write Luminesce queries? for a comparison.

In the web app
Write and run queries in the Query Editor, or build them by pointing and clicking with the query designer.

In the terminal
LumiCode gives you code completion, charts, history and diagnostics without leaving the keyboard.

With AI
Ask Candela to write, check or improve a query for you.

In Excel, Power BI or Tableau
Connect your BI app with our ODBC/JDBC drivers and Power BI Connector.

In Python
Use Lumipy to bring Luminesce into notebooks and scripts, or to write your own providers.

From your own code
Call the SqlBackground API or the SqlExecution API.

Get started

How-to guides

Providers supplied by FINBOURNE

These are the main families of provider we supply. To see every provider available to you, browse the catalog in the Query Editor, use /catalog in LumiCode, or query Sys.Registration.

Luminesce SQL reference

Understanding Luminesce

Business intelligence apps

Security and administration

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