evidence
Evidence is an open-source BI tool that lets you build interactive dashboards and reports by writing SQL queries and markdown. Instead of drag-and-drop UI, you code your analytics in version-controlled files and deploy as static sites.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | evidence-dev/evidence |
| Owner | evidence-dev |
| Primary language | JavaScript |
| License | MIT — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 6.5k |
| Forks | 370 |
| Open issues | 267 |
| Latest release | @evidence-dev/[email protected] (2026-02-06) |
| Last updated | 2026-02-18 |
| Source | https://github.com/evidence-dev/evidence |
What evidence is
JavaScript-based framework that executes SQL queries embedded in markdown, renders Svelte components with Tailwind styling, and compiles to static HTML/JS for deployment. Supports templating, conditionals, and loops for dynamic report generation from multiple data sources.
Get the evidence source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/evidence-dev/evidence.gitcd evidence# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Requires SQL expertise on the team; markdown-only approach has low barrier but scales with data complexity.
- Static site deployment model suits CI/CD workflows but means reports refresh on schedule, not on-demand.
- State management and local caching via WebAssembly (DuckDB) reduces backend load; evaluate data size limits for client-side processing.
- VSCode extension and CLI tooling are the primary development experience; ensure editor familiarity across team.
- Deployment targets include Netlify, Vercel, and self-hosted; evaluate cost and infrastructure complexity for your scale.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Business users need no-code dashboarding — Evidence requires SQL and markdown literacy. Teams relying on drag-and-drop BI tools or non-technical stakeholders will face friction.
- Real-time operational dashboards required — Static site generation and batch query execution do not support true real-time streaming updates or sub-second latency requirements.
- Complex row-level security or multi-tenancy — No clear indication of built-in RBAC, column-level masking, or multi-tenant isolation. Custom logic would be required and is not documented.
- Proprietary data connector ecosystem needed — Support for enterprise data sources (e.g., Salesforce, SAP) is not mentioned. Likely limited to SQL databases and dbt, requiring custom adapters for others.
License & commercial use
Evidence is licensed under the MIT License, an OSI-approved permissive license allowing commercial use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.
MIT license permits commercial use without royalty or proprietary requirements. You may build commercial products on top of Evidence and modify it freely. No explicit patent grant or indemnification provided by MIT; standard commercial risk assessment applies. Verify compatibility with your organization's compliance requirements.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Adequate |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Low |
| DEV.co fit | Good |
| Assessment confidence | High |
Static site deployment reduces attack surface compared to traditional server-based BI tools. Data queries execute against your own data sources; no data leaves your infrastructure by default. Key considerations: encryption of credentials for database connections, access control over markdown/report files in Git, no apparent built-in RBAC or row-level security for published reports (likely require external auth layer), and WebAssembly/DuckDB client-side processing—verify data sensitivity policies for in-browser computation. Requires careful review of deployment environment security.
Alternatives to consider
Metabase
Drag-and-drop, self-hosted open-source BI with native RBAC and broader data connector support; better for non-technical users but more operational overhead.
Superset
Open-source visualization platform with similar self-hosted model and SQL queryability; larger ecosystem but steeper deployment complexity.
Grafana + Loki/Prometheus
Time-series and observability focus with templating and alerting; better for ops/monitoring than business analytics but highly automated infrastructure-native.
Build on evidence with DEV.co software developers
Review the full documentation at docs.evidence.dev, test the VSCode extension, and assess SQL expertise and deployment infrastructure fit with your org. Contact the community on Slack for production deployment patterns.
Talk to DEV.coRelated open-source tools
Surfaced by semantic similarity across the DEV.co open-source index.
Related on DEV.co
Explore the category and the services that help you build with it.
evidence FAQ
Can I query real-time data or must I batch refresh reports?
Does Evidence enforce security rules like row-level access control?
What data sources does Evidence support?
Is Evidence suitable for embedding in a larger product?
Custom software development services
Need help beyond evaluating evidence? DEV.co is a software development agency offering software development services and web development for teams of every size. Our software developers and web developers build custom software, web applications, APIs, and open-source devops integrations — and maintain them long-term.
Ready to evaluate Evidence for your team?
Review the full documentation at docs.evidence.dev, test the VSCode extension, and assess SQL expertise and deployment infrastructure fit with your org. Contact the community on Slack for production deployment patterns.