Build a Real-Time Dashboard
Create a data dashboard with charts, filters, and live updates. Connect it to real data sources and deploy it for your team.
Dashboard architecture and data strategy
Dashboards need three things: data, visualisation, and interactivity. For data, we will use a combination of API endpoints and server-sent events for real-time updates. For visualisation, Recharts is the best React charting library — it is composable, responsive, and well-documented. For interactivity, we need filters, date pickers, and drill-down. Ask Claude Code: "Create a Next.js dashboard application with a sidebar navigation, header with user info, and a main content area. Set up Recharts for charts. Create sample data that mimics SaaS metrics: monthly recurring revenue, active users, churn rate, and feature usage. Use Tailwind for a clean, professional design."
Building chart components
Ask Claude Code: "Create four dashboard chart components: a line chart for MRR over time, a bar chart for monthly signups, a pie chart for plan distribution, and a KPI card grid showing current MRR, active users, churn rate, and NPS. Each chart should be responsive, have tooltips, and use a consistent colour palette. Add a date range filter that updates all charts."
Adding filters, search, and drill-down
Dashboards need interactivity beyond just viewing. Ask Claude Code: "Add a filter sidebar with: date range picker, plan filter (free/pro/enterprise), cohort filter (by signup month), and a search bar for finding specific users. All filters should update every chart on the page. Add click-through on the bar chart — clicking a month should show a detail view with individual user activity for that month."
Real-time updates with server-sent events
Ask Claude Code: "Add a real-time events feed that shows new signups, upgrades, and churns as they happen. Use server-sent events from a Next.js API route. Display the feed as a scrolling list in the sidebar. Add a notification badge in the header showing the count of events in the last hour. Simulate events using a random generator on the backend for demo purposes."
Deploying and sharing with your team
Add basic authentication so only your team can access it. Ask Claude Code: "Add a simple password-protected login page. Store the password hash in an environment variable. Use a session cookie after login. Deploy instructions for Vercel." Push to GitHub, deploy on Vercel, set the password environment variable, and share the URL with your team. You now have a professional dashboard that took an hour to build instead of a week.
Data Visualization with AI
This guide is hands-on and practical. The full curriculum covers the conceptual foundations in depth with structured lessons and quizzes.
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