# Build Charts With Typed Params > Builds Amplitude charts using the typed `chart` parameter on query_amplitude_data — events, filters, group-bys, segments, date ranges, and per-kind fields for segmentation, funnel, retention, sessions, and data tables. Use when creating a chart, modifying or forking a saved one, or when a query returns empty data. - Skill: `amplitude/build-charts-with-typed-params` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add amplitude/build-charts-with-typed-params` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/amplitude/build-charts-with-typed-params/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: amplitude (https://skillmd.com/u/amplitude) - Updated: 2026-09-09 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/amplitude/build-charts-with-typed-params --- # Build Charts With Typed Params Express the chart as typed, UI-shaped parameters and let the server compile it. Do not hand-build raw definition JSON. ## Typed `chart` first `query_amplitude_data` takes **exactly one of** `chart` or `definition`. - **`chart` (preferred)** — a small model mirroring the chart builder UI. It is compiled server-side by Langley's `CompileChart` into a validated definition, so a successful compile is structurally correct by construction. Compile errors name the offending field and come back with a fix-oriented hint. - **`definition` (fallback)** — raw definition JSON. Only for chart types the typed model does not cover (`composition`, `revenueLtv`) or advanced params with no typed field. Field names are snake_case; they are validated server-side by Pydantic. ## The one thing that goes wrong The compiler validates **structure**, not your taxonomy. An event or property name that doesn't exist won't error — it returns a well-formed chart with **empty data**, which reads like a real answer of "zero". Resolve names first with the taxonomy search/read capabilities advertised by the connected catalog. Read event, user, or group properties as appropriate and use the exact name **and scope** returned. Do not invent a property-reader name from server prose or copy parameters from an older schema. ## Two workflows **Create:** discover names with the current taxonomy capability → build the typed `chart` → call `query_amplitude_data` → `render_amplitude_chart` with the returned `chartEditId` to show it. **Modify or fork a saved chart:** `search_amp_entities` to find the chart id → `get_amplitude_charts` with `include: 'typed'` → edit the returned object → call `query_amplitude_data` with that `chart` **and** `chartId` set to the saved chart id. Passing `chartId` links the edit to its parent, and the parent's params fill any gaps the typed model omits. Reading a real chart back as typed params is also the fastest way to see how this project spells things. `get_amplitude_charts` has five modes on `include`: `link` (default; validates ids, returns URLs, doesn't run the chart), `typed`, `definition` (raw), `data` (runs it, max 3 ids), and `guide` (schema for the raw fallback). All except `guide` need concrete ids — resolve them via `search_amp_entities` or `get_from_url` first. ## Building blocks These are shared across every chart kind. **Condition** — one filter (`+ Filter by`, or a segment condition): ```jsonc { "property": "platform", "op": "is", "values": ["iOS"], "scope": "event" } ``` `op`: `is`, `is not`, `contains`, `does not contain`, `greater than`, `less than`, `set`, `is not null`. Use `contains` for prefix/substring matching. **For presence checks prefer `set`** — `is not null` is rejected by some chart kinds (`data_table` segments) even though error hints suggest it; `set` works everywhere. `scope`: `event`, `user`, `group`, `session`, or `derivedV2` for computed properties — take the scope from the taxonomy lookup rather than guessing. Group-scoped properties also need `group_type` (see below). **Event** — `{ event, where[], group_by[] }`. A **composite event** puts several events in one slot: add `object_type` as `INLINE_CUSTOM_EVENT` (any member counts) or `COMPARISON_EVENT` (members compared), plus `members[]`. **Segment** — a population, combining property conditions **and** behaviors: ```jsonc { "where": [{ "property": "country", "op": "is", "values": ["United States"], "scope": "user" }], "performed": [{ "event": "Purchase", "op": ">=", "count": 1, "time_type": "rolling", "time_value": 30 }] } ``` Omit `segments` entirely for all users. In `performed`, `time_type` defaults to `forEachInterval`; use `rolling` with `time_value` as **lookback days**. **Date range** — required, and either relative or absolute, never both: ```jsonc { "relative": "Last 30 Days" } { "start": "2026-01-01", "end": "2026-01-31" } // ISO 8601, or epoch seconds { "start": "now-90d" } // omit end for "up to now" ``` Optional `timezone` is an IANA name; omit for the project default. The relative range's **unit must match the `interval`**: with weekly interval write `"Last 12 Weeks"`, monthly `"Last 6 Months"` — `"Last 3 Years"` with a weekly interval is rejected. Re-denominate the window in the interval's unit or change the interval to match. **Interval** — a word, not a number: `hour`, `day` (default), `week`, `month`, `quarter`. Sub-daily intervals only allow short windows (`hour` caps around 8 days). **`count_unique_by`** — the counting entity, `"User"` by default, or a group like `"org id"`. ## Group-scoped properties Group properties describe the **account**, not the user or the event — plan tier, ARR, industry, on the `org id` (or similarly named) group type. They are how almost every B2B question gets asked, and they are the most common thing to get stuck on. Discover them explicitly with the connected taxonomy reader's group-property selector—they are **not** in the event or user catalogues. Then use `scope: "group"` with the `group_type` the lookup returned, in a `where` filter or a `group_by`: ```jsonc { "property": "plan", "op": "is", "values": ["Enterprise"], "scope": "group", "group_type": "org id" } ``` Three rules that avoid nearly all of the failures seen in production: 1. **`group_type` is the group's display name** (`"org id"`, `"company"`) — exactly as the group-type and taxonomy readers spell it, lowercase and spaced. Not the property name, not `"Group"`, not a `grp:`-prefixed key. 2. **Never prefix the property name.** Write `"plan"`, not `"grp:plan"` or `"gp:org id:plan"` — those are storage-layer spellings that the chart API rejects. 3. **Counting by account is a different setting.** To count organizations rather than users, set `count_unique_by: "org id"`. That is independent of whether you filter or break down by a group property. ### When a group property is rejected `Invalid group property for group type ` means the backend's property registry has no key for that name — the property is advertised by the taxonomy API but not queryable. **This is a data-plane gap, not a mistake in your query, and retrying spelling variants will not fix it.** Retry loops burning ten-plus calls on this are the single largest source of wasted turns on this tool. Do this instead, in order: 1. Re-read the exact name with the active taxonomy reader's group-property selector. If it differs from what you sent, correct it and retry **once**. 2. If it matches, stop retrying. Check for a user-scoped equivalent (accounts are often mirrored onto users, e.g. a user property `plan`) and use `scope: "user"`. 3. If there is no equivalent, say plainly that the group property is not queryable in this project and give the user the answer you *can* produce — usually the same chart with `count_unique_by: "org id"` and no group breakdown. ## Chart kinds `kind` discriminates the union. All kinds take `group_by`, `segments`, `date_range`, `interval`, `count_unique_by`, and `name` (always set a descriptive `name` — it becomes the title). ### `segmentation` Needs `events` (at least one). `measured_as.as` defaults to `unique_users`; other values are `event_totals`, `active_pct`, `avg_per_user`, `frequency`, `formula`, `histogram`, and the property aggregations `property_sum`, `property_avg`, `property_min`, `property_max`, `property_median`, `property_count`, `property_count_avg`. Property aggregations and `histogram` require the aggregated property to also appear in that event's `group_by` — omitting it is a common cause of an empty or malformed result. For `formula`, put the expression in `measured_as.formula` using UPPERCASE functions (`UNIQUES`, `TOTALS`, `PROPSUM`, `PERCENTILE`, …) and refer to events as `A`, `B`, `C` in the order they are listed. Also available: `rolling_window` (days), `cumulative`, `period_over_period` (`period`, `parent`, `grandparent`, `quarter`), and `vis` (`line`, `bar`, `area`, `stackedbar`, `pie`, `kpi`). ### `funnel` Needs `steps` (at least two). `conversion_window` is `{value, unit}` where unit is `second`, `minute`, `hour`, `day`, or `week`; a bare number or `"7 days"` also works, and omitting it gives the product default of 30 days. Set it explicitly whenever the request implies a window. `mode` is `ordered` (default), `unordered`, or `sequential`. `measured_as.as` is `conversion` (default), `conversion_over_time`, `time_to_convert`, `time_to_convert_over_time`, or `step_count`. `constant_properties` forces values to match across steps — this is how you build a same-session funnel (hold `session_id`). `excluded_events` takes `{event, step_index}`, where `-1` excludes globally across all steps. ### `retention` Needs `start_event` (use `_new` for new users) and `return_events` (OR-combined; use `_active` for any activity). `retention_method` is `rolling` (default; on or after day N), `nday` (exactly day N), `bracket` (custom, via `retention_brackets` like `[[0,7],[7,14]]`), or `nday_or_before`. `measured_as` is `retention` or `usage_interval`. ### `sessions` `measured_as` is one of `totalSessions` (default), `average`, `length`, `peruser`, `totalTime`, `averageTimePerUser`, `averageEventsPerSession`, `totalEvents`, `eventCountDistribution`, or `formula`. Use `groups` for multiple series; omit it for a single unfiltered series. ### `data_table` Needs `columns` (at least one), each with a `metric_type` — `UNIQUES`, `TOTALS`, `FORMULA`, `SESSIONS`, `CONVERSION`, or the property aggregations `PROPSUM`, `PROPAVG`, `PROPMAX`, `PROPMIN`. `rows` are the breakdown dimensions, each `kind` either `property` or `time`. ## Worked example Weekly unique users of a signup event, on iOS, among users in the US, broken out by plan: ```jsonc { "kind": "segmentation", "name": "iOS signups by plan", "events": [{ "event": "Sign Up", "where": [ { "property": "platform", "op": "is", "values": ["iOS"], "scope": "event" } ]}], "measured_as": { "as": "unique_users" }, "group_by": [{ "property": "plan", "scope": "user" }], "segments": [{ "where": [ { "property": "country", "op": "is", "values": ["United States"], "scope": "user" } ]}], "date_range": { "relative": "Last 12 Weeks" }, "interval": "week" } ``` ## Compile errors `CompileChart` failures come back as a 400 naming the offending field with a fix-oriented hint — read the hint, fix that one field, and retry. Do not rebuild the whole chart. The ones seen most in production: 1. **Range/interval unit mismatch** — `Invalid range format: Last 3 Years … Match the relative range's unit to the interval`. The message now carries the equivalent window for your interval; paste it in. (`Last 30 Days` at a weekly interval → `Last 4 Weeks`.) 2. **Invalid group property** — a registry gap, not a spelling mistake. See "When a group property is rejected" above; do not retry variants. 3. **Unknown operator** — the valid operator list differs per chart kind; the fix hint in the message is usually right, but for presence checks use `set` (works in every kind) rather than `is not null`. Shape mismatches no longer need a retry: a bare string is accepted wherever a single-key wrapper object is expected and vice versa, so `measured_as: "event_totals"`, `events: ["Page Viewed"]`, and `group_by: ["country"]` all compile. **Two consecutive failures on the same field means the field is not the problem** — re-check the taxonomy, or tell the user what is blocking you rather than trying a third spelling. ## When results come back empty 1. Re-read every event and property name with the current taxonomy search/reader and check the `scope` matches what it returned, including the group-property surface for account-level properties. 2. Widen `date_range` — the window may predate instrumentation. 3. Drop `segments`, then `where`, to find which filter empties the result. 4. For property aggregations, confirm the property is in the event's `group_by`. 5. Confirm the event is still arriving with `check_for_recent_event_ingestion`.