---
url: https://docs.ridgedata.ai/guide/introduction.md
---
# What is Ridge?

Ridge AI builds dashboards from your data. You can embed a published dashboard in your
app, with Ridge hosting the dashboard and its data.

The Embed SDK offers two ways to embed a dashboard:

* An **iframe embed** loads a signed Ridge URL in its own document. You can add it with
  an `<iframe>` tag and control it through `postMessage`.
* A **JavaScript embed** loads directly into your page. Your server creates a short-lived JWT,
  and the browser API lets you manage state, handle events, customize the theme, and export images.

Both display the same dashboard and use the same state format. They differ in authentication,
page isolation, and available controls. See [Choose an embed](./getting-started) for a comparison.

## The guides

* **[Choose an embed](./getting-started)** — compare the two options.
* **[Iframe quickstart](./iframe)** — embed a signed URL with no host JavaScript.
* **[JavaScript quickstart](./javascript)** — exchange an API key for a JWT and mount with JavaScript.
* **Authentication** — separately documented for [iframe](./iframe-authentication) and
  [JavaScript](./javascript-authentication) embeds.
* **[Dashboard state](./state)** — read and write component state; discover what each accepts.
* **[Filters](./filters)** — read and update dashboard filters.
* **[Partitioning](./partitioning)** — enforce row-level data access.
* **[Events](./events)** — respond to user interactions and wait for rendering to finish.
* **[Theming](./theming)** — match the dashboard to your product's design.
* **[Reference](/reference/)** — REST endpoints, JavaScript methods, and iframe messages.