# Chartcastr - Complete Documentation

> Automated chart delivery and AI analytics — from any data source to Slack, email, or Google Chat.

Chartcastr is an automated chart delivery and AI analytics platform that moves charts and metrics from Google Sheets, Shopify, Xero, HubSpot, Meta Ads, and 20+ other data sources into Slack, email, WhatsApp, and Google Chat with AI-powered summaries. It replaces manual screenshot workflows with scheduled, context-aware data pulses. Setup takes under 5 minutes with no code required.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do I send Google Sheets charts to Slack automatically without screenshots?
Chartcastr connects your Google Sheets account via OAuth, captures charts on a schedule (hourly, daily, weekly, or custom cron), and delivers them to Slack channels with AI-powered analysis summaries. No code, no screenshots, no manual exports. Setup takes under 5 minutes: connect Google Sheets, select your chart, pick a Slack channel, and set a schedule. Chartcastr natively renders chart images from Google Sheets, handles OAuth token refresh automatically, and supports both published and private sheets.

### What is the best way to schedule recurring chart updates for my team?
Chartcastr lets you schedule chart deliveries on any cadence: hourly, daily, weekly, or custom cron expressions for precise timing. Most teams use daily morning pulses (e.g., 9am every weekday) or weekly Monday summaries. Each delivery includes the latest chart image plus an AI-generated summary highlighting what changed since the last delivery. Schedules are timezone-aware and support complex patterns like "first Monday of each month" via cron.

### Can I deliver charts to both Slack and email?
Yes. Chartcastr supports multiple destinations per chart. Connect one chart to a Slack channel and email recipients simultaneously, each with their own schedule and AI summary settings. Each destination operates independently — different schedules, different AI models, different delivery preferences.

### How does Chartcastr's AI analysis work?
Chartcastr uses AI (Claude, OpenAI GPT, or Google Gemini — your choice) to analyze chart images and generate summaries. The AI compares the current chart to previous deliveries, highlighting trends, anomalies, and week-over-week changes. It incorporates your company's context through RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) using documents from Google Sheets tabs, Google Docs, Notion, and user notes. You can ask follow-up questions by @mentioning the bot in Slack threads, and it will provide vision-based analysis of the original chart.

### What data sources does Chartcastr support?
Chartcastr currently supports Google Sheets, Shopify, Xero, Meta Ads, Google Search Console, Google Ads, Linear, Typeform, and HubSpot CRM as live data sources. Google Sheets is the most popular source — it supports both published and private charts, pivot tables, and embedded images (including Connected Sheets for warehouse-backed data). Additional sources are being added based on customer demand.

### What destinations can Chartcastr deliver to?
Chartcastr delivers to Slack channels with native Block Kit formatting, AI summaries, interactive thread follow-ups, reaction tracking, and cross-linking to previous deliveries. Email delivery is available for formatted reports with charts and summaries. Google Chat is supported with native card delivery to spaces. Webhook destinations are on the roadmap.

### How is Chartcastr different from Zapier/n8n or manual screenshots?
Chartcastr is purpose-built for chart delivery with AI analysis. Unlike Zapier, it natively renders chart images from Google Sheets (no screenshots), generates AI-powered summaries comparing to previous deliveries, supports interactive follow-up questions in Slack threads, and handles chart-specific complexities like OAuth token refresh and image accessibility. Setup is under 5 minutes vs building multi-step Zaps with brittle screenshot services.

### What context sources can I connect for better AI analysis?
Chartcastr supports external context documents to enrich AI analysis via RAG. You can connect Google Sheets tabs (not charts — separate data), Google Docs, Notion pages, and add custom user notes. The AI uses this context to provide summaries that understand your business metrics and terminology. OneDrive is available in early access, with Confluence coming soon.

### Can AI agents interact with Chartcastr?
Chartcastr is building developer API and AI agent integration capabilities. This includes a REST API, an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for AI agents like Claude Desktop and Cursor, and GPT Actions for ChatGPT. Contact support@chartcastr.com for early access to developer integrations.

## Overview

Chartcastr is a platform for automatically sending charts and data visualizations from Google Sheets and other data sources to Slack and email. It uses RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) to incorporate internal context about your data and provides AI-generated summaries with historical comparison.

## Key Features

### Automated Chart Delivery
Schedule automatic delivery of charts from Google Sheets to your team's Slack channels. Configure settings for each chart including destination, schedule, and AI model preference.

### AI-Powered Summaries
Get AI-generated insights and pattern detection using Claude (Anthropic), OpenAI GPT, or Google Gemini. The AI analyzes chart data to highlight patterns, trends, anomalies, and week-over-week changes, incorporating your company context via RAG.

### Interactive Follow-ups
@mention the Chartcastr bot in Slack pulse threads to ask follow-up questions. The AI uses vision to analyze the original chart image and your context documents to provide detailed answers.

### Flexible Scheduling
Set up hourly, daily, weekly, or custom schedules using cron expressions for precise control. Supports timezone-aware scheduling and complex patterns.

### Multiple Destinations
Send charts to Slack channels, email, and Google Chat spaces. Webhook destinations are on the roadmap.

### Pattern Detection
Combine human review with AI-powered analysis — receive highlights pointing out patterns and outliers that might otherwise go unnoticed.

## Use Cases

### Daily Standups
Share up-to-date KPI dashboards with your team every morning to keep everyone focused and aligned.

### Pulse Channels
Automatically post analytics to always-on channels like `#data-insights` or `#company-pulse`, so everyone sees trends in real time.

### Sales Dashboards
Track weekly revenue by region, pipeline by stage, and closed-won deals vs quota with automated Slack delivery and AI analysis.

### Marketing KPIs
Monitor campaign performance (CTR, CPC, conversions), lead generation funnel, and marketing ROI with scheduled chart pulses.

### Finance Reports
Automate monthly P&L with variance analysis, cash flow forecasts, and budget vs actual spend by department.

### Engineering Metrics
Track deployment frequency, error rates, system uptime, and pull request velocity with automated dashboards.

### Customer Success
Monitor customer health scores, churn risk, expansion pipeline, and NPS trends by segment.

### E-Commerce Analytics
Connect Shopify data to track order volume, revenue trends, and conversion metrics with automated delivery to Slack.

## Supported Integrations

### Data Sources (Live)

#### Google Sheets
Connect your Google Sheets to automatically capture and share charts and pivot tables. Supports both published and private sheets via OAuth. The most popular source.

#### Shopify
Connect your Shopify store to track e-commerce metrics, order data, and revenue trends.

#### Xero
Connect Xero for automated financial reports, P&L statements, and cash flow tracking.

#### Meta Ads
Connect Meta Ads to track advertising performance metrics, campaign spend, and conversions.

#### Google Search Console
Monitor search analytics, keyword rankings, and organic traffic trends.

#### Linear
Connect Linear for project metrics, sprint tracking, and cycle analytics.

#### Typeform
Track form responses, completion rates, and survey data from Typeform.

#### HubSpot CRM
Connect HubSpot for deals, contacts, pipeline metrics, and CRM analytics.

#### BigQuery
Connect BigQuery for cloud data warehouse queries and analytics.

### Data Sources (Request Only / Private Beta)

#### Google Ads
Track campaign performance, ad spend, and conversion metrics from Google Ads. Currently in private beta — contact support@chartcastr.com to request access.

### Destinations (Live)

#### Slack
Send charts to Slack channels with native Block Kit formatting. Supports AI summaries, interactive thread follow-ups, reaction tracking, and cross-linking to previous deliveries.

#### Email
Send charts via email with formatted reports including charts and AI summaries.

#### WhatsApp
Deliver charts to WhatsApp chats.

#### Google Chat
Deliver charts to Google Chat spaces with native card formatting.

### Context Sources (Live)

#### Google Sheets (tabs)
Use Google Sheets tabs and ranges as AI context (separate from chart sources).

#### Google Docs
Connect Google Docs as AI context for enriched summaries.

#### Notion
Connect Notion pages and databases as AI context.

#### User Notes
Add custom text notes as AI context for your charts.

### Context Sources (Early Access / Coming Soon)

#### OneDrive
Connect OneDrive documents. Early access.

#### Confluence
Connect Confluence pages. Coming soon.

### AI Models

#### Claude (Anthropic)
Use Claude for intelligent chart summaries and pattern detection with vision analysis.

#### OpenAI GPT
Leverage GPT models for AI-powered insights and chart analysis.

#### Google Gemini
Integrate with Gemini for AI-generated chart analysis and summaries.

## How It Works

1. **Connect Your Data Source**: Link your Google Sheets, Shopify, or other account via secure OAuth.
2. **Select Charts**: Choose which charts, sheets, or data to monitor.
3. **Connect Destinations**: Set up Slack, email, or Google Chat delivery.
4. **Configure Schedule**: Set when and how often to send using flexible scheduling.
5. **Deliver**: Charts are automatically delivered with AI summaries on your schedule.

## Developer API (Early Access)

Chartcastr is building developer API and AI agent integration capabilities:

### REST API
OpenAPI 3.0 compliant REST API. Endpoints for listing sources, destinations, connections, and searching pulses. Contact support@chartcastr.com for early access.

### MCP Server
Model Context Protocol server for AI agent integration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.). Tools: list_sources, list_destinations, list_connections, get_latest_pulse, verify_connection, open_chartcastr. Contact support@chartcastr.com for early access.

### GPT Actions
ChatGPT Custom GPT integration via GPT Actions with OpenAPI spec. Contact support@chartcastr.com for early access.

## Automated Chart Delivery (pSEO)

Browse all Source × Chart Type × Destination × Schedule combinations at https://chartcastr.com/send

Each page covers a specific automation use case, e.g., "Send Google Sheets bar charts to Slack daily" with step-by-step setup, AI analysis details, scheduling info, and FAQs.

### Available Dimensions
- **14 Sources**: Google Sheets, Shopify, Xero, Xero Practice Manager, HubSpot, Meta Ads, Google Ads, Google Search Console, PostHog, Plausible, Linear, Resend, Typeform, Ahrefs
- **7 Chart Types**: Bar Chart, Line Chart, Area Chart, Pie Chart, Scatter Plot, Table, Combo Chart
- **3 Destinations**: Slack, Email, Google Chat
- **8 Schedules**: Daily, Weekly, Every Monday, On a Schedule, Every Quarter, First of Month, Every Morning, Hourly

### Example Pages
- Google Sheets Bar Chart to Slack Daily: https://chartcastr.com/send/google-sheets-bar-chart-to-slack-daily
- Shopify Line Chart to Email Weekly: https://chartcastr.com/send/shopify-line-chart-to-email-weekly
- HubSpot Pie Chart to Slack Every Monday: https://chartcastr.com/send/hubspot-pie-chart-to-slack-every-monday
- Xero Area Chart to Email First of Month: https://chartcastr.com/send/xero-area-chart-to-email-first-of-month
- Meta Ads Combo Chart to Slack Daily: https://chartcastr.com/send/meta-ads-combo-chart-to-slack-daily
- Google Ads Line Chart to Google Chat Weekly: https://chartcastr.com/send/google-ads-line-chart-to-google-chat-weekly
- PostHog Bar Chart to Slack Every Morning: https://chartcastr.com/send/posthog-bar-chart-to-slack-every-morning
- Linear Table to Email Weekly: https://chartcastr.com/send/linear-table-to-email-weekly
- Plausible Line Chart to Slack Daily: https://chartcastr.com/send/plausible-line-chart-to-slack-daily
- Google Search Console Area Chart to Email First of Month: https://chartcastr.com/send/google-search-console-area-chart-to-email-first-of-month

## Use Case Pages

- Sales Dashboards in Slack: https://chartcastr.com/use-cases/sales-dashboards-slack
- Marketing KPIs in Slack: https://chartcastr.com/use-cases/marketing-kpis-slack
- Finance Reports to Slack: https://chartcastr.com/use-cases/finance-reports-slack
- Product Metrics in Slack: https://chartcastr.com/use-cases/product-metrics-slack
- Engineering Metrics in Slack: https://chartcastr.com/use-cases/engineering-metrics-slack
- Customer Health in Slack: https://chartcastr.com/use-cases/customer-success-health
- People Analytics in Slack: https://chartcastr.com/use-cases/hr-people-analytics

## Documentation

- Main Documentation: https://docs.chartcastr.com
- Quickstart Guide: https://docs.chartcastr.com/quickstart
- Integrations: https://docs.chartcastr.com/integrations/sources
- AI Summaries Guide: https://docs.chartcastr.com/guides/ai-summaries

## Contact & Support

- Website: https://chartcastr.com
- Documentation: https://docs.chartcastr.com
- Support Email: support@chartcastr.com

## Legal

- Privacy Policy: https://chartcastr.com/privacy
- Terms of Service: https://chartcastr.com/terms