[[introduction]]
== {kib} — your window into the Elastic Stack
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What is Kibana?
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**_Visualize and analyze your data and manage all things Elastic Stack._**
Whether you’re an analyst or an admin, {kib} makes your data actionable by providing
three key functions. Kibana is:
* **An open-source analytics and visualization platform.**
Use {kib} to explore your {es} data, and then build beautiful visualizations and dashboards.
* **A UI for managing the Elastic Stack.**
Manage your security settings, assign user roles, take snapshots, roll up your data,
and more — all from the convenience of a {kib} UI.
* **A centralized hub for Elastic's solutions.** From log analytics to
document discovery to SIEM, {kib} is the portal for accessing these and other capabilities.
[role="screenshot"]
image::images/intro-kibana.png[Kibana home page]
[float]
[[get-data-into-kibana]]
=== Ingest data
{kib} is designed to use {es} as a data source. Think of Elasticsearch as the engine that stores
and processes the data, with {kib} sitting on top.
To start working with your data in Kibana, use one of the many ingest options,
available from the home page. You can collect data from an app or service or upload a file that contains your data.
If you're not ready to use your own data, you can add a sample data set
to give {kib} a test drive.
[role="screenshot"]
image::setup/images/add-data-home.png[Built-in options for adding data to Kibana: Add data, Add Elastic Agent, Upload a file]
[float]
[[explore-and-query]]
=== Explore & query
Ready to dive into your data? With <>, you can explore your data and
search for hidden insights and relationships. Ask your questions, and then
narrow the results to just the data you want.
[role="screenshot"]
image::images/intro-discover.png[Discover UI]
[float]
[[visualize-and-analyze]]
=== Visualize & analyze
A visualization is worth a thousand log lines, and {kib} provides
many options for showcasing your data. Use <>,
our drag-and-drop interface,
to rapidly build
charts, tables, metrics, and more. If there
is a better visualization for your data, *Lens* suggests it, allowing for quick
switching between visualization types.
Once your visualizations are just the way you want,
use <> to collect them in one place. A dashboard provides
insights into your data from multiple perspectives.
[role="screenshot"]
image::images/intro-dashboard.png[Sample eCommerce data set dashboard]
{kib} also offers these visualization features:
* <