torque/docs/reference/03-using-a-custom-SQL-query.md

Using a custom SQL query

Name	Description
query	A string object, the SQL query to be performed to fetch the data. Default value is null. You must use this param or table, but not at the same time
Tip: For a Torque category layer that is created dynamically with cartodb.createLayer, the SQL query must explicitly include how to build the torque_category column. You must include both the sql and table_name parameters. See this createLayer with torque category layer example.