elastic Remediate field mapping gaps
Goal: move from "the migrated panel is empty or wrong" to a concrete source-to-Elastic mapping fix. Field mapping gaps are expected in observability migrations; treat them as schema alignment work, not automatically as translator bugs.
Start with the symptom
| Symptom | First move |
|---|---|
| Empty uploaded panel / "No results found" | Use debug-uploaded-kibana-dashboard to capture the exact ES |
| Unknown column / missing field error | Read the field name from the Kibana/ES error and locate it in required_target_contract.json (Grafana), target_readiness_contract.json (Datadog), or the emitted query |
| Values look wrong but data exists | Compare source query fields/tags to translated query fields in verification_packets.json and the schema report |
| Many panels fail the same way | Fix the rule pack / field profile and rerun; do not hand-edit every panel first |
Package-native artifacts and commands
Assume the user installed the package (obs-migrate on PATH); prefix .venv/bin/ only for a repo checkout.
| What you need | File / command |
|---|---|
| Per-panel source fields -> target fields | <output-dir>/dashboards/schema_change_report.md (written by migration); use obs-migrate schema-report --artifact-dir <output-dir>/dashboards --output schema_change_report.md --contract-out telemetry_contract.json only to regenerate or combine outputs |
| Required target fields and missing/confirmed status | Grafana: <output-dir>/dashboards/required_target_contract.json; Datadog: <output-dir>/dashboards/target_readiness_contract.json |
| Source query and translated query | <output-dir>/dashboards/verification_packets.json |
| Human-readable must-fix list | <output-dir>/dashboards/migration_summary.md |
| Uploaded-panel runtime truth | debug-uploaded-kibana-dashboard capture of Kibana's actual /_query request |
Remediation loop
- Prove it is a mapping/data-view issue — confirm the target has data in the selected time range and index. Empty data is not a mapping fix.
- Open the schema report — read
<output-dir>/dashboards/schema_change_report.mdand find the row for the failing panel. Regenerate withobs-migrate schema-reportonly if you are combining old artifact dirs or rebuilding the report. - Check required fields — open
required_target_contract.json(Grafana) ortarget_readiness_contract.json(Datadog). Prioritize fields markedmissingorunknown. - Compare three sources of truth — source query fields/tags, translated ES|QL fields, and Kibana's actual runtime query. If Kibana changed aliases or buckets, note that separately.
- Choose the right fix layer:
- Grafana / PromQL: add or adjust a rule pack and rerun with
--rules-file <custom-rule-pack.yaml>. - Datadog: choose a built-in
--field-profile(otel,prometheus,elastic_agent,passthrough) or pass a custom YAML profile. - Target ingest: if Elastic lacks the needed field entirely, fix the telemetry producer/index template/runtime field before rerunning migration.
- Grafana / PromQL: add or adjust a rule pack and rerun with
- Use generated starters when possible — Grafana runs can write suggestions with
--suggest-rule-pack-out <path>; both sources can emit templates withobs-migrate extensions --source grafana|datadog --template-out <path>. - Rerun the smallest useful scope — prefer one dashboard (
try-one-source-dashboard) or selected assets before a full sweep. - Validate again — use
validate-side-by-sidefor numeric parity where applicable, anddebug-uploaded-kibana-dashboardif the UI is still empty.
Fix examples
Grafana rule-pack path:
obs-migrate extensions --source grafana --format yaml --template-out custom-rule-pack.yaml
# edit label_rewrites / label_candidates
obs-migrate migrate --source grafana ... --rules-file custom-rule-pack.yaml
Datadog field-profile path:
obs-migrate extensions --source datadog --template-out custom-field-profile.yaml
# edit metric_map / tag_map / prefixes
obs-migrate migrate --source datadog ... --field-profile custom-field-profile.yaml
Honest limits / Do NOT
- Do NOT invent
verification_packets.jsonkeys from memory. Open the file and read the actual shape for the run. - Do NOT call every empty panel a translator bug. Missing telemetry, wrong time range, wrong data view, and filters that match no documents are common.
- Do NOT patch Kibana panels one-by-one before finding the shared mapping root cause unless the user explicitly needs a one-off emergency repair.
- Do NOT use repo-only scripts for package users.
obs-migrate schema-report,obs-migrate extensions,--rules-file,--field-profile, and--suggest-rule-pack-outare the package-native paths. - Do NOT present a custom rule pack/profile as proven until you rerun and validate the affected panel.
See also
understand-source-schema— source-to-target mapping model and report locations.debug-uploaded-kibana-dashboard— capture Kibana's actual runtime query.validate-side-by-side— compare translated results after remediation.try-one-source-dashboard/migrate-selected-assets— rerun the smallest useful scope.