TS Convert From Powerbi

Power BI Report → ThoughtSpot

Converts a Power BI Project into ThoughtSpot objects through the ts powerbi CLI: parse the .pbip (TMDL model + PBIR report) → build Table + Model TML → build Answers and one tabbed Liveboard → validate and import. Anything it cannot faithfully translate is flagged for a human in the migration report, never silently downgraded.

Ask one question at a time for dependent decisions (where the next depends on the answer); batch independent questions into a single prompt to keep the migration fast.

References

Prerequisites

• ThoughtSpot profile configured — run /ts-profile-thoughtspot if not.
• ts CLI installed: pip install -e tools/ts-cli.
• A Power BI Project (.pbip) folder on disk (TMDL + PBIR). A binary .pbix must be saved as .pbip in Power BI Desktop first (Windows; one-time), or extracted with pbi-tools extract.
• The source tables already exist in a warehouse and a ThoughtSpot connection exposes them. This skill creates ThoughtSpot logical objects (Table, Model, Answers, Liveboard) over existing physical tables; it does not load data. For a demo, ts load databricks can provision synthetic tables aligned to the model.

Core rule — tiles come from the tool, never by hand

Every Answer/Liveboard tile is produced by ts powerbi build-liveboard. Never hand-author answer or liveboard TML, and never hand-edit a tile's search_query, answer_columns, or chart block. A hand-authored tile fails in one of two silent ways: a raw column reference (e.g. [Month] instead of the Month(Date) bucket) fails at render with "No data source found for the query"; and a chart tile with no axis config loads data (the board returns 200) but draws a blank chart. Either way the board looks done and shows empty tiles. If a tile needs a measure that is not in the model yet, the fix is to add that measure to the model (Step 3) and re-run build-liveboard — not to draw the tile by hand. Linting the liveboard TML (Step 4, before import) catches the missing-axis case, and ts tml verify-render (Step 4, after import) catches both, so a board that does not truly render is never handed over.

Workflow

Step 0 — Parse

ts powerbi parse <path-to-.pbip> --output /tmp/pbi_model.json

Emits tables, columns, measures, relationships, pages, visuals. Read it; note any warnings (the parser flags what it could not read rather than guessing).

Step 1 — Build the model

ts powerbi build-model <path-to-.pbip> --connection "<TS connection>" \
  --db <DATABASE> --schema <SCHEMA> --model-name "<Model name>" --output out/ \
  [--overrides overrides.json] [--lower-db-table]

Emits Table TMLs + Model TML + mapping.json. Joins carry the file's real cardinality; DAX measures/calc-columns become formulas ([formula_<name>] id-references, topologically ordered, with a cascade that flags anything depending on an un-migrated measure). Aggregation follows summarizeBy (AVG vs SUM). Time-intelligence / point-in-time / iterators are flagged NEEDS REVIEW — never faked. Read mapping.json.

Step 2 — Validate & import the model

Lint and import the tables + model, VALIDATE_ONLY first, then real:

ts tml lint out/*.tml
ts tml import out/*.table.tml out/*.model.tml --profile <name> --policy VALIDATE_ONLY
ts tml import out/*.table.tml out/*.model.tml --profile <name>

If the engine rejects a formula, drop it (and any column that depends on it) and re-import — what lands is guaranteed to work, and the report records what was pruned.

Step 3 — Resolve the hard tail INTO the model (before the liveboard)

The liveboard tiles reference these measures, so they must exist in the model first. Building the liveboard against a model still missing them is exactly what produces blank, non-rendering tiles — resolve them here, re-import (Step 2), and only then build the liveboard.

• CALCULATE(m, ALL(dims)) → group_aggregate (worked example) — already emitted by Step 1.
• SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR / YoY are flagged NEEDS REVIEW, never faked. Rebuild them deterministically with ts powerbi build-timeintel — it emits a Reference Date parameter plus sum_if reference-year / SPLY / YoY / YoY% measures (the pattern verified live; it is measure-based, so the tiles that reference them render — a hand-authored period-comparison tile does not) and merges them into the model TML:

  ts powerbi build-timeintel --specs timeintel.json --date-column "<Date column>" \
    --model out/*.model.tml
  

  timeintel.json is [{"base_name": "New Hires", "base_expr": "[formula_isNewHire]"}, ...], where base_expr is the base measure's row-level body (from mapping.json); add sply_name / yoy_name / yoy_pct_name to match the source measure names so the author's own YoY % Change measures cascade through the id-references. Verify the per-period numbers against the Power BI source before adopting — the helper never invents numbers. For a one-off exploratory answer, ts spotter answer drafts the native vs period comparison.
• Re-import the model (Step 2). Do not proceed to the liveboard until every measure a tile will reference exists in the model.

Step 4 — Build, import & VERIFY the liveboard

ts powerbi build-liveboard <path-to-.pbip> --model-name "<Model name>" --output out/
ts tml lint out/*.liveboard.tml                          # pre-import: flags any blank chart tile
ts tml import out/*.liveboard.tml --profile <name>
ts tml verify-render <liveboard-guid> --profile <name>   # REQUIRED gate; exit 1 = broken board

build-liveboard emits renderable tiles: report pages become tabs (PBI pageOrder; a Tooltip page is dropped), role-aware axes (Category → x, Series/Legend → color, matrix Rows/Columns → pivot, measures → y), a month column becomes a monthly date bucket (Month(Date)), and every chart carries its axis config. ts tml verify-render is a required gate, not optional. It also fails on a chart tile with no axis config (blank_chart_tiles) — a board can return data yet draw blank. If it reports ok:false it names the failing tile(s); the cause is almost always a tile referencing a measure not in the model (return to Step 3) or a hand-edited tile. Fix the model or re-run build-liveboard — never hand-edit the tile TML to silence the error.

Step 5 — Migration report

mapping.json accounts for every table, measure, and visual with a status (Migrated / Approximated / NEEDS REVIEW / Skipped). Note whether verify-render passed. Hand it to the user as the deliverable.

Changelog