Sigma Reports (Code Representation via REST API)
Use this skill for Sigma reports, the fixed-page authoring surface exposed
by /v2/reports/spec. Reports are a private-beta resource. They share common
element shapes with workbooks but have a different resource lifecycle and a
different layout language.
Choose the correct resource
Use a report for invoices, statements, regulatory packets, printable forms,
branded documents, and other outputs whose physical page size matters. Use
sigma-workbooks for responsive dashboards, exploratory analysis, application
workflows, containers, tabs, modals, drawers, or workbook navigation.
Never create a report by sending kind: report to a workbook endpoint. The
resource families are separate:
- Reports:
/v2/reports/spec,/v2/reports/{reportId}/spec - Workbooks:
/v2/workbooks/spec,/v2/workbooks/{workbookId}/spec - Conversion:
/v2/workbooks/{workbookId}/convertToReport
Source of truth
Use the current compiled OpenAPI for endpoint envelopes and published shapes:
https://assets.sigmacomputing.com/openapi/public-rest-api/sigma-computing-public-rest-api.json
The report endpoints currently declare application/json only. Author JSON
unless a live request proves another media type works. The schema is broader
than the documented report contract, so a published element kind is not proof
that reports can safely author it. Read
reference/specification/support-matrix.md before selecting elements.
Live baseline, verified 2026-08-11: a JSON report with a warehouse-table
source, text, KPI, combo-chart, bar-chart, grouped presentation table, data
bars, a hidden dependency page, and header/footer panels passed /verify,
created successfully, survived GET readback, updated as a new document version,
and exported as a one-page landscape PDF with populated data. The support
matrix records which findings this proves and which schema-published features
remain gated.
Expanded baseline, verified from a populated five-page PDF on 2026-09-19:
custom-SQL sources on a hidden data page, comparative KPI scorecards, inline
SVG hero/band images, themed multi-page output, conditional tables, and a
column-backed waterfall-chart all rendered successfully. This evidence
supersedes the earlier policy that rejected waterfall charts and treated
report settings as unproven.
Shared-shape refresh, verified 2026-09-15 against the compiled OpenAPI and
non-persistent report /verify: common element pointers now use
{columnId: ...}, pivot shelves use {columnId: ...}, and
seriesLineAreaStyle is a list of {columnId, style} objects. Text/KPI
alignment uses directional values (left/center/right and
top/center/bottom), not start/middle/end. The old pointer, map, and
alignment forms returned HTTP 400 while the replacement forms verified
valid:true. Report PUT also publishes optional documentVersion for
optimistic concurrency.
When documentation, this skill, and a live verify/readback disagree, prefer the live result and preserve the evidence. Run the bundled OpenAPI contract test against a fresh download when the API reports a shape error:
curl -sfL \
https://assets.sigmacomputing.com/openapi/public-rest-api/sigma-computing-public-rest-api.json \
-o /tmp/sigma-openapi.json
ruby scripts/test-openapi-contract.rb /tmp/sigma-openapi.json
Prerequisites and safety
- Authenticate with the
sigma-apiskill. SetSIGMA_BASE_URLandSIGMA_API_TOKEN. - Confirm reports are enabled for the organization and the caller has Create, edit, and publish reports permission. Updating also requires Can edit access to the report.
- Treat every create as persistent. The current OpenAPI exposes no report DELETE endpoint. Do not create a probe report without explicit user approval and a named destination folder.
- Treat PUT as full-document replacement. Always GET, back up, compare, edit,
validate, verify, PUT with the retrieved
documentVersion, and read back. - A report GET can omit unsupported UI-authored features. Never assume a GET representation is lossless merely because the request succeeded.
Recommended workflow
Step 1: Discover identity and folder; use references only when needed
curl -sf -H "Authorization: Bearer $SIGMA_API_TOKEN" \
"$SIGMA_BASE_URL/v2/whoami" > /tmp/whoami.json
Do not browse arbitrary reports. If the OpenAPI, scaffolds, and references do
not answer a specific shape question, list reports once, choose one relevant
reference, cache its spec, and use it only for that question. Obtain the
current schemaVersion from a relevant report GET or a user-provided target;
do not hardcode the value shown in examples.
Load reference/workflows/discover.md and resolve the report's source,
columns, grain, period rules, and page-slice counts before drafting.
Step 2: Classify and scaffold the report
Load reference/workflows/generate.md. Classify the request as an executive/
board report, wide operational table, or statement. Generate a complete local
starting point instead of drafting raw JSON from nothing:
ruby scripts/scaffold-report.rb \
--template board \
--name "Quarterly Business Review" \
--folder-id "<folder-id>" \
--connection-id "<connection-id>" \
--company "ACME" \
--output /tmp/report-spec.json
Use --template wide-table for multi-page tabloid-landscape tables. Replace
the synthetic SQL/data labels while retaining the proven geometry, panels,
hidden data page, and explicit column contracts.
Step 3: Load the relevant references
Always read:
reference/specification/schema.mdreference/specification/layout.mdreference/specification/support-matrix.mdreference/workflows/discover.mdreference/workflows/validate.md
Also read reference/workflows/crud.md before an API write and
reference/workflows/convert.md before converting a workbook.
Common element internals, source formulas, and column shapes are published in
the same OpenAPI union used by workbooks. If sigma-workbooks is installed,
its table, chart, map, KPI, control, source, formula, and formatting references
are useful shape recipes. Apply only kinds allowed by the report support
matrix, and never copy workbook grid layout or workbook-only elements.
For shared shapes changed by the released code contract:
- use
columnId, neverid, in map channels and pivotrowsBy/columnsByshelf entries; - emit
seriesLineAreaStyleand themecolorOverridesas lists, not ID/name-keyed maps; - use
verticalAlign: top|center|bottom; - use KPI
layout.anchor: left|center|rightandlayout.verticalAnchor: top|center|bottom; - wrap page background URLs as
backgroundImage: {source: {kind: url, url: ...}, style: ...}; - use
settings.theme.{name,overrides}, not the removed document-levelthemeName/themeOverrides.
Step 4: Draft the wrapped JSON representation
Start with reference/specification/example-minimal.json. The create and
verify envelope is:
{
"name": "Monthly Statement",
"folderId": "<folder-id>",
"document": {
"schemaVersion": 1,
"kind": "report",
"config": {"pageWidth": 816, "pageHeight": 1056, "margin": 48},
"elements": [],
"pages": [{"id": "page-1", "name": "Page 1"}],
"layout": "<Page id=\"page-1\"></Page>"
}
}
Rules:
- Keep literal elements in flat
document.elements. - Keep pages and panels as metadata; never nest
elementsinside them. - Put all placement in
document.layoutXML. - Place leaves with absolute
x,y,width, andheightpixel values. - Use report panels only for
headerandfooterregions. - Do not emit workbook
gridColumn,gridRow, container, tab, overlay, or sidebar syntax. - Compute horizontal positions from widths + gaps and vertical positions from a y-cursor. Never rely on unrelated magic-number offsets.
- Put reusable SQL/data-model sources on a hidden data page and declare every
custom-SQL alias through
[Custom SQL/<alias>]. - For wide multi-page output, clone the visible table per page and filter each clone with an explicit page-slice key; do not rely on one tall table flowing without inspection.
Step 5: Validate locally
ruby scripts/validate-spec.rb --mode create /tmp/report-spec.json
Fix every error. The validator catches pointer casing/targets, grouped-table mistakes, SQL contracts, overlaps, geometry, and representation shape. Warnings identify schema-only/unknown capabilities or visible detail columns that need a deliberate decision.
Step 6: Verify without persistence
curl -sf -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SIGMA_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Accept: application/json" \
--data-binary @/tmp/report-spec.json \
"$SIGMA_BASE_URL/v2/reports/spec/verify" \
> /tmp/report-verify.json
Verification checks server-side representation and dependencies without creating a report. It does not prove the PDF layout is correct or that GET will round-trip every UI feature.
Step 7: Create only with explicit approval
After the user approves the persistent write and destination folder:
curl -sf -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SIGMA_API_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "Accept: application/json" \
--data-binary @/tmp/report-spec.json \
"$SIGMA_BASE_URL/v2/reports/spec" \
> /tmp/report-create.json
Save the submitted representation under a report-ID-specific path. Report the report URL, ID, and saved path.
Step 8: Read back and inspect output
Immediately GET the representation and compare normalized documents. Confirm that optional fields survived and that no element, panel, page, or setting was silently dropped. Then export the affected pages to PDF and inspect the actual page breaks, clipping, typography, header/footer repetition, and margins.
ruby scripts/verify-report.rb "<report-id>"
ruby scripts/render-report.rb "<report-id>" /tmp/report-render --layout portrait
Read every generated page-N.png. For dense tables, verify the final visible
row and each subtotal; for board reports, verify the narrative hierarchy,
KPI labels/deltas, chart axes, bridge start/end totals, and negative colors.
Do not claim parity from a successful POST or PUT alone.
Step 9: Update with a loss check
Follow reference/workflows/crud.md. The short version is:
- GET and back up the current report representation.
- Inventory report pages, controls, and elements through their resource APIs.
- Stop if the inventory contains content absent from the GET representation.
- Edit the complete
document. - Validate in
--mode updateand call/v2/reports/spec/verifywith a create envelope assembled from the current name/folder and edited document. - PUT
{"document": {...}, "documentVersion": <version-from-GET>}. The version is optional in OpenAPI but strongly recommended so a concurrent edit fails instead of being overwritten. - GET again, compare, export, and inspect.
Reference index
| File | Load when |
|---|---|
reference/specification/schema.md |
Always. Wrapped envelope, document fields, pages, panels, response metadata. |
reference/specification/layout.md |
Always. Pixel XML, bounds, page and panel placement. |
reference/specification/support-matrix.md |
Always. Safe, gated, unsupported, and workbook-only kinds. |
reference/specification/example-minimal.json |
Starting a new report representation. |
reference/workflows/discover.md |
Finding sources/columns, proving grain, resolving periods, and sizing page slices. |
reference/workflows/generate.md |
Generating executive/board reports, statements, or wide multi-page operational tables. |
reference/workflows/crud.md |
Creating, retrieving, or replacing a report document. |
reference/workflows/validate.md |
Before every verify, POST, or PUT and after readback. |
reference/workflows/convert.md |
Converting an existing workbook into a report. |
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Action |
|---|---|
unknown field, unexpected property, or missing field |
Compare the endpoint against the compiled OpenAPI and rerun the contract test. |
Invalid kind after adding a channel or shelf |
Replace legacy {id: ...} with {columnId: ...} and check list-vs-map fields. |
| A field or element disappears on GET | Re-send it with a non-default value before concluding anything — a field set to the server default is normalized out of the readback (KPI layout.verticalAnchor: center does this; top/bottom persist). If it disappears for every value, treat the representation as lossy and do not PUT until the omitted feature is removed intentionally or preserved another way. |
| Content overlaps or clips | Check pixel bounds, page dimensions, margins, and repeated panel height; inspect a PDF export. |
| A wide table clips or loses its final rows | Split it into explicit page-filtered table clones, budget row height, and inspect every rendered page. |
columnID, {id: ...}, or an unknown column pointer appears |
Use exact columnId and a column ID declared on the owning element; run the local validator before verify. |
| A custom-SQL source renders unknown columns | Quote aliases in SQL and declare each with [Custom SQL/<exact alias>]. |
| A workbook grid attribute appears in report XML | Replace it with absolute x, y, width, and height. |
progress or synced control is requested |
Stop or redesign; the published schema is not a safe report-authoring guarantee. waterfall-chart is supported using the proven shape in the board scaffold. |
| Conversion succeeds with warnings | Review every warning and its element IDs before accepting the generated report. |
Unknown column or Circular column reference in a rendered cell |
Qualify the formula with the source element name ([Order Fact View/Net Revenue]). Bare [Column] against a data-model source passes verify, create, and readback, then renders as error text. |
Reports are private beta. Prefer explicit evidence and reversible local edits over speculative API writes.