metabase-representation-format

Metabase Representation Format

Metabase represents user-created content as a tree of YAML files. Each file is one entity (a collection, card, dashboard, etc.). The format is portable across Metabase instances: numeric database IDs are replaced with human-readable names and entity IDs.

The format is defined by a spec bundled alongside this file as

spec.md

(upstream source: the

@metabase/representations

npm package). The same package ships a CLI (

npx @metabase/representations validate-schema

) that validates a tree of YAML files against the format.

Entities

The format defines 11 entity types.

Entity	SerDes Model	Description
Collection	`Collection`	Folder-like container for organizing content. Hierarchy via `parent_id` . Namespaces: `null` (main), `"snippets"` , `"transforms"` .
Card	`Card`	Question, model, or metric. Holds an MBQL or native `dataset_query` . Display types: table, bar, line, pie, scalar, etc. Card types: `"question"` , `"model"` , `"metric"` .
Dashboard	`Dashboard`	Grid layout (24 columns) of cards with filter parameters and optional tabs. Contains `dashcards` array for card placement and `parameters` array for filter controls.
Document	`Document`	Rich text page using ProseMirror AST. Can embed cards via `cardEmbed` nodes and link to entities via `smartLink` nodes.
Segment	`Segment`	Saved filter definition scoped to a table. Definition is a pMBQL query with a single stage containing only `source-table` and `filters` .
Measure	`Measure`	Saved aggregation definition scoped to a table. Definition is a pMBQL query with a single stage containing only `source-table` and exactly one `aggregation` .
Snippet	`NativeQuerySnippet`	Reusable SQL fragment referenced in native queries via `{{snippet: Name}}` .
Transform	`Transform`	Materializes query or Python script results into a database table. Source is either MBQL/native query or Python script.
TransformTag	`TransformTag`	Label for categorizing transforms. Built-in types: `"hourly"` , `"daily"` , `"weekly"` , `"monthly"` , or `null` for custom.
TransformJob	`TransformJob`	Scheduled job (cron) that executes transforms matching specific tags.
PythonLibrary	`PythonLibrary`	Shared Python source file available to Python-based transforms.

Ownership and hierarchy

Critical — folder layout is decorative. Where an entity lands in Metabase is decided entirely by its fields, not by where its YAML file sits in the tree. Moving a file without updating the fields changes nothing. Updating the fields without moving the file still works correctly. Always treat the fields below as the source of truth.

The fields that actually determine placement:

collection_id
(entity_id of a collection) — places the entity in that collection.
```
null
```
or omitted → root collection.
parent_id
on a collection — this, and only this, sets the collection's own parent. A collection's position in the folder tree is ignored on import; without
```
parent_id
```
(or with
```
parent_id: null
```
) the collection becomes a root-level collection, no matter how deep its folder is nested. To nest one collection under another, set
```
parent_id
```
to the parent collection's
```
entity_id
```
.
dashboard_id
/ document_id
on a card — nests a card under a dashboard or document. Such a card must also set
```
collection_id
```
to match the parent's
```
collection_id
```
. A card never sets both.

On disk, cards nested under a dashboard or document live in a subfolder next to the parent YAML (e.g.

my_dashboard/card.yaml

sitting next to

my_dashboard.yaml

) — but again, this is purely for human navigation; the fields are what Metabase reads.

Import paths

Metabase only imports YAML from these top-level directories; anything outside is ignored:

```
collections/
```
— all user content (cards, dashboards, documents, snippets, transforms, etc.), partitioned by namespace:
```
main/
```
,
```
snippets/
```
,
```
transforms/
```
.
```
databases/
```
— only the
```
segments/
```
and
```
measures/
```
subdirectories under each table are imported.
```
python_libraries/
```
(also accepted as
```
python-libraries/
```
).

transforms/

— contains

transform_jobs/

and

transform_tags/

serdes/meta

Every entity carries a top-level

serdes/meta

array that encodes its identity path. Each entry is

{id, model, label?}

—

label

is the slugified name and is present on entities keyed by NanoID. Example:

yaml

serdes/meta:
- id: NDzkGoTCdRcaRyt7GOepg
  label: my_entity_name
  model: Card

validate-schema

reads

serdes/meta

to determine which entity type each file represents. The full rules (including nested entities and composite identity paths) are in

spec.md

Reading the spec

This skill ships with a local snapshot of the spec as

spec.md

alongside

SKILL.md

Beyond the per-entity shapes summarized in this SKILL,

spec.md

also covers: MBQL query form (stages, field references, joins, expressions, aggregations, filter/expression operators, temporal bucketing, binning), native queries and template tags (

text

number

date

boolean

dimension

temporal-unit

card

snippet

table

), visualization settings, click behavior, and dashboard/card parameters. Reach for

spec.md

whenever edits touch any of those.

Read on demand, not eagerly. Open

spec.md

only when you are about to read or modify content files for the entities listed above — e.g. the user asks to edit a card, add a dashcard, tweak a transform, or similar work that implies YAML edits. Do not open it at session start or for tasks unrelated to representation YAML.

If the bundled copy looks out of date with the upstream package, the skill's own

README.md

documents how to refresh it with

extract-spec

Validating

Validate edits with the built-in CLI:

npx @metabase/representations validate-schema --folder <path>

Pass the top-level export folder, or the git repository root. The tool walks the import paths listed above, reads

serdes/meta

on each file to pick the right validation rules, and exits non-zero on failure. Prefer running this over manually cross-checking field shapes. It's essentially instant, so invoke it whenever useful — after each edit, between edits, whenever the shape of a file feels uncertain. No reason to batch.

Generating entity IDs

Every entity needs a 21-character NanoID for

entity_id

. Generate one (or several) with the bundled CLI:

npx @metabase/representations generate-entity-id
# → LZfXLFzPPR4NNrgjlWDxn

npx @metabase/representations generate-entity-id --count 5

Generating UUIDs

Some fields in the format require v4 UUIDs rather than NanoIDs — notably

lib/uuid

on MBQL aggregation clauses (referenced from

order-by

and later stages) and the

id

on dashboard/card parameters. Generate them with:

npx @metabase/representations generate-uuid
# → 1d4e9fdf-49ae-4fbe-ae27-05e7c6a5cfe8

npx @metabase/representations generate-uuid --count 3

metabase-representation-format

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content