name: metabase_ingest

description: Convert Metabase questions, models, and metrics into ktx Semantic Layer source definitions. Covers result-metadata to KSL column type mapping, FK/PK detection, near-duplicate deduplication, pre-aggregation decomposition, join-graph connectivity, and how to react to priorProvenance from earlier ingest syncs. Load when the WorkUnit contains cards/<id>.json files under a Metabase bundle.

callers: [memory_agent]

Metabase to ktx Semantic Layer

Each WorkUnit represents one Metabase collection's cards for one Metabase database (mapped to exactly one ktx connection). Every cards/<id>.json file carries the resolved SQL, result_metadata, card type, collection path, and referenced-card ids. The WU's sync-config.json tells you which sync mode is active and which selections apply. databases/<id>.json tells you the target ktx connection.

Context format

Each card JSON looks like:

{
  "metabaseId": 7,
  "name": "Daily orders",
  "description": "Orders by day",
  "type": "model",
  "databaseId": 42,
  "collectionId": 5,
  "resolvedSql": "SELECT ...",
  "templateTags": [{"name": "ref", "type": "card", "cardReference": 10}],
  "resultMetadata": [
    {"name": "day", "base_type": "type/DateTime", "semantic_type": "type/CreationTimestamp"},
    {"name": "order_count", "base_type": "type/Integer"}
  ],
  "collectionPath": ["Data", "Orders Team"],
  "referencedCardIds": [10]
}

Use resultMetadata to:

• Map base_type to KSL column type: type/Integer, type/Float, type/Decimal, type/BigInteger → number; type/Text, type/TextLike → string; type/DateTime, type/Date, type/DateTimeWithTZ → time; type/Boolean → boolean.
• Identify grain candidates: columns with semantic_type: type/PK.
• Identify join candidates: columns with semantic_type: type/FK plus fk_target_field_id.
• Identify time columns: semantic_type: type/CreationTimestamp or type/UpdatedTimestamp → set role: time.
• Use display_name for measure descriptions when available.

Additional card metadata

• parameters: list of card-level parameters with widget types and defaults. When SQL resolution fell back to unresolved SQL, use this to drive Step A of the SQL-translation workflow (drop optional clauses): knowing each {{ var }} is type: "date/range" vs type: "category" tells you what kind of clause it is.
• resultMetadata[i].field_ref: Metabase's canonical reference to the source warehouse field. Shape ["field", <field_id>, <options>]. When this is set, the column maps directly to a warehouse field, which is useful for declaring joins from FK metadata without re-parsing SQL.
• lastRunAt: ISO timestamp of the card's last execution. If null or very old, the card may be dead; prefer skipping over creating a source.
• dashboardCount: number of dashboards referencing the card. Cards with dashboardCount: 0 and a stale lastRunAt are strong skip signals.

Before writing a wiki page derived from a Metabase question SQL, verify each

schema.table.column mentioned with entity_details.

Identifier Verification Protocol

Before writing a wiki page or SL source on any topic:

1. discover_data({query: "<topic>"}) - see what wikis, SL sources, and raw

tables already exist. Prefer updating existing pages over creating new ones.

Before emitting any schema.table or schema.table.column into a wiki body,

SL source, tables: frontmatter, sl_refs, or emit_unmapped_fallback:

1. entity_details({connectionId, targets: [{display: "<identifier>"}]}) -

confirm the identifier resolves; inspect native types, FK/PK, and

sampleValues.

1. For literal values from the source, such as status codes or plan tiers,

check whether they appear in entity_details sampleValues for the relevant

column. If sampleValues is short or the sample may have missed real values,

run a sql_execution probe with the same warehouse connection id:

sql_execution({connectionId, sql: "SELECT DISTINCT <col> FROM <ref> LIMIT 50"}).

1. If the candidate identifier still does not resolve, do one of:

• Use sql_execution({connectionId, sql: "SELECT 1 FROM <ref> LIMIT 0"}).

If it errors, the identifier is fictional.

• Wrap the identifier in [unverified - from <rawPath>] in the wiki body,

citing the exact raw path that mentioned it.

• When recording emit_unmapped_fallback with no_physical_table, include

the failing probe error in clarification.

1. Never copy <schema>.<table> placeholder strings from these instructions

into output.

Decision tree

For each card:

1. Analyze resolvedSql + resultMetadata: identify base tables, aggregations, joins, filters, column types.
2. REQUIRED before any write: call sl_discover for every candidate target source name. The response tells you whether the name is manifest-backed (Type: table or Type: sql). For manifest-backed names you MUST use the overlay shape (name: plus overlay