unshackle is an open-source command-line tool from Querio. It reads metrics, dashboards and permissions from a BI tool and writes them as open formats in a Git repository: Apache Ossie or MetricFlow for metrics, Jupyter notebooks for dashboards, Cedar policies and SQL row filters for permissions.

Yes. unshackle is released under the Apache 2.0 licence and is installed with pip install unshackle.

Which BI tools does unshackle support?

Tableau, Power BI, Looker, Qlik Sense, Amazon QuickSight, Metabase, Lightdash, Apache Superset, Redash, Omni, Hex, ThoughtSpot and Sigma. Tableau is the most complete; Power BI and Looker are tested on real projects; the rest are earlier.

Does unshackle change anything in my BI tool?

No. It only reads definitions, through the API or from files you export, and writes them to your repository.

If unshackle is free, why pay Unwind Data?

Because extraction is only the start. The work that decides whether people trust the result is finishing the TODOs, reconciling the numbers against the old tool on your own data, and having someone sign off. That is expert work, and it is what we charge for.

Can we use unshackle and Unwind Data together?

Yes. unshackle writes Apache Ossie, the same open standard we deliver in. If you have already run unshackle, we start from your repository instead of from scratch.

Is Unwind Data part of Querio?

No. Unwind Data is an independent consultancy in Amsterdam, not affiliated with Querio or the unshackle project.

Open-source BI migration

unshackle gets your BI logic into Git. Someone still has to sign off on the numbers.

Q: Does unshackle migrate SQL Server, SAP BusinessObjects or Excel?

Not as of October 2026. SQL Server reporting (SSRS, SSIS), SAP BusinessObjects, QlikView, Excel and Access are not on its list of supported tools. Unwind Data migrates all of these.

unshackle is a new open-source tool from Querio. It reads the metrics, dashboards and permissions in Tableau, Power BI, Looker and 10 other BI tools and writes them to a Git repository you own. It is free, it is well built, and you should try it. This page explains what it does, what it leaves for you, and where Unwind Data comes in.

Book a Logic Scan · €4,950 What unshackle leaves

Unwind Data is not affiliated with Querio or unshackle.

A Tableau migration with unshackle

Dashboard
Extract
Translate
Report
Check

$ pip install unshackleSuccessfully installed unshackle$ unshackle check tableau --prompt✓ Connected · 48 workbooks, 312 dashboards$ unshackle migrate tableauExtract    48 workbooks, 112 data sourcesTranslate  214 metrics → semantic/ (Ossie)           312 dashboards → notebooks/Report     37 TODOs → migration/report.md$ unshackle verifyCheck      18 of 20 cases match · 2 differ$ unshackle todo37 open: 14 table calcs · 9 LODs · 14 other

Example output on a fictional Tableau site.

What unshackle does

From BI tool to files in your repo

unshackle is a command-line tool (Python 3.11+, Apache 2.0). It reads definitions through your BI tool's API or from exported files, writes them as open formats, and changes nothing in the BI tool itself. A report in migration/report.md shows per dashboard what was translated and what is still blocking.

In your BI tool

In your repo

Metrics, measures, calculated fields

semantic/

Apache Ossie or MetricFlow

Dashboards

notebooks/

Jupyter, one query and chart per tile

Tables and data sources

catalog/

Table and column descriptions

Permissions, row-level security

policies/

Cedar and SQL row filters

Descriptions, glossaries

knowledge/

Markdown

migration/report.md

what is left to finish

Which BI tools unshackle reads

Thirteen tools, at different levels of maturity. Tableau is furthest along.

TableauMost complete
Power BIReal projects
LookerReal projects
Qlik SenseSaved exports
Amazon QuickSightSaved exports
MetabaseSaved exports
LightdashSaved exports
Apache SupersetSaved exports
RedashSaved exports
OmniEarly
HexEarly
ThoughtSpotEarly
SigmaEarly

The same open standard

unshackle writes Apache Ossie. So do we.

Our semantic layers are delivered in Apache Ossie, the open standard for metric definitions that no single vendor owns. unshackle writes the same format. That matters: whatever you extract with unshackle and whatever we deliver end up in the same place, so you are not choosing between the tool and us. Already have an unshackle repo? We build on it. More on the format on our semantic layer page.

What unshackle leaves

It marks what it can't translate. It doesn't guess.

That is the right design. Every definition unshackle can't translate faithfully gets a TODO(unshackle) with the original formula next to it. Those TODOs are rarely the easy part. From unshackle's own documentation:

TODO(unshackle) · Tableau

Table calculations, INCLUDE and EXCLUDE LODs, parameters inside metrics, custom SQL, some blends and cross-database joins.

TODO(unshackle) · Power BI

Measures that depend on the visual (ALL, ALLSELECTED, running totals), RANKX, TOPN, USERELATIONSHIP, rolling windows, Power Query steps.

TODO(unshackle) · Looker

Liquid templating, symmetric aggregates, relative date filters inside measures, persistent derived tables, table calculations on tiles.

TODO(unshackle) · Qlik Sense

The load script, QVD files, Aggr(), TOTAL, Above and Below, alternate states, Section Access loaded from files.

Why pay for a free tool

We charge for the part that makes people trust the numbers

Extraction is no longer the hard part, and that is good news. What you pay us for is everything after it.

A specialist works through the TODOs

The exceptions are where years of business logic live. A fixed specialist per source resolves each one, and writes down why it now works the way it does.

Reconciliation on your own data

unshackle verify compares migrated SQL with the old tool. For Tableau it writes the cases itself; for other tools you write them by hand. We write and run them per dashboard and explain every difference.

Someone signs off

A repo full of files does not answer the question "can finance use this number?". Our specialist signs the reconciliation. That signature is what the premium is for.

We decide what not to migrate

The Logic Scan shows which reports nobody opens, which logic is duplicated and what it costs. You migrate what is used, not everything that exists.

Sources unshackle doesn't read

SQL Server (SSRS, SSIS), SAP BusinessObjects, QlikView, Excel and Access are not on unshackle's list. They are a large part of our work.

A fixed price and a deadline

The Logic Scan takes 5 working days and ends in a fixed quote. No open-ended engineering time while the licence renewal gets closer.

Side by side

unshackle on your own, or with Unwind Data

unshackle on your own

With Unwind Data

Price

Free, Apache 2.0

Logic Scan €4,950, then a fixed quote

Extraction

Automated, 13 BI tools

Automated, including your unshackle output

TODOs

Your team finishes them

A source specialist finishes them

Number checks

Automatic for Tableau, by hand elsewhere

Reconciliation per dashboard, on your warehouse

Sign-off

Your team

A named specialist

Legacy sources

Not covered

SQL Server, SAP BO, QlikView, Excel, Access

Best fit

Engineers with time, one modern BI tool

Numbers that have to hold up, and a deadline

unshackle on your ownWith Unwind Data

Price
unshackle on your own: Free, Apache 2.0
With Unwind Data: Logic Scan €4,950, then a fixed quote
Extraction
unshackle on your own: Automated, 13 BI tools
With Unwind Data: Automated, including your unshackle output
TODOs
unshackle on your own: Your team finishes them
With Unwind Data: A source specialist finishes them
Number checks
unshackle on your own: Automatic for Tableau, by hand elsewhere
With Unwind Data: Reconciliation per dashboard, on your warehouse
Sign-off
unshackle on your own: Your team
With Unwind Data: A named specialist
Legacy sources
unshackle on your own: Not covered
With Unwind Data: SQL Server, SAP BO, QlikView, Excel, Access
Best fit
unshackle on your own: Engineers with time, one modern BI tool
With Unwind Data: Numbers that have to hold up, and a deadline

Already ran it?

Bring your unshackle report to the intake

Stuck on the TODO list? Send us migration/report.md before a free intake call. We will tell you which TODOs your team can finish in a day and which ones need a specialist.

Book a Logic Scan · €4,950 Plan a free intake

Frequently asked questions

unshackle is built and maintained by Querio and released under Apache 2.0. Unwind Data is not affiliated with Querio. Tool details on this page follow the unshackle documentation as of October 2026.