cognos2powerbi 0.1.0

Open-source tool to migrate IBM Cognos reports and models to Microsoft Power BI (PBIP / TMDL / PBIR) with AI assistance.

Cognos to Power BI Migration Tool

Migrate IBM Cognos reports and models to Microsoft Power BI automatically. An open-source, AI-assisted migration engine that converts Cognos report specifications into Power BI Project (PBIP) format using TMDL semantic models and PBIR report definitions.

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What this project does

Organizations moving from IBM Cognos Analytics to Microsoft Power BI face a slow, manual, error-prone migration. This tool automates the heavy lifting:

1. Parse Cognos report specification XML, Framework Manager models, and data modules.
2. Normalize them into a vendor-neutral intermediate representation (IR).
3. Generate Power BI Project (PBIP) output — TMDL semantic models and PBIR reports.
4. Refine the output with an AI assistant (Claude, GitHub Copilot, or Codex) to translate expressions, layouts, and visuals that have no direct mechanical mapping.

The result is a Git-friendly Power BI project you can open in Power BI Desktop, review, and deploy to the Power BI / Microsoft Fabric service.

Why use it

• Faster migrations. Convert hundreds of reports in a fraction of the manual time.
• Consistent output. Deterministic, reviewable PBIP artifacts instead of hand-rebuilt reports.
• AI-assisted, not AI-dependent. The mechanical conversion works without any AI key; AI only refines what cannot be mapped deterministically.
• Provider-agnostic AI. Use Claude Code CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, or OpenAI Codex CLI.
• Open and extensible. MIT-licensed, plugin-friendly parsers and generators.

Supported conversions

Cognos source	Power BI target	Status
Report specification (Report Studio XML)	PBIR report + TMDL tables	Available (beta)
Queries and data items	TMDL columns and measures	Available (beta)
Framework Manager model (.cpf / FM XML)	TMDL semantic model	In progress
Data Modules	TMDL semantic model	In progress
Dashboards	PBIR report pages	Planned

See the migration coverage matrix for detail on expressions, filters, and visual types.

Quick start

# Install
pip install cognos2powerbi

# Convert a single Cognos report specification to a Power BI project
cognos2pbi migrate ./examples/sample_report.xml --out ./out/SalesReport

# Point the generated model at your database (refreshable PBIP)
cognos2pbi migrate ./examples/sample_report.xml --out ./out/SalesReport \
  --server sql01.contoso.com --database Sales

# Convert a Cognos Framework Manager model to a Power BI semantic model
cognos2pbi migrate-model ./examples/sample_model.xml --out ./out/SalesModel

# Open the generated project
#   ./out/SalesReport/SalesReport.pbip   ->  open in Power BI Desktop

Run from source instead:

git clone https://github.com/navintkr/cognos-to-powerbi.git
cd cognos-to-powerbi
pip install -e ".[dev]"
cognos2pbi migrate ./examples/sample_report.xml --out ./out/SalesReport

AI-assisted refinement (optional)

Enable an AI provider to translate complex Cognos expressions and layouts into Power BI DAX and PBIR visuals. The provider is selected by configuration and shells out to the corresponding CLI.

# Claude Code CLI (default)
cognos2pbi migrate ./report.xml --out ./out/Report --ai claude

# GitHub Copilot CLI
cognos2pbi migrate ./report.xml --out ./out/Report --ai copilot

# OpenAI Codex CLI
cognos2pbi migrate ./report.xml --out ./out/Report --ai codex

If no AI provider is configured, the tool completes a deterministic conversion and flags items that need manual review. See docs/ai-providers.md.

How it works

flowchart LR
    A[Cognos artifacts<br/>report XML, FM model, data module] --> B[Parsers]
    B --> C[Intermediate Representation<br/>vendor-neutral IR]
    C --> D[PBIP Generators<br/>TMDL + PBIR]
    D --> E[AI Refinement<br/>Claude / Copilot / Codex]
    E --> F[Power BI Project<br/>.pbip]

The intermediate representation decouples parsing from generation, so new Cognos inputs and new Power BI output formats can be added independently. See docs/architecture.md.

Project layout

cognos-to-powerbi/
├── src/cognos2powerbi/
│   ├── cli.py                 # Command-line interface
│   ├── core/
│   │   ├── ir/                # Vendor-neutral intermediate representation
│   │   ├── parsers/           # Cognos report/model parsers
│   │   ├── generators/        # PBIP (TMDL + PBIR) generators
│   │   ├── translate/         # Deterministic Cognos-to-DAX translation
│   │   ├── ai/                # Provider-agnostic AI adapter
│   │   └── pipeline.py        # Orchestration
│   └── api/                   # FastAPI backend (SaaS surface)
├── web/                       # Single-page web frontend
├── examples/                  # Sample Cognos inputs
├── docs/                      # Documentation
└── tests/                     # Test suite

Run the SaaS API locally

pip install -e ".[api]"
uvicorn cognos2powerbi.api.main:app --reload
# Open the web UI at http://127.0.0.1:8000/
# Or POST a Cognos report to http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/v1/migrate

Roadmap

• Framework Manager model conversion to TMDL
• Data Module conversion
• Dashboard to PBIR page mapping
• Expression translation library (Cognos -> DAX)
• Hosted SaaS portal with upload, review, and download
• Batch / folder migration with a coverage report

Full roadmap: docs/roadmap.md.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome and wanted. Good first issues are labeled good first issue. Read CONTRIBUTING.md and the Code of Conduct to get started.

Security

Report vulnerabilities privately per our security policy. Do not open public issues for security reports.

License

Licensed under the MIT License.

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Keywords

Cognos to Power BI, Cognos Power BI migration, IBM Cognos migration tool, convert Cognos reports to Power BI, Cognos report converter, Power BI PBIP TMDL PBIR generator, business intelligence migration, automated report migration.