Qualtrics

See the entity and semantic model and DBML contract for analytical use and Power BI relationships.

qualtrics is a typed Python SDK and Typer CLI for the Qualtrics API and offline survey data. It can:

• list and update surveys through Qualtrics API v3;
• import and export survey responses;
• parse CSV or response-export ZIP files, with or without survey definitions;
• preserve questions, concrete fields, answer options, and survey blocks;
• write normalized JSON, CSV, or Parquet entities; and
• generate an interactive HTML report with data-quality and question analytics.

Install

uv add qualtrics

Install Parquet support when needed:

uv add "qualtrics[parquet]"

For development from this repository:

uv sync --all-groups --extra parquet

Configure the API

Create a .env file or export the same variables in your shell:

QUALTRICS_API_TOKEN=your-token
QUALTRICS_DATA_CENTER=ca1

Use QUALTRICS_BASE_URL instead of QUALTRICS_DATA_CENTER when your account requires a custom API base URL. Explicit QualtricsClient(...) arguments take precedence over environment settings.

Export, parse, and report

The complete example accepts a survey ID, downloads its definition and responses, extracts the original CSV, creates Parquet entities, and renders an HTML report:

uv run python examples/export_parse_and_report.py SV_123
uv run python examples/export_parse_and_report.py SV_123 SV_456

It creates:

data/
└── SV_123/
    ├── definition.qsf
    ├── export.zip
    ├── responses.csv
    ├── report.html
    └── entities/
        ├── surveys.parquet
        ├── sections.parquet
        ├── questions.parquet
        ├── question_fields.parquet
        ├── question_catalog.parquet
        ├── question_field_catalog.parquet
        ├── answer_options.parquet
        ├── responses.parquet
        └── response_answers.parquet

Parquet is the default. Select another entity format with --format json or --format csv; export coded values with --codes.

Parse existing exports

Parse a CSV and matching survey definition:

uv run qualtrics build responses.csv \
  --qsf definition.qsf \
  --output entities \
  --format parquet

Response-export ZIP files can be parsed directly:

uv run qualtrics build export.zip \
  --qsf definition.qsf \
  --output entities \
  --format parquet

When the response file and definition share a filename stem, the definition is discovered automatically. For example, SV_123.zip matches SV_123.qsf.

Python usage:

from qualtrics import parse_survey, render_report, write_entities

entities = parse_survey("responses.csv", "definition.qsf")
write_entities(entities, "entities", format="parquet")
render_report(entities, "report.html")

Wildcards support multiple surveys and lakehouse-style layouts:

entities = parse_survey("/lakehouse/default/Files/qualtrics/run-1/*/*.csv")

Why the survey definition matters

A Qualtrics CSV commonly starts with three header rows:

1. the exported field name;
2. the question and field text; and
3. metadata such as {"ImportId":"QID30_4_TEXT"}.

One logical question can produce many concrete CSV fields for choices, matrix rows, loops, or text entries. The parser retains the complete field name, ImportId, suffix, and column index instead of collapsing fields by normalized question text.

A QSF or API survey definition is optional but recommended. It supplies the survey name, question types, choices, blocks, and other metadata that cannot be reliably reconstructed from response headers alone.

Entity model

The primary relationship is:

response_answer
  → (survey_id, response_id)
  → (survey_id, question_id, field_id)
  → question_catalog_id / question_field_catalog_id

Pipeline lineage such as an ingestion run ID belongs in the surrounding data platform, not in the parser entities.

Each responses row contains the stable response metadata exported by Qualtrics: status, IP address, progress, duration, recipient details, external reference, distribution channel, language, and browser/device information. Browser Meta Info fields are promoted to the response row and are not repeated as answers. Repeating Timing fields remain in response_answers, where their question and concrete field identities are preserved.

SDK and CLI

from qualtrics import QualtricsClient

with QualtricsClient() as client:
    for survey in client.surveys.iter():
        print(survey.id, survey.name)

    definition = client.survey_definitions.get("SV_123")

Common CLI commands:

uv run qualtrics api surveys
uv run qualtrics api export SV_123 --output exports --labels
uv run qualtrics api import SV_123 responses.csv
uv run qualtrics entities combine exports/run-1 exports/run-2 --output combined
uv run qualtrics report --folder entities --output report.html
uv run qualtrics report --folder data --output combined-report.html

entities combine accepts entity directories, survey directories containing an entities/ directory, and batch roots containing multiple <survey-id>/entities/ directories. Inputs may mix JSON, CSV, and Parquet files. Combined output uses Parquet by default; select another format with --format json or --format csv.

The report command accepts repeated --folder options. It also discovers the <survey-id>/entities/ directories created by the complete export example when its shared data/ root is supplied.

client.surveys covers survey CRUD. client.survey_definitions handles survey structure, client.survey_quotas reads quota progress and definitions, and client.responses handles imports, exports, progress, and saved response filters.

with QualtricsClient() as client:
    page = client.survey_quotas.list("SV_123")
    for quota in client.survey_quotas.iter("SV_123"):
        print(quota.name, quota.count, quota.quota)

Development

uv sync --all-groups --extra parquet
uv run pre-commit install --hook-type pre-commit --hook-type pre-push
uv run poe check
uv run poe build

CI tests Python 3.11–3.14. Ruff checks formatting and linting, ty checks types, and pytest enforces at least 75% branch-aware coverage.

Releases are prepared through the Prepare Release GitHub workflow. See release-notes.md for version history and examples/ for runnable API and parsing examples.

Acknowledgements

The workflow guidance was informed by the Qualtrics Report Generator. Consult the official Qualtrics API documentation for features enabled on your account.