A common ask from teams evaluating Sigma is migrating their Qlik Sense footprint — usually to take advantage of all the amazing things Sigma offers. The conversion itself can be a blocker — and the part this QuickStart automates.
The usual Qlik-to-Sigma migration loop is rebuild-the-app-by-hand, rewrite every master measure and Set Analysis expression as a Sigma formula, recreate each sheet's visualizations, line the layout up against the source, then eyeball the numbers and hope nothing drifted in the translation. Done on a single app it's tedious. Across a whole tenant with dozens of apps reading from shared spaces, it's the reason migration projects slip.
This QuickStart walks through a Claude Code skill called qlik-to-sigma that automates the loop.
Point it at a Qlik Cloud app; it discovers the in-memory data model and every sheet via qlik-cli, translates the master measures, dimensions, and Set Analysis expressions into Sigma formulas, builds a Sigma data model from the warehouse tables the app's LOAD script reads, mirrors each sheet's layout on Sigma's grid, and runs a verification pass against the source warehouse. It surfaces a punch list of anything it couldn't auto-translate — instead of silently producing a broken workbook.
For the demonstration, we'll run the skill end-to-end against a Qlik app called Exec Overview (Qlik) whose LOAD script reads from a six-table retail star — one fact and five dimensions. You'll see the discovery artifacts each phase produces, the converter's breakdown of how each Qlik expression mapped to a Sigma formula, the parity report against the live warehouse, and the resulting Sigma data model and workbook landed in your org — along with the gap list of items to hand-polish.
A pure lift-and-shift is the floor, not the ceiling. The same skill family supports three follow-on moves that turn a migration into an upgrade:
Sigma SEs, technical CSMs, and migration partners running Qlik-to-Sigma conversions — or scoping a batch migration with the companion qlik-assessment skill.
Claude Code installed (CLI or desktop).qlik-cli and configure an OAuth M2M client with Trusted consent. The skill talks to Qlik through qlik-cli, not raw REST.Python 3.10 or newer. macOS's stock system Python is typically 3.9 — older than the skill needs. If python3 --version reports anything below 3.10, install a newer interpreter via Homebrew (brew install python@3.12) or python.org.Node.js (any recent LTS) for building the converter MCP. The conversion uses a separate MCP server, sigma-data-model-mcp, cloned + built (npm install && npm run build) into ~/Desktop/sigma-data-model-mcp. The skill prompts you to install it mid-conversion — no upfront work needed — but pre-build it if you'd rather skip the gate.
qlik-to-sigma is one of two skills that ship together as a single repo (cloned in the next section). Most of this QuickStart focuses on the converter — but knowing where the assessment skill fits saves dead ends later when scoping a batch migration.
Skill | Role | When to reach for it |
| Scoping | Auditing a Qlik Cloud tenant before committing to a conversion plan. Emits a per-app complexity readout (master-measure expression convertibility, chart-type coverage, Set Analysis / Section Access flags, data model size), reload health, and a value/cost-ranked migration shortlist that |
| Conversion | The subject of this QuickStart. Converts a single Qlik app (or a batch via shortlist) to a Sigma data model and matching workbook with verified data parity. |
Here's how the two skills connect in a full migration — qlik-assessment hands the converter a ranked shortlist, and qlik-to-sigma produces the Sigma workbooks with a verified parity report:

Not every migration needs both skills. Use the table below to map your scenario to the smallest set that fits.
In this QuickStart we're in the first row — one Qlik app whose LOAD script reads from warehouse tables that we'll land in Snowflake — then run qlik-to-sigma.
Your situation | Skill(s) to use |
1 app, LOAD script reads from your warehouse |
|
1 app, LOAD script reads from local files or in-memory sources | Land the data in your warehouse first (covered in |
10+ apps (any data source) |
|
Auditing Qlik sprawl without converting yet |
|

First we need to clone the skill's GitHub repository, install qlik-cli, configure it against your Qlik tenant, then capture your Sigma credentials.
The two skills live in sigmacomputing/quickstarts-public under qlik-migration-skills/.
From a terminal, run each command below one at a time so you can confirm each step before moving on.
Step 1: Create a local folder for the clone
We'll clone into this folder in the next step.
mkdir -p ~/quickstarts-public
Step 2: Move into the new folder so the next command runs in the right working directory.
cd ~/quickstarts-public
Step 3: Clone the repo without pulling any files yet
The --sparse flag tells Git you'll choose which folders to fill in next. The trailing . clones into the current folder.
git clone --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/sigmacomputing/quickstarts-public.git .
Step 4: Fill in only the qlik-migration-skills folder
Every other QuickStart asset in the repo stays empty on disk.
git sparse-checkout set qlik-migration-skills
Step 5: Symlink qlik-to-sigma into the Claude skills folder
This lets Claude Code invoke qlik-to-sigma as a skill.
ln -s ~/quickstarts-public/qlik-migration-skills/qlik-to-sigma ~/.claude/skills/qlik-to-sigma
Step 6: Symlink qlik-assessment
Used to scope a Qlik tenant before conversion.
ln -s ~/quickstarts-public/qlik-migration-skills/qlik-assessment ~/.claude/skills/qlik-assessment
Steps 5 and 6 should return with no error.

Step 7: Install qlik-cli
The Qlik skill talks to your Qlik Cloud tenant through qlik-cli — the official command-line tool that wraps both Qlik's REST API and the Engine API. The skill needs both: REST to discover apps and read metadata, Engine to read sheet/chart definitions and the LOAD script.
On macOS or Linux, tap Qlik's Homebrew repository:
brew tap qlik-oss/taps
After this finishes, trust the tap (recent Homebrew versions require this for non-core taps before they'll install from them):
brew trust qlik-oss/taps
Then install the formula:
brew install qlik-cli
Confirm qlik-cli is on your PATH:
qlik version
You should see output like version X.Y.Z.

Step 8: Configure a qlik-cli context against your tenant
The skill authenticates with an OAuth M2M client (configured by your tenant admin under Administration > Integrations > OAuth clients). Your admin enables the Trusted consent method on the client, then shares the client ID and secret with you.
Create a qlik-cli context that uses those credentials. Substitute your tenant URL, client ID, and client secret:
qlik context create qlik-demo \
--server https://<your-tenant>.us.qlikcloud.com \
--oauth-client-id <client-id> \
--oauth-client-secret <client-secret>
Activate the context and verify auth works:
qlik context use qlik-demo
qlik app ls --limit 5
You should see a JSON list of apps your OAuth client can access:


Step 9: Capture your Sigma API credentials.
This script prompts for SIGMA_BASE_URL, SIGMA_CLIENT_ID, and SIGMA_CLIENT_SECRET and writes them into Claude's settings.
Run once per machine.
If you don't already have credentials, see Configure API credentials in Sigma — the skill needs API access credentials, not embed.
ruby ~/.claude/skills/qlik-to-sigma/scripts/setup.rb

Step 10: Verify Claude Code can invoke the skill.
Type claude in your terminal to start Claude Code, then invoke the skill:
claude
/qlik-to-sigma
Claude should start reading the reference files and ask what app you want to convert.
Pause at that prompt — we'll hand it everything in one shot via the kickoff prompt in Run the Conversion:


The Qlik app we're migrating runs a LOAD script that reads from a six-table retail star — one fact (ORDER_FACT) joined LEFT_OUTER to five dimensions (CUSTOMER_DIM, PRODUCT_DIM, STORE_DIM, DATE_DIM, PROMO_DIM). For the migration to land in Sigma cleanly, the same six tables need to exist in a connection your Sigma org can reach. Approximate row counts: 681 / 25 / 25 / 15 / 1,096 / 23.
Data prep has two halves:
COPY INTO statements below read from S3 directly — no local download needed.USE ROLE ACCOUNTADMIN;
USE WAREHOUSE COMPUTE_WH;
CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS QUICKSTARTS;
CREATE SCHEMA IF NOT EXISTS QUICKSTARTS.TS_RETAIL_ANALYTICS;
USE SCHEMA QUICKSTARTS.TS_RETAIL_ANALYTICS;
CREATE OR REPLACE FILE FORMAT csv_format
TYPE = CSV
FIELD_DELIMITER = ','
SKIP_HEADER = 1
FIELD_OPTIONALLY_ENCLOSED_BY = '"'
NULL_IF = ('', 'NULL')
EMPTY_FIELD_AS_NULL = TRUE;
CREATE OR REPLACE STAGE ts_retail_stage
URL = 's3://sigma-quickstarts-main/thoughtspot/'
FILE_FORMAT = csv_format;
-- Fact: ORDER_FACT (681 rows, joins to all 5 dims via *_KEY columns).
CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE ORDER_FACT (
ORDER_ID VARCHAR,
ORDER_LINE NUMBER(38,0),
CUSTOMER_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
PRODUCT_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
ORDER_STORE_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
SHIP_STORE_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
PROMO_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
ORDER_DATE_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
SHIP_DATE_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
RETURN_DATE_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
ORDER_CHANNEL VARCHAR,
SHIP_METHOD VARCHAR,
ORDER_STATUS VARCHAR,
QUANTITY_ORDERED NUMBER(38,0),
QUANTITY_RETURNED NUMBER(38,0),
UNIT_PRICE NUMBER(38,2),
UNIT_COST NUMBER(38,2),
DISCOUNT_AMOUNT NUMBER(38,2),
SHIPPING_AMOUNT NUMBER(38,2),
TAX_AMOUNT NUMBER(38,2),
GROSS_REVENUE NUMBER(38,2),
NET_REVENUE NUMBER(38,2),
GROSS_PROFIT NUMBER(38,2),
NET_PROFIT NUMBER(38,2),
IS_FIRST_ORDER NUMBER(1,0),
IS_RETURNED NUMBER(1,0),
IS_CANCELLED NUMBER(1,0),
DAYS_TO_SHIP NUMBER(38,0)
);
CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE CUSTOMER_DIM (
CUSTOMER_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
CUSTOMER_ID VARCHAR,
FIRST_NAME VARCHAR,
LAST_NAME VARCHAR,
EMAIL VARCHAR,
PHONE VARCHAR,
CITY VARCHAR,
STATE VARCHAR,
ZIP_CODE VARCHAR,
REGION VARCHAR,
CUSTOMER_SEGMENT VARCHAR,
LOYALTY_TIER VARCHAR,
ACQUISITION_CHANNEL VARCHAR,
FIRST_ORDER_DATE DATE,
IS_ACTIVE NUMBER(1,0),
IS_EMAIL_OPT_IN NUMBER(1,0),
LIFETIME_ORDER_COUNT NUMBER(38,0),
LIFETIME_REVENUE NUMBER(38,2)
);
CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE PRODUCT_DIM (
PRODUCT_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
PRODUCT_ID VARCHAR,
PRODUCT_NAME VARCHAR,
CATEGORY VARCHAR,
SUBCATEGORY VARCHAR,
BRAND VARCHAR,
UNIT_COST NUMBER(38,2),
UNIT_PRICE NUMBER(38,2),
WEIGHT_LBS NUMBER(38,2),
IS_ACTIVE NUMBER(1,0),
IS_PRIVATE_LABEL NUMBER(1,0),
IS_SEASONAL NUMBER(1,0),
LAUNCH_DATE DATE,
DISCONTINUE_DATE DATE,
"Product_Key/Name" VARCHAR
);
CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE STORE_DIM (
STORE_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
STORE_ID VARCHAR,
STORE_NAME VARCHAR,
STORE_TYPE VARCHAR,
CITY VARCHAR,
STATE VARCHAR,
REGION VARCHAR,
DISTRICT VARCHAR,
SQUARE_FOOTAGE NUMBER(38,0),
OPEN_DATE DATE,
CLOSE_DATE DATE,
IS_ACTIVE NUMBER(1,0),
HAS_CAFE NUMBER(1,0),
HAS_CURBSIDE NUMBER(1,0),
MANAGER_NAME VARCHAR,
STORE_PHONE VARCHAR,
ANNUAL_LEASE_COST NUMBER(38,2)
);
CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE DATE_DIM (
DATE_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
FULL_DATE DATE,
DAY_OF_WEEK VARCHAR,
DAY_OF_MONTH NUMBER(38,0),
WEEK_OF_YEAR NUMBER(38,0),
MONTH_NUMBER NUMBER(38,0),
MONTH_NAME VARCHAR,
QUARTER NUMBER(38,0),
"YEAR" NUMBER(38,0),
IS_WEEKEND NUMBER(1,0),
IS_HOLIDAY NUMBER(1,0),
FISCAL_PERIOD VARCHAR
);
CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE PROMO_DIM (
PROMO_KEY NUMBER(38,0),
PROMO_ID VARCHAR,
PROMO_NAME VARCHAR,
PROMO_TYPE VARCHAR,
CHANNEL VARCHAR,
DISCOUNT_PCT NUMBER(38,2),
START_DATE DATE,
END_DATE DATE,
MIN_ORDER_AMOUNT NUMBER(38,2),
IS_STACKABLE NUMBER(1,0),
TARGET_SEGMENT VARCHAR,
PROMO_COST NUMBER(38,2)
);
COPY INTO ORDER_FACT FROM @ts_retail_stage/ORDER_FACT.csv ON_ERROR = ABORT_STATEMENT;
COPY INTO CUSTOMER_DIM FROM @ts_retail_stage/CUSTOMER_DIM.csv ON_ERROR = ABORT_STATEMENT;
COPY INTO PRODUCT_DIM FROM @ts_retail_stage/PRODUCT_DIM.csv ON_ERROR = ABORT_STATEMENT;
COPY INTO STORE_DIM FROM @ts_retail_stage/STORE_DIM.csv ON_ERROR = ABORT_STATEMENT;
COPY INTO DATE_DIM FROM @ts_retail_stage/DATE_DIM.csv ON_ERROR = ABORT_STATEMENT;
COPY INTO PROMO_DIM FROM @ts_retail_stage/PROMO_DIM.csv ON_ERROR = ABORT_STATEMENT;
-- Grant Sigma's service role visibility on the schema and its tables.
GRANT USAGE ON DATABASE QUICKSTARTS TO ROLE SIGMA_SERVICE_ROLE;
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA QUICKSTARTS.TS_RETAIL_ANALYTICS TO ROLE SIGMA_SERVICE_ROLE;
GRANT SELECT ON ALL TABLES IN SCHEMA QUICKSTARTS.TS_RETAIL_ANALYTICS TO ROLE SIGMA_SERVICE_ROLE;
GRANT SELECT ON FUTURE TABLES IN SCHEMA QUICKSTARTS.TS_RETAIL_ANALYTICS TO ROLE SIGMA_SERVICE_ROLE;
-- Sanity-check row counts. Expected: 681 / 25 / 25 / 15 / 1096 / 23.
SELECT 'ORDER_FACT' AS TABLE_NAME, COUNT(*) AS ROW_COUNT FROM ORDER_FACT UNION ALL
SELECT 'CUSTOMER_DIM', COUNT(*) FROM CUSTOMER_DIM UNION ALL
SELECT 'PRODUCT_DIM', COUNT(*) FROM PRODUCT_DIM UNION ALL
SELECT 'STORE_DIM', COUNT(*) FROM STORE_DIM UNION ALL
SELECT 'DATE_DIM', COUNT(*) FROM DATE_DIM UNION ALL
SELECT 'PROMO_DIM', COUNT(*) FROM PROMO_DIM;
-- Parity baseline ($108,797.85 Net Revenue across all orders).
SELECT TO_CHAR(SUM(NET_REVENUE), '$999,999,999.99') AS TOTAL_NET_REVENUE
FROM ORDER_FACT;

If the load completes cleanly, the row-count check returns 681 / 25 / 25 / 15 / 1096 / 23 and the Net Revenue check returns $108,797.85. Any mismatch means either a COPY partial-load error (check Snowflake's load history) or a different S3 file than expected.

The converter needs a Sigma folder to land the new data model and workbook in. The skill will ask for the folder's UUID — it will be easier to have it ready before you return to the Claude prompt that's still paused after the skill loaded.
To keep this simple, we will use a plain folder and not a workspace.
Step 1: Create (or pick) a folder in Sigma.
Open your Sigma org, navigate to where you want the migrated workbook to live, and create a folder for it. Something like:
Qlik Migration Demo

Step 2: Grab the folder ID.
Open the folder. The ID is the last segment of the URL — a short alphanumeric string, 21 characters. Copy it from the address bar and keep it on the clipboard for the next section.


The skill can run interactively, asking for the Qlik app, warehouse, and Sigma destination one at a time. For a known target — like ours — it's faster to give Claude the entire job in one message. The skill recognizes a structured kickoff prompt and assembles the migrate-qlik.rb command directly, going straight from "go" through discover → convert → data model → workbook build → layout → parity.
Return to the terminal where Claude is paused, and choose Chat about this.
Paste the block below. Substitute your own values where the placeholders are:
Qlik context — the qlik-cli context you created in Install and Configure the SkillApp ID — the Qlik app's UUID (find it via qlik app ls in terminal)SIGMA_CONNECTION_ID — your Snowflake connection ID from Sigma's Administration > ConnectionsSIGMA_FOLDER_ID — the folder ID you copied at the end of the previous sectionRun /qlik-to-sigma on the following. Use migrate-qlik.rb end-to-end and stop only if a hard gate fails.
Qlik
- Context: qlik-demo
- App ID: <your-qlik-app-uuid>
Warehouse (Snowflake)
- Database: QUICKSTARTS
- Schema: TS_RETAIL_ANALYTICS
Sigma
- SIGMA_API_TOKEN = mint from ~/.sigma-migration/env
- Connection ID: <your-snowflake-connection-id>
- Folder ID: <your-folder-id>
Options
- Name prefix: Qlik Retail Analytics
- Auto-approve mid-pipeline questions: yes
- Parity: tolerate row-count drift between Qlik and the warehouse snapshot — this QuickStart uses a frozen CSV copy of the source. Report the delta with a row-level diff, but treat warehouse-snapshot staleness as a soft fail (not a gate-red).
Don't declare GREEN until the parity gate passes (or the tolerance above applies) and the visual-QA loop passes.
Claude reads the block, mints a fresh Sigma token from ~/.sigma-migration/env, assembles the migrate-qlik.rb command with the right flags, and runs it end-to-end. The rest of the run is hands-off until a gate or decision point.

When the migration completes, Claude prints a final summary covering the whole pipeline — every phase's result, the visual-QA outcome, the hard-gate verdict, and the URLs of the new Sigma data model and workbook:

The summary walks through six phases plus a visual-QA pass:
qlik-cli. The LOAD script comes along if the OAuth client has script-read scope; otherwise the skill reconstructs the in-memory model from qlik app meta. Either way, the app's last-modified timestamp on the Qlik side gets recorded for the freshness preflight.reconcile-columns.py to auto-derive the Qlik field → warehouse column map from the LOAD script's AS aliases.PASS within tolerance or FAIL; the gate is GREEN only when all charts pass.Open the new workbook in Sigma to see the migrated dashboard:

Open the data model to see how the converter wired up the joins and metrics:

Hand-polish items the skill flags rather than silently working around:
Exec Overview (Qlik) sheets use bar / line / KPI / table only, so this won't bite for our demo.spec.layout. Re-run the layout pass if you need to restore the original geometry.
A single app is the easy case. Real migrations involve Qlik tenants with dozens or hundreds of apps reading from shared spaces — and migrating them one-by-one through the converter loses the leverage of doing the planning work once. That's where the companion qlik-assessment skill comes in.
Point qlik-assessment at a Qlik tenant and it inventories every app, space, and user, scoring each app on:
The output is a Sigma-branded readout.html you can share with stakeholders, plus a ranked migration shortlist sorted by value / (1 + cost) — the cheapest, highest-value apps to convert first, with tag pills like migrate-first, easy-win, needs-review, and retire.
The shortlist becomes input to a batch conversion plan — qlik-assessment groups apps that share warehouse tables so one Sigma data model can serve a whole family of workbooks instead of producing N near-duplicate DMs. qlik-to-sigma consumes that plan in batch mode and runs the conversions concurrently.
Typical flow for a real migration engagement:
qlik-assessment against the target tenant; review the shortlist with stakeholders.qlik-to-sigma and let it work through them.
The following is a "grab bag" of things that might come up during real conversions, with the fix for each.
python3 --version reports 3.9.x and the skill refuses to run:brew install python@3.12) or python.org, then use python3.12 -m pip install explicitly for any helpers. Avoid pip3 as a shorthand — it can quietly resolve back to the old interpreter.qlik app ls returns OAUTH-5: oauth client is not approved with trusted consent method:Administration > Integrations > OAuth clients, then re-run.qlik app ls succeeds but the target app isn't listed:qlik app script get returns "access denied" mid-run:qlik app meta — the conversion proceeds and parity still passes. If you want the skill to read the LOAD script directly (cleaner reconcile, fewer guesses on column renames), ask your tenant admin to grant the OAuth client the script-read scope.brew install qlik-cli fails with Refusing to load formula from untrusted tap:brew trust qlik-oss/taps first. Recent Homebrew versions require explicit trust for any tap that isn't homebrew-core.sigma-data-model-mcp). If it isn't installed locally, the skill stops at the gate. Pick option 6. Chat about this and tell Claude:Clone twells89/sigma-data-model-mcp into ~/Desktop/sigma-data-model-mcp for me, then run
npm install && npm run build in that directory. Once the build is done, come back to the gate and pick option 1.(Recommended) option.COPY INTO:Prepare the Demo Data includes the GRANT USAGE and GRANT SELECT statements — if you skipped or modified them, run them now with the role name your Sigma connection actually uses (find it in Sigma under Administration > Connections).Bash command — Contains shell syntax that cannot be statically analyzed — Do you want to proceed? prompts during the run:eval "$(...)" patterns to inject tokens dynamically. Claude Code's safety analyzer can't pattern-match these for blanket approval even in accept-edits mode. Click 1. Yes on each — it's expected behavior, not a misconfiguration. After the run, you can use the /fewer-permission-prompts skill to scan the transcript and add those patterns to your .claude/settings.local.json so subsequent runs are silent.AS alias. The skill's verification phase surfaces the specific column in the error — adjust the warehouse table's column names or correct the LOAD-script alias before re-running.
What you built is less a single conversion and more a repeatable migration path. The skill took a Qlik Sense app — LOAD script, master measures, sheet layout, Set Analysis expressions — and produced a Sigma data model, a workbook, and a parity report against the live warehouse, all from a single structured prompt. No one rebuilt the dashboard by hand, and the parity numbers are evidence rather than hope.
The patterns worth carrying into your next migration:
qlik-assessment scopes and prioritizes the tenant; qlik-to-sigma converts and verifies. The same shape applies whether you're migrating one app or all the apps in a Qlik space.AS alias is right there in plain text, and the converter's output is reproducible against the same script.setup.rb has captured your Sigma credentials, the entire migration is one paste. The kickoff prompt reads the Qlik context + app ID + warehouse coordinates + options in one shot, and the skill walks through every phase end-to-end without further interaction unless a gate genuinely needs your call.Prepare the Demo Data transfers to any warehouse Sigma can reach. For apps reading from file uploads or in-memory-only sources, land that data in your warehouse first using the same pattern.A first-pass conversion produces a working starting point and a documented punch list, not a hand-polished workbook. The polish loop is short, and you know exactly what to look at. That's the migration approach you can scale across an entire Qlik tenant.
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