BI Tools (Extended)

This page covers four additional Business Intelligence (BI) platform triggers: Qlik Sense, Apache Superset, Looker Studio, and MicroStrategy. These triggers let you interact with BI platforms after your scraping completes — reloading apps, exporting chart data, generating report links, and refreshing data cubes.

While the triggers on the BI Tools & Alerting page focus on sending alerts and pushing data, these extended triggers focus on interacting with the BI platforms themselves — triggering data refreshes, exporting visualizations, and generating shareable report links.

Extended BI tools overview showing Qlik, Superset, Looker Studio, and MicroStrategy

Qlik Sense

Qlik Sense is a modern data analytics and visualization platform. It uses an associative data model that lets users explore data freely. If your organization uses Qlik Sense for dashboards and analytics, this trigger lets you reload Qlik apps, list available apps, or export data after your scraping completes.

Description

The Qlik Sense trigger connects to your Qlik Sense server and can reload an app (refresh its data), list all available apps, or export data from a specific sheet or object. This is useful when your scraped data feeds into a Qlik Sense dashboard and you want to refresh it automatically.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`host`	string	✅ Yes	—	The URL of your Qlik Sense server. Example: `https://qlik.company.com`.
`operation`	string	✅ Yes	—	The operation to perform. Options: `reload_app`, `get_apps`, `export_data`.
`app_id`	string	❌ No	—	The ID of the Qlik Sense app. Required for `reload_app` and `export_data`. Found in the Qlik Sense hub.
`api_key`	string	❌ No	—	Your Qlik Sense API key or JWT token for authentication. Generated in Qlik Sense under Profile → API Keys.
`virtual_proxy`	string	❌ No	—	The virtual proxy prefix, if your Qlik Sense server uses one. Example: `/proxy`.
`sheet_id`	string	❌ No	—	The ID of a specific sheet within the app. Only used with `export_data`.
`object_id`	string	❌ No	—	The ID of a specific visualization object on the sheet. Only used with `export_data`.

Operations Reference

Operation	What It Does	Required Parameters	Example Use Case
`reload_app`	Reloads a Qlik Sense app to refresh its data	`app_id`	Refresh a dashboard after new data is scraped
`get_apps`	Lists all available Qlik Sense apps	(none)	Discover available apps
`export_data`	Exports data from a specific sheet or object	`app_id` (+ optionally `sheet_id`, `object_id`)	Export a specific visualization’s data

Example: Reload a Qlik Sense App

{
  "host": "https://qlik.company.com",
  "operation": "reload_app",
  "app_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "api_key": "eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9..."
}

Example: List All Apps

{
  "host": "https://qlik.company.com",
  "operation": "get_apps",
  "api_key": "eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9..."
}

Example: Export Data from a Specific Object

{
  "host": "https://qlik.company.com",
  "operation": "export_data",
  "app_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "sheet_id": "sheet-001",
  "object_id": "chart-products",
  "api_key": "eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9..."
}

Finding Your Qlik Sense Settings

Setting	Where to Find It
Server URL	Your browser’s address bar when logged into Qlik Sense
App ID	Open an app → Look at the URL: `https://qlik.company.com/sense/app/a1b2c3d4-...`
API Key	Qlik Sense → Click your profile → API Keys → Generate new key
Sheet ID	Open a sheet → Look at the URL
Object ID	Right-click a visualization → Share or check properties

Output

Operation	Output
`reload_app`	Reload task details and status
`get_apps`	A list of all app names and IDs
`export_data`	The exported data or a download link

Apache Superset

Apache Superset is an open-source data exploration and visualization platform. It’s used by data teams to build interactive dashboards and explore data. If your team uses Superset, this trigger lets you interact with it programmatically.

Description

The Apache Superset trigger connects to your Superset instance and can list dashboards, export chart data, or refresh a datasource. This is useful when your scraped data feeds into Superset dashboards and you want to refresh them automatically.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`base_url`	string	✅ Yes	—	The URL of your Superset instance. Example: `https://superset.company.com`.
`username`	string	✅ Yes	—	Your Superset username.
`password`	string	✅ Yes	—	Your Superset password.
`operation`	string	✅ Yes	—	The operation to perform. Options: `get_dashboards`, `export_chart_data`, `refresh_datasource`.
`dashboard_id`	string	❌ No	—	The ID of a specific dashboard. Used with `get_dashboards` to get details of one dashboard.
`chart_id`	string	❌ No	—	The ID of a specific chart. Required for `export_chart_data`.
`datasource_id`	string	❌ No	—	The ID of the datasource to refresh. Required for `refresh_datasource`.
`datasource_type`	string	❌ No	`"table"`	The type of datasource. Options: `table`, `query`. Default is `table`.

Operations Reference

Operation	What It Does	Required Parameters	Example Use Case
`get_dashboards`	Lists all dashboards or gets details of one	(none, or `dashboard_id`)	Discover available dashboards
`export_chart_data`	Exports the data behind a specific chart	`chart_id`	Download chart data after refresh
`refresh_datasource`	Refreshes a datasource to pick up new data	`datasource_id`	Refresh after new data is scraped

Example: Refresh a Datasource

{
  "base_url": "https://superset.company.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "superset-password",
  "operation": "refresh_datasource",
  "datasource_id": "42",
  "datasource_type": "table"
}

Example: Export Chart Data

{
  "base_url": "https://superset.company.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "superset-password",
  "operation": "export_chart_data",
  "chart_id": "15"
}

Example: List All Dashboards

{
  "base_url": "https://superset.company.com",
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "superset-password",
  "operation": "get_dashboards"
}

Finding Your Superset Settings

Setting	Where to Find It
Instance URL	Your browser’s address bar when logged into Superset
Username / Password	Your Superset login credentials
Dashboard ID	Open a dashboard → Look at the URL: `https://superset.company.com/superset/dashboard/42/`
Chart ID	Open a chart → Look at the URL
Datasource ID	Go to Data → Datasets → Click a dataset → Look at the URL

Output

Operation	Output
`get_dashboards`	A list of dashboard names and IDs
`export_chart_data`	The chart’s underlying data as JSON
`refresh_datasource`	Confirmation of the refresh

Looker Studio

Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) is Google’s free data visualization tool. It connects to various data sources and creates shareable reports and dashboards. If you use Looker Studio for reporting, this trigger lets you generate report links and embed URLs automatically.

Description

The Looker Studio trigger generates shareable report links or embed URLs for Looker Studio reports. Unlike the other BI triggers, it doesn’t interact with a server API — instead, it constructs the correct URLs for sharing or embedding reports. This is useful for automatically generating links to include in emails, notifications, or web pages.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`operation`	string	✅ Yes	—	The operation to perform. Options: `get_report_link`, `generate_embed_url`.
`report_id`	string	❌ No	—	The Looker Studio report ID. Found in the report URL. Example: `a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890`.
`credentials_json`	string	❌ No	—	Your GCP service account JSON credentials. Required for `generate_embed_url` when using authenticated embedding.

Operations Reference

Operation	What It Does	Required Parameters	Example Use Case
`get_report_link`	Generates a shareable link to a Looker Studio report	`report_id`	Include a report link in an email notification
`generate_embed_url`	Generates an embed URL for embedding the report in a web page	`report_id` (+ optionally `credentials_json`)	Embed a report in an intranet page

Example: Get a Report Link

{
  "operation": "get_report_link",
  "report_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890"
}

Example: Generate an Embed URL

{
  "operation": "generate_embed_url",
  "report_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "credentials_json": "{\"type\": \"service_account\", \"project_id\": \"my-project\", ...}"
}

Finding Your Report ID

Open your Looker Studio report in your browser.
Look at the URL: https://lookerstudio.google.com/reporting/a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890/page/xyz
The report ID is the long string between /reporting/ and /page/.

Output

Operation	Output
`get_report_link`	The full shareable URL for the report
`generate_embed_url`	The embed URL for use in an `<iframe>` tag

MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy is an enterprise business intelligence platform used by large organizations for reporting, dashboards, and analytics. If your organization uses MicroStrategy, this trigger lets you interact with it via the REST API.

Description

The MicroStrategy trigger connects to your MicroStrategy server via the REST API and can list reports, export a report in various formats, or refresh an OLAP cube. This lets you automatically refresh and export MicroStrategy reports after your scraping completes.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
`base_url`	string	✅ Yes	—	The MicroStrategy REST API URL. Example: `https://mstr.company.com/MicroStrategyLibrary/api`.
`username`	string	✅ Yes	—	Your MicroStrategy username.
`password`	string	✅ Yes	—	Your MicroStrategy password.
`operation`	string	✅ Yes	—	The operation to perform. Options: `get_reports`, `export_report`, `refresh_cube`.
`project_id`	string	❌ No	—	The MicroStrategy project ID. Found in the MicroStrategy developer or web interface.
`report_id`	string	❌ No	—	The ID of the report to export. Required for `export_report`.
`cube_id`	string	❌ No	—	The ID of the OLAP cube to refresh. Required for `refresh_cube`.
`export_format`	string	❌ No	`"csv"`	The export format for `export_report`. Options: `csv`, `xlsx`, `pdf`.

Operations Reference

Operation	What It Does	Required Parameters	Example Use Case
`get_reports`	Lists all reports in a project	`project_id`	Discover available reports
`export_report`	Exports a report in CSV, Excel, or PDF format	`report_id`, `export_format`	Download a report after data refresh
`refresh_cube`	Refreshes an OLAP cube to pick up new data	`cube_id`	Refresh after new data is scraped

Example: Refresh an OLAP Cube

{
  "base_url": "https://mstr.company.com/MicroStrategyLibrary/api",
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "mstr-password",
  "operation": "refresh_cube",
  "project_id": "A1B2C3D4E5F6",
  "cube_id": "CUBE-PRODUCT-DATA"
}

Example: Export a Report as Excel

{
  "base_url": "https://mstr.company.com/MicroStrategyLibrary/api",
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "mstr-password",
  "operation": "export_report",
  "project_id": "A1B2C3D4E5F6",
  "report_id": "RPT-PRODUCT-SUMMARY",
  "export_format": "xlsx"
}

Example: List All Reports

{
  "base_url": "https://mstr.company.com/MicroStrategyLibrary/api",
  "username": "admin",
  "password": "mstr-password",
  "operation": "get_reports",
  "project_id": "A1B2C3D4E5F6"
}

Finding Your MicroStrategy Settings

Setting	Where to Find It
REST API URL	Ask your MicroStrategy admin. Usually `https://your-server/MicroStrategyLibrary/api`
Username / Password	Your MicroStrategy login credentials
Project ID	Open MicroStrategy Web → Select a project → Look at the URL or project properties
Report ID	Open a report → Look at the URL or report properties
Cube ID	Open a cube in MicroStrategy Developer → Check properties

Output

Operation	Output
`get_reports`	A list of report names and IDs
`export_report`	The exported file (CSV, XLSX, or PDF)
`refresh_cube`	Confirmation of the cube refresh

Choosing the Right Extended BI Trigger

Scenario	Recommended Trigger
Your company uses Qlik Sense for dashboards	Qlik Sense
Your team uses open-source BI	Apache Superset
You use Google’s free reporting tool	Looker Studio
Your enterprise uses MicroStrategy	MicroStrategy
You need to refresh a dashboard after scraping	Qlik Sense (`reload_app`) or Superset (`refresh_datasource`)
You need to share a report link in an email	Looker Studio (`get_report_link`)
You need to export a report as Excel/PDF	MicroStrategy (`export_report`)

Tips and Best Practices

Tip	Why It Matters
Test API credentials before running	Verify your BI platform credentials work before adding to production
Refresh datasources before exporting	Ensures the exported data includes your latest scrape
Use `${variable}` in report/cube IDs	Makes triggers dynamic if IDs change
Store credentials as project variables	Avoids hardcoding passwords
Check export format compatibility	Not all reports support all export formats
Use Looker Studio for free reporting	No server setup required — just a Google account