remediate-field-mapping-gaps

name	remediate-field-mapping-gaps
description	Use when migrated Kibana panels are empty, show missing/unknown fields, query the wrong index or data view, or the user needs to fix Prometheus label / Datadog tag / metric-name mapping gaps after an obs-migrate run.

Remediate field mapping gaps

Audience: operators of the published obs-migrate CLI (PyPI/uvx), using public docs and their real source + Elastic/Kibana — not a repo lab harness.

Goal: move from "the migrated panel is empty or wrong" to a concrete source-to-Elastic mapping fix. Field mapping gaps are expected in observability migrations; treat them as schema alignment work, not automatically as translator bugs.

Prerequisites (install)

These skills help operators of the published CLI (not a repo checkout). If obs-migrate is missing or doctor is not Ready, follow install-obs-migrate first — that skill owns PyPI/uvx/pip, extras, and Python/uv gotchas. Do not invent alternate install commands here.

uvx --from 'elastic-observability-migration[all]' obs-migrate doctor
# After a persistent install, the same check is: obs-migrate doctor

Source/Elastic credentials: connect-to-o11y-source (and your env exports).

Start with the symptom

Symptom	First move
Empty uploaded panel / "No results found"	Use debug-uploaded-kibana-dashboard to capture the exact ES
Unknown column / missing field error	Read the field name from the Kibana/ES error and locate it in required_target_contract.json (Grafana), target_readiness_contract.json (Datadog), or the emitted query. For Grafana, also check --esql-index vs --data-view
Values look wrong but data exists	First rule out accepted approximations (explain-migration-gaps / https://github.com/elastic/observability-migration-platform/blob/main/docs/sources/grafana.md Current Boundaries: histogram_quantile → PERCENTILE, histogram mean ratio-of-aggregates, multi-target fusion). Only then compare source vs translated fields in verification_packets.json / schema report
Many panels fail the same way	Fix the rule pack / field profile / index flags and rerun; do not hand-edit every panel first

Package-native artifacts and commands

What you need	File / command
Per-panel source fields -> target fields	<output-dir>/dashboards/schema_change_report.md (written by migration); use obs-migrate schema-report --artifact-dir <output-dir>/dashboards --output schema_change_report.md --contract-out telemetry_contract.json only to regenerate or combine outputs
Required target fields and missing/confirmed status	Grafana: <output-dir>/dashboards/required_target_contract.json; Datadog: <output-dir>/dashboards/target_readiness_contract.json (look at totals.fields_missing / required_fields.*.status)
Source query and translated query	<output-dir>/dashboards/verification_packets.json
Human-readable must-fix list	<output-dir>/dashboards/migration_summary.md
Uploaded-panel runtime truth	debug-uploaded-kibana-dashboard capture of Kibana's actual /_query request

Remediation loop

1. Prove it is a mapping / index / data issue — confirm the target has data in the selected time range and correct stream. For Grafana Prometheus panels, wrong/missing --esql-index (query + discovery target) vs --data-view (Kibana UI bind) is the most common empty-panel cause — fix flags before rewriting rule packs (https://github.com/elastic/observability-migration-platform/blob/main/docs/command-contract.md → Target index flags). Empty data is not a mapping fix.
2. Open the schema report — read <output-dir>/dashboards/schema_change_report.md and find the row for the failing panel. Regenerate with obs-migrate schema-report only if you are combining old artifact dirs or rebuilding the report.
3. Check required fields — open required_target_contract.json (Grafana) or target_readiness_contract.json (Datadog). Prioritize fields marked missing or unknown.
4. Compare three sources of truth — source query fields/tags, translated ES|QL fields (prefer native/*.native.json / ir/*.ir.json), and Kibana's actual runtime query. If Kibana changed aliases or buckets, note that separately.
5. Choose the right fix layer:
   • Wrong index / data view (Grafana): set --esql-index and --data-view correctly and rerun — often no rule-pack change needed.
   • Approximation, not mapping: if reasons cite PERCENTILE / assumed histogram / ratio of aggregates / multi-target fusion, explain via explain-migration-gaps — do not thrash profiles to "fix" expected warnings.
   • Grafana / PromQL mapping: add or adjust a rule pack and rerun with --rules-file <custom-rule-pack.yaml> on obs-migrate migrate --source grafana (or grafana-migrate).
   • Datadog: choose a built-in --field-profile (otel, prometheus, prometheus_native, elastic_agent, passthrough) or pass a custom YAML profile path.
   • Target ingest: if Elastic lacks the needed field entirely, fix the telemetry producer/index template/runtime field before rerunning migration ().

grafana-migrate \
  --input-mode files --input-dir <dashboards> \
  --output-dir <out> \
  --data-view "metrics-*" --esql-index "metrics-*" \
  --es-url "$ELASTICSEARCH_ENDPOINT" --es-api-key "$KEY" \
  --validate \
  --suggest-rule-pack-out suggested-rule-pack.yaml

--suggest-rule-pack-out writes only when validation produced a summary (typically needs --es-url + --validate). Review the generated file before using it as --rules-file. 7. Rerun the smallest useful scope — prefer one dashboard (try-one-source-dashboard) or selected assets before a full sweep. 8. Validate again — use validate-side-by-side for numeric parity where applicable, render audit / debug-uploaded-kibana-dashboard if the UI is still empty.

Fix examples

Grafana rule-pack path:

obs-migrate extensions --source grafana --format yaml --template-out custom-rule-pack.yaml
# edit label_rewrites / label_candidates
obs-migrate migrate --source grafana ... --rules-file custom-rule-pack.yaml \
  --data-view "metrics-*" --esql-index "metrics-*"

Datadog field-profile path:

obs-migrate extensions --source datadog --format yaml --template-out custom-field-profile.yaml
# edit metric_map / tag_map / prefixes
obs-migrate migrate --source datadog ... --field-profile custom-field-profile.yaml

Honest limits / Do NOT

• Do NOT invent verification_packets.json keys from memory. Open the file and read the actual shape for the run.
• Do NOT call every empty panel a translator bug. Missing telemetry, wrong time range, wrong --esql-index/--data-view, and filters that match no documents are common.
• Do NOT treat approximation warnings as mapping bugs — triage with explain-migration-gaps first.
• Do NOT patch Kibana panels one-by-one before finding the shared mapping root cause unless the user explicitly needs a one-off emergency repair.
• Do NOT pass --suggest-rule-pack-out to obs-migrate migrate — it is unrecognized there; use grafana-migrate.
• Do NOT use repo-only scripts for package users. obs-migrate schema-report, obs-migrate extensions, --rules-file, --field-profile, and grafana-migrate --suggest-rule-pack-out are the package-native paths.
• Do NOT present a custom rule pack/profile as proven until you rerun and validate the affected panel.

See also

• install-obs-migrate — install/doctor when the CLI is missing or not Ready.
• understand-source-schema — source-to-target mapping model and report locations.
• prepare-target-telemetry — ingest route / index flags before blaming translation.
• explain-migration-gaps — approximation vs redesign triage.
• debug-uploaded-kibana-dashboard — capture Kibana's actual runtime query + render-audit taxonomy.
• validate-side-by-side — compare translated results after remediation.
• try-one-source-dashboard / migrate-selected-assets — rerun the smallest useful scope.
• https://github.com/elastic/observability-migration-platform/blob/main/docs/testing.md — render-audit classifications.