Configuration

Weiser uses YAML configuration files to define data quality checks, datasources, and connections. This page provides a comprehensive guide to configuring your Weiser setup.

Configuration Structure

version: 1
datasources:
  - name: default
    type: postgresql
    host: localhost
    port: 5432
    db_name: mydb
    user: postgres
    password: secret

connections:
  - name: metricstore
    type: metricstore
    db_type: duckdb
    db_name: metricstore.db

checks:
  - name: orders_row_count
    dataset: orders
    type: row_count
    condition: gt
    threshold: 0

includes:
  - path/to/additional/config.yaml

Environment Variables (Recommended)

Your configuration can use environment variables for sensitive information, weiser will read your .env file and replace the variables in the configuration. Environment variables already defined in your system can also be used. They are available in the configuration as {{VARIABLE_NAME}}.

Datasources

Configure connections to your data sources:

PostgreSQL

datasources:
  - name: postgres_prod
    type: postgresql
    host: prod-db.company.com
    port: 5432
    db_name: production
    user: weiser_user
    password: mysecretpassword

MySQL

datasources:
  - name: mysql_analytics
    type: mysql
    host: mysql.example.com
    port: 3306
    db_name: analytics
    user: analytics_user
    password: {{MYSQL_PASSWORD}}

Cube.js

datasources:
  - name: cube_api
    type: cube
    uri: http://localhost:4000/cubejs-api/v1

Connection URI

datasources:
  - name: warehouse
    type: postgresql
    uri: postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/database

Metric Store Connections

Configure where check results are stored:

DuckDB (Default)

connections:
  - name: metricstore
    type: metricstore
    db_type: duckdb
    db_name: metricstore.db

PostgreSQL Metric Store

connections:
  - name: metricstore
    type: metricstore
    db_type: postgresql
    host: metrics-db.company.com
    port: 5432
    db_name: metrics
    user: metrics_user
    password: {{METRICS_PASSWORD}}

S3 Storage (DuckDB with S3)

connections:
  - name: metricstore
    type: metricstore
    db_type: duckdb
    s3_access_key: {{S3_ACCESS_KEY}}
    s3_secret_access_key: {{S3_SECRET_KEY}}
    s3_endpoint: s3.amazonaws.com
    s3_bucket: weiser-metrics
    s3_region: us-east-1

Check Configuration

Basic Check Structure

checks:
  - name: unique_check_name
    dataset: table_name_or_sql
    type: check_type
    condition: comparison_operator
    threshold: value_or_range
    # Optional parameters
    measure: column_or_expression
    dimensions: [column1, column2]
    filter: where_clause
    time_dimension:
      name: date_column
      granularity: day

Required Parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
name	Unique identifier	orders_row_count
dataset	Table or SQL query	orders
type	Check type	row_count
condition	Comparison operator	gt
threshold	Expected value	1000

Optional Parameters

Parameter	Description	Example
datasource	Datasource name	postgres_prod
measure	Column/expression	order_amount
dimensions	Group by columns	[region, status]
filter	WHERE clause	status = 'active'
description	Check description	Validates order count
fail	Allow check failures	false

Conditions

Condition	Description	Example
gt	Greater than	actual > threshold
ge	Greater than or equal	actual >= threshold
lt	Less than	actual < threshold
le	Less than or equal	actual <= threshold
eq	Equal to	actual == threshold
neq	Not equal to	actual != threshold
between	Between range	threshold[0] <= actual <= threshold[1]

Threshold Types

Single Value

threshold: 1000

Range (for between condition)

condition: between
threshold: [100, 500]

Decimal Values

threshold: 0.05 # 5% for percentage checks

Dimensions

Group checks by specific columns:

# Single dimension
dimensions: [region]

# Multiple dimensions
dimensions: [region, product_category, quarter]

# No dimensions (aggregate entire dataset)
dimensions: []

Time Dimensions

Add time-based grouping:

time_dimension:
  name: created_at
  granularity:
    day # millennium, century, decade, year, quarter,
    # month, week, day, hour, minute, second

Filters

Add WHERE clause conditions:

# Simple filter
filter:
  - status = 'active'

# Complex filter
filter:
  - status IN ('active', 'pending') AND created_at >= '2024-01-01'

# Multiple filters, will be combined with AND
filter:
  - status = 'active'
  - amount > 0

Dataset Options

Table Name

dataset: orders

Multiple Tables

dataset: [orders, returns, refunds]

Custom SQL

dataset: >
  SELECT o.*, c.customer_tier
  FROM orders o
  JOIN customers c ON o.customer_id = c.id
  WHERE o.created_at >= CURRENT_DATE - INTERVAL '30 days'

Environment Variables

Use environment variables for sensitive data:

datasources:
  - name: prod
    type: postgresql
    host: {{DB_HOST}}
    user: {{DB_USER}}
    password: {{DB_PASSWORD}}
    db_name: {{DB_NAME}}

Set environment variables:

export DB_HOST=prod-db.company.com
export DB_USER=weiser_user
export DB_PASSWORD=secret123
export DB_NAME=production

Configuration Includes

Split configuration across multiple files:

# main.yaml
version: 1
includes:
  - datasources.yaml
  - checks/row_counts.yaml
  - checks/revenue_checks.yaml

# datasources.yaml
datasources:
  - name: postgres_prod
    type: postgresql
    # ... connection details

Templating

Use template variables for reusable configurations:

# Template variables
variables:
  min_row_count: 1000
  revenue_threshold: 50000

checks:
  - name: orders_count
    dataset: orders
    type: row_count
    condition: gt
    threshold: 0

Slack Integration

Configure Slack notifications:

slack_url: https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Validation

Weiser validates your configuration on startup. Common validation errors:

Missing Required Fields

Error: Check 'my_check' missing required field 'condition'

Invalid Check Type

Error: Unknown check type 'invalid_type'

Invalid Condition

Error: Invalid condition 'invalid_condition'

Missing Threshold for Between

Error: 'between' condition requires array threshold [min, max]

Best Practices

1. Environment Variables: Use for sensitive data
2. Descriptive Names: Use clear, descriptive check names
3. Documentation: Add descriptions to complex checks
4. Modular Files: Split large configurations into multiple files
5. Version Control: Store configurations in version control
6. Testing: Test configurations in non-production environments
7. Monitoring: Set up alerts for check failures

Example Complete Configuration

version: 1

datasources:
  - name: warehouse
    type: postgresql
    host: localhost
    port: 5432
    db_name: analytics
    user: MyUser
    password: MyPassword

connections:
  - name: metricstore
    type: metricstore
    db_type: duckdb
    db_name: weiser_metrics.db

checks:
  # Row count checks
  - name: orders_daily_count
    dataset: orders
    type: row_count
    condition: gt
    threshold: 100
    time_dimension:
      name: created_at
      granularity: day

  # Revenue validation
  - name: daily_revenue
    dataset: orders
    type: sum
    measure: order_amount
    condition: ge
    threshold: 10000
    filter: status = 'completed'
    time_dimension:
      name: created_at
      granularity: day

  # Data completeness
  - name: customer_data_completeness
    dataset: customers
    type: not_empty_pct
    dimensions: [email, phone]
    condition: le
    # Max 5% NULL values
    threshold: 0.05