REST API error on /elasticubes/{server}/{title}/updateCube

Summary: Tim von Ahsen experienced an issue with using the Sisense REST API's updateCube endpoint, which resulted in unintended destruction of their cube due to potential nullification of metadata attributes. They had to recover by exporting and re-importing the cube. Other participants noted the risks of partial updates and the importance of handling API changes cautiously. Suggestions included retrieving and modifying the full cube definition before updates, ensuring backups, and testing in controlled environments. The difference between PUT and PATCH methods was also highlighted, explaining how incomplete payloads during updates could lead to defaults or null values replacing important attributes.

I used /elasticubes/{server}/{title}/updateCube to set the "creator" attribute. It destroyed my cube; the only way to recover was using the REST API to export a .sdata, import that, and delete the old one. I think it might have set lots of metadata attributes to null. The Sisense REST API page, and a community post, seemed to indicate that using it to set a single attribute would be appropriate.

Tim von Ahsen

Posted 5 months ago · Edited 4 months ago·Last reply 5 months ago

1 comment

Piotr_qbeeq

·5 months ago

Hi Tim,

Thanks for sharing your experience! This is a helpful caution for anyone using the /updateCube REST endpoint. A few tips to avoid similar issues:

Full backup first – always export the cube (.sdata) before making updates.
Be careful with partial updates – sending only one attribute (like creator) may overwrite other metadata and break the cube.
Consider retrieving the full cube definition first – if you need to change something, make a copy, update the field, and then save the full cube data back.

Even without development work, these steps can reduce the risk of losing cube metadata. Your experience is a good reminder to the community to handle REST API updates with caution.

Best Regards,
Piotr from QBeeQ, a Sisense Gold Implementation Partnerwww.qbeeq.io