---
title: Connecting Hub to Power BI | Formbricks Hub
description: Connect Formbricks Hub to Microsoft Power BI and build reports on your feedback data - no ETL, just point Power BI at Hub's database.
---

Hub stores all data in a single PostgreSQL database. You can report on it with **Microsoft Power BI** by connecting Power BI to Hub’s database and building reports from the `feedback_records` table.

## Summary

| Step | Action                                                                                                                                                  |
| ---- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1    | Run Hub + Postgres ([Quick Start](/quickstart/index.md))                                                                                                |
| 2    | Install [Power BI Desktop](https://powerbi.microsoft.com/desktop/) (free); optionally sign in to Power BI Service for sharing                           |
| 3    | In Power BI Desktop: **Get Data -> PostgreSQL database** -> enter Hub’s server, database, and credentials (see [Step 1](#step-1-get-hub-running) table) |
| 4    | In the Navigator: select **feedback\_records** -> **Load** (or **Transform data** to shape in Power Query)                                              |
| 5    | Build reports using the same dimensions and metrics as in the [Quick reference](#quick-reference-dimensions-and-metrics) below                          |

## Why Hub + Power BI?

- **Direct access** - Power BI connects to Hub’s Postgres database; no data copying or sync required (or use Import for a local snapshot).
- **Microsoft ecosystem** - [Power BI](https://powerbi.microsoft.com/) is the de facto standard for many organizations; Desktop is free for authoring.
- **Same data model** - Hub’s [Data Model](/core-concepts/data-model/index.md) uses one row per response in a single table; easy to aggregate and visualize.

### Quick test

1. [Download Power BI Desktop](https://powerbi.microsoft.com/desktop/) (free) and install it.
2. Run Hub and Postgres locally ([Quick Start](/quickstart/index.md)).
3. In Power BI Desktop: **Get Data -> PostgreSQL database** -> use the same host, database, and credentials as Hub (for example, Server `localhost`, Database `hub`, and your Postgres user/password).
4. Select the **feedback\_records** table -> **Load**, then build a chart (for example, bar chart with **Axis** `source_type`, **Values** Count of `id`).

Power BI Desktop is only available on Windows. For Mac or Linux, we recommend using [Apache Superset](/guides/hub-superset/index.md) with Hub - it connects to the same data.

## Step 1: Get Hub running

If Formbricks Hub is not running yet, follow the [Quick Start Guide](/quickstart/index.md) to start Hub and Postgres (for example, `docker compose up -d`).

Note the **database connection details** you use for Hub (host, port, database name, user, password). You will need them for Power BI. If you use the [compose file](/quickstart#option-1-docker-compose-recommended/index.md) from the docs, that is typically:

| Setting       | Example value                                                                                                                                        |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Host          | `localhost` (if Hub and Postgres run on the same machine as Power BI Desktop)                                                                        |
| Port          | `5432`                                                                                                                                               |
| Database name | `hub`                                                                                                                                                |
| Username      | `formbricks`                                                                                                                                         |
| Password      | Your Postgres password (in the [Quick Start](/quickstart/index.md) compose setup this is `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` in `.env`; default is `formbricks_dev`) |

## Step 2: Get Power BI

- **Power BI Desktop** - Free Windows app for authoring reports. [Download Power BI Desktop](https://powerbi.microsoft.com/desktop/).
- **Power BI Service** (optional) - For sharing reports and dashboards, scheduled refresh, and collaboration. Sign in at [powerbi.microsoft.com](https://powerbi.microsoft.com/). For scheduled refresh when the database is not publicly reachable, you may need an [on-premises data gateway](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/service-gateway-onprem).

## Step 3: Add Hub’s database in Power BI

1. Open **Power BI Desktop**.

2. Click **Get data** (or **Home -> Get data**) and choose **PostgreSQL database**.

3. Enter:

   - **Server** - The host and port of Hub’s Postgres (for example, `localhost` or `localhost,5432`; if port is 5432 you can often omit it).
   - **Database** - The database name from the [Step 1](#step-1-get-hub-running) table (for example, `hub`).

4. Choose **Data connectivity mode**: **Import** (copy data into the report) or **DirectQuery** (query live). Import is simpler for small to medium datasets.

5. Under **Authentication**, select **Database** and enter the **Username** and **Password** from the Step 1 table.

6. Click **OK**. If Power BI prompts to test the connection, confirm it succeeds.

If Postgres is on another machine or in the cloud, use that host and ensure the firewall or security groups allow Power BI (or the on-premises data gateway) to reach port 5432.

For scheduled refresh or sharing in Power BI Service when the database is not publicly reachable, configure an [on-premises data gateway](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/service-gateway-onprem) and use it for the PostgreSQL connection.

## Step 4: Select the `feedback_records` table

1. In the **Navigator** dialog, expand the database and select **feedback\_records**.
2. Optionally click **Transform data** to open Power Query and remove columns or add filters before loading; otherwise click **Load**.
3. Once loaded, `feedback_records` appears in the **Data** pane on the right. You can now use it to build report visuals.

For the full table schema - column names, types, and field semantics (for example, `field_type`, `value_number`, `value_text`) - see the [Data Model](/core-concepts/data-model/index.md) doc.

## Step 5: Build reports

Use the **Visualizations** pane to add charts and the **Data** pane to drag fields into **Axis**, **Values**, and **Filters**.

### Example: NPS over time (line or area chart)

1. Add a **Line chart** or **Area chart**.
2. **Axis** - Drag `collected_at`; in the field’s dropdown set the date hierarchy to **Date** and change to **Week** or **Month** if needed.
3. **Values** - Drag `value_number` and set the aggregation to **Average** (or add a measure).
4. **Filters** - Add a filter on **field\_type** and set it to `nps` so only NPS questions are included.
5. Optionally add **Count of rows** or a custom NPS measure; the same logic as in the [Data Model](/core-concepts/data-model/index.md) can be implemented in Power Query or DAX if needed.

### Example: Count by source (bar or pie chart)

1. Add a **Clustered bar chart** or **Pie chart**.
2. **Axis** (or **Legend**) - Drag `source_type`.
3. **Values** - Use **Count of** any column (for example, Count of `id`) or add a measure that counts rows.
4. Save the report.

### Example: Score by question (bar chart)

1. Add a **Clustered bar chart**.
2. **Axis** - Drag `field_id` or `field_label`.
3. **Values** - Drag `value_number` with **Average**.
4. **Filters** - Filter **field\_type** to `nps`, `csat`, or `rating` as needed.
5. Save the report.

Once Power BI has access to Hub’s database and the `feedback_records` table, your feedback data is ready for reporting with no extra integration work.

### Quick reference: dimensions and metrics

For the complete list of columns and field types, see the [Data Model](/core-concepts/data-model/index.md).

| Use case              | Dimension / filter                          | Metric                           |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| NPS/CSAT over time    | `collected_at`; filter `field_type = nps`   | AVG(value\_number) or custom NPS |
| Count by source       | `source_type`                               | COUNT(\*)                        |
| Score by question     | `field_id` or `field_label`                 | AVG(value\_number)               |
| Categorical breakdown | `value_text` (for example, device, segment) | COUNT(\*)                        |
| Multi-tenant          | Filter `tenant_id`                          | any                              |

## References

**Hub**

- [Quick Start](/quickstart/index.md) - Run Hub and Postgres
- [Data Model](/core-concepts/data-model/index.md) - Table schema, columns, and field types for `feedback_records`
- [Connecting Hub to Superset](/guides/hub-superset/index.md) - Same data, with Apache Superset

**Power BI**

- [Power Query PostgreSQL connector](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-query/connectors/postgresql) - Official connector docs
- [Get data in Power BI Desktop](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/desktop-get-data)
- [Create a report in Power BI Desktop](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/create-reports/desktop-report-view)