---
title: Content Validator
description: Find workbook reports that reference data model fields or views that no longer exist, and fix or remove them before a model change breaks live dashboards.
---

The Content Validator finds workbook reports whose queries reference data model
members — individual fields or whole views — that no longer exist in your
current data model. Use it to catch and fix broken content while you are
changing the model, before the change ships and breaks live
[dashboards][ref-dashboards].

## Opening the Content Validator

In Cube Cloud, navigate to the **Data Model** module and select the
**Content Validator** tab.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://lgo0ecceic.ucarecd.net/cb290de1-8103-4daa-961a-2cfc7fa827d3/" alt="Content Validator tab showing a findings table with broken field and view references" />
</Frame>

Validation runs in real time, right when you open the tab — there is no
background job to schedule or wait for.

## How validation works

The Content Validator checks every [workbook][ref-workbooks] in the
deployment. For each workbook, it validates the workbook's draft reports as
well as the report snapshots of its published [dashboard][ref-dashboards].
Each report's query is checked with the same query parser the report editor
uses, so a reference flagged here is exactly the broken reference a viewer
would hit when opening that report.

Validation is branch-aware: reports are checked against the data model of
whatever context you are currently in — your
[development mode][ref-dev-mode], a shared branch, or production. The page
header names the context you are validating against, so you always know which
version of the model the findings apply to.

<Info>

The Content Validator uses the full data model, ignoring visibility settings
and access policies. A report referencing a member that is hidden with
[`public: false`][ref-cube-public] or restricted by an
[access policy][ref-access-policies] is **not** flagged — the member still
exists in the model. Only references to members that are truly gone are
reported.

</Info>

## Reviewing findings

Each broken reference is one row in the findings table:

| Column | What it shows |
| --- | --- |
| **Content** | The report name and the workbook it belongs to. |
| **State** | Whether the finding is in a **Draft** report or a **Published** dashboard snapshot. |
| **Field** | The broken member reference, e.g., `orders.total`. |
| **Error** | The parser error, e.g., `No such field "orders.total"` or `No such view "sessions_view"`. |
| **Status** | The state of the reference — **Missing**. |

There are two kinds of findings:

- **Missing field** — the report references a member (a measure or a
  dimension) that no longer exists in an otherwise valid view.
- **Missing view** — the report queries a view that no longer exists in the
  data model.

Use the search box above the table to filter findings by report, workbook, or
member name, and the **All** / **Draft** / **Published** filter to focus on
one kind of content.

If every reference resolves, the page shows *No broken references found*.

## Fixing broken references

How you fix a finding depends on whether it is in a draft report or a
published dashboard snapshot:

- **Draft reports** are editable in place. Each draft finding offers
  **Open**, **Replace**, and **Delete** actions.
- **Published dashboards** are immutable snapshots — they only change when
  their dashboard is republished. Published findings offer only an **Open**
  action; to fix one, update the draft report in its workbook and republish
  the dashboard.

### Open

**Open** navigates to the content itself: the report in its workbook for a
draft finding, or the live published dashboard for a published finding.

### Replace

**Replace** swaps the broken reference for an existing one across the
report's saved query. Clicking it opens a dialog with a searchable picker of
valid replacements — members of the same view for a missing field, or other
views for a missing view.

{/* TODO: screenshot — Replace dialog with the replacement picker */}

- If several draft reports share the same broken reference, the dialog offers
  a **Replace in all affected reports** checkbox (enabled by default) so you
  can fix them all in one action.
- If a published dashboard references the same member, the dialog notes that
  it will keep its current snapshot until the dashboard is republished.

When you apply a replacement, Cube rewrites each affected report's saved
query, persists it, and re-runs validation, so fixed rows clear from the
table immediately. The rewrite is precise: only references to the broken
member are updated, while same-named members of other views are left
untouched.

### Delete

**Delete** permanently removes the report from its workbook — use it for
reports that are no longer worth fixing. A confirmation dialog is shown
before anything is deleted, and validation re-runs afterwards.

## Scope and limitations

- The Content Validator validates reports whose queries are stored as
  semantic SQL. A report whose query the parser cannot read is counted as
  *not checked* — it is neither flagged as broken nor asserted to be clean.
  When this happens, the summary shows a *N reports could not be checked*
  note.
- Validation covers each workbook's draft reports and its published dashboard
  snapshots.
- **Replace** and **Delete** act on draft reports only. Fixing published
  content is a two-step process: fix the draft, then republish the dashboard.


[ref-workbooks]: /docs/explore-analyze/workbooks
[ref-dashboards]: /docs/explore-analyze/dashboards
[ref-dev-mode]: /docs/data-modeling/dev-mode
[ref-cube-public]: /reference/data-modeling/cube#public
[ref-access-policies]: /docs/data-modeling/data-access-policies
