---
title: "Introducing mstr-unpacker: Making Sense of MicroStrategy"
description: Unpack MicroStrategy .mstr files with mstr-unpacker, an open-source tool that extracts metadata for easier migration, auditing, and documentation.
---

[Blog — Advancing Analytics ](https://www.advancinganalytics.co.uk/blog)

# [Introducing mstr-unpacker: Making Sense of MicroStrategy](https://www.advancinganalytics.co.uk/blog/introducing-mstr-unpacker-make-sense-of-microstrategy)

 Written by [Ust Oldfield](https://www.advancinganalytics.co.uk/blog/author/ust-oldfield) | 03/07/25 15:23

MicroStrategy’s `.mstr` files promise portability, modularity, and self-contained dashboards, but under the hood, they’re opaque, compressed, and often undocumented. If you've ever tried to reverse-engineer or audit a dashboard without access to the original project, you know the pain.

Today, we're excited to introduce **`mstr-unpacker`**, an open-source tool that unpacks `.mstr` files and extracts their meaningful contents (**metadata**) in a human-readable format.

## Why This Project Exists

Whether you're:

- **Migrating** from MicroStrategy to another BI platform,
- **Auditing** dashboards for inconsistencies or redundant metrics,
- **Documenting** visualisations across hundreds of dossiers,
- Or just **curious** about what’s really inside a `.mstr` file...

You're likely stuck. `.mstr` files are ZIPs full of semi-structured blobs, hidden strings, encoded props, and unnamed IDs. There’s no native tool to inspect or trace how visuals tie to metrics or attributes.

## What `mstr-unpacker`Does

This tool:

- ✅ **Unzips** `.mstr` files and extracts internal `.delta`, `.cube`, and config files
- ✅ **Parses** readable strings from binary structures

### Use It For

- Migration from MicroStrategy to Power BI, Tableau, or Looker
- Auditing dashboard contents without logging into MSTR
- Validating dashboard structure against design specifications
- Automating metadata extraction at scale

Get Involved

- ⭐ Star the repo: [https://github.com/AdvancingAnalytics/mstr-unpacker](https://github.com/AdvancingAnalytics/mstr-unpacker)
- 🐛 Found a strange `.mstr` encoding or have an idea? [Open an issue](https://github.com/AdvancingAnalytics/mstr-unpacker/issues)
- 💬 Join the conversation: help us build a full MicroStrategy decompiler

How we can help

We're using the core output from **`mstr-unpacker`** to power our MicroStrategy to Power BI converter, so we can help our customers quickly and easily move away from MicroStrategy. If you're struggling to migrate from MicroStrategy, [get in touch](https://www.advancinganalytics.co.uk/contact-us)!  
 

In our full solution, we can:

- **Detect** and classify visual types (bar, grid, kpi, etc.)
- **Map** metrics and attributes to visuals using semantic proximity and identifier inference
- **Output** a structured JSON for automation and migration
- **Generate **a PBIP Report format for migration

MicroStrategy doesn’t make it easy. But `mstr-unpacker` makes it possible.

[View full post](https://www.advancinganalytics.co.uk/blog/introducing-mstr-unpacker-make-sense-of-microstrategy)

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