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Python Guide: Loading Google Analytics Data to SQL Server with dlt

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This page provides technical documentation on how to load data from Google Analytics, a platform that gathers data from your websites and apps to generate insightful business reports, into Microsoft SQL Server, a relational database management system (RDBMS) that communicates with applications and tools using Transact-SQL. The process utilizes the open-source Python library, dlt. For more information about Google Analytics, visit https://analytics.google.com.

dlt Key Features​

  • Google Analytics: dlt provides a verified source for Google Analytics that allows you to load data using the Google Analytics API to the destination of your choice.

  • Governance Support in dlt Pipelines: dlt pipelines offer robust governance support through three key mechanisms: pipeline metadata utilization, schema enforcement and curation, and schema change alerts. Learn more about this feature here.

  • Microsoft SQL Server: dlt offers support for Microsoft SQL Server as a destination. It provides detailed instructions on how to install the necessary dependencies and setup a pipeline for MS SQL.

  • Matomo: dlt provides a verified source for Matomo, a free and open-source web analytics platform. This allows you to load data using the Matomo API to the destination of your choice.

  • Getting started with dlt: dlt provides a comprehensive Getting started guide and a Google Colab demo to help beginners understand the essentials of dlt. It also offers a tutorial to learn how to build a pipeline that loads data from an API.

Getting started with your pipeline locally​

0. Prerequisites​

dlt requires Python 3.8 or higher. Additionally, you need to have the pip package manager installed, and we recommend using a virtual environment to manage your dependencies. You can learn more about preparing your computer for dlt in our installation reference.

1. Install dlt​

First you need to install the dlt library with the correct extras for Microsoft SQL Server:

pip install "dlt[mssql]"

The dlt cli has a useful command to get you started with any combination of source and destination. For this example, we want to load data from Google Analytics to Microsoft SQL Server. You can run the following commands to create a starting point for loading data from Google Analytics to Microsoft SQL Server:

# create a new directory
mkdir my-google_analytics-pipeline
cd my-google_analytics-pipeline
# initialize a new pipeline with your source and destination
dlt init google_analytics mssql
# install the required dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

The last command will install the required dependencies for your pipeline. The dependencies are listed in the requirements.txt:

google-analytics-data
google-api-python-client
google-auth-oauthlib
requests_oauthlib
dlt[mssql]>=0.3.25

You now have the following folder structure in your project:

my-google_analytics-pipeline/
├── .dlt/
│   ├── config.toml          # configs for your pipeline
│   └── secrets.toml         # secrets for your pipeline
├── google_analytics/                   # folder with source specific files
│   └── ...
├── google_analytics_pipeline.py        # your main pipeline script
├── requirements.txt         # dependencies for your pipeline
└── .gitignore               # ignore files for git (not required)

2. Configuring your source and destination credentials​

The dlt cli will have created a .dlt directory in your project folder. This directory contains a config.toml file and a secrets.toml file that you can use to configure your pipeline:

config.toml​

# put your configuration values here

[runtime]
log_level="WARNING"  # the system log level of dlt
# use the dlthub_telemetry setting to enable/disable anonymous usage data reporting, see https://dlthub.com/docs/telemetry
dlthub_telemetry = true

[sources.google_analytics]
property_id = 0 # please set me up!
queries = 
["a", "b", "c"] # please set me up!

secrets.toml​

# put your secret values and credentials here. do not share this file and do not push it to github

[sources.google_analytics.credentials]
client_id = "client_id" # please set me up!
client_secret = "client_secret" # please set me up!
refresh_token = "refresh_token" # please set me up!
project_id = "project_id" # please set me up!

[destination.mssql.credentials]
database = "database" # please set me up!
password = "password" # please set me up!
username = "username" # please set me up!
host = "host" # please set me up!
port = 1433
connect_timeout = 15
driver = "driver" # please set me up!
Further help setting up your source and destinations

Please consult the detailed setup instructions for the Microsoft SQL Server destination in the dlt destinations documentation.

Likewise you can find the setup instructions for Google Analytics source in the dlt verifed sources documentation.

3. Running your pipeline for the first time​

The dlt cli has also created a main pipeline script for you at google_analytics_pipeline.py, as well as a folder google_analytics that contains additional python files for your source. These files are your local copies which you can modify to fit your needs. In some cases you may find that you only need to do small changes to your pipelines or add some configurations, in other cases these files can serve as a working starting point for your code, but will need to be adjusted to do what you need them to do.

The main pipeline script will look something like this:

""" Loads the pipeline for Google Analytics V4. """

import time
from typing import Any

import dlt

from google_analytics import google_analytics

# this can also be filled in config.toml and be left empty as a parameter.
QUERIES = [
    {
        "resource_name": "sample_analytics_data1",
        "dimensions": ["browser", "city"],
        "metrics": ["totalUsers", "transactions"],
    },
    {
        "resource_name": "sample_analytics_data2",
        "dimensions": ["browser", "city", "dateHour"],
        "metrics": ["totalUsers"],
    },
]


def simple_load() -> Any:
    """
    Just loads the data normally. Incremental loading for this pipeline is on,
    the last load time is saved in dlt_state, and the next load of the pipeline will have the last load as a starting date.

    Returns:
        Load info on the pipeline that has been run.
    """
    # FULL PIPELINE RUN
    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="dlt_google_analytics_pipeline",
        destination='mssql',
        full_refresh=False,
        dataset_name="sample_analytics_data",
    )
    # Google Analytics source function - taking data from QUERIES defined locally instead of config
    # TODO: pass your google analytics property id as google_analytics(property_id=123,..)
    data_analytics = google_analytics(queries=QUERIES)
    info = pipeline.run(data=data_analytics)
    print(info)
    return info


def simple_load_config() -> Any:
    """
    Just loads the data normally. QUERIES are taken from config. Incremental loading for this pipeline is on,
    the last load time is saved in dlt_state, and the next load of the pipeline will have the last load as a starting date.

    Returns:
        Load info on the pipeline that has been run.
    """
    # FULL PIPELINE RUN
    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="dlt_google_analytics_pipeline",
        destination='mssql',
        full_refresh=False,
        dataset_name="sample_analytics_data",
    )
    # Google Analytics source function - taking data from QUERIES defined locally instead of config
    data_analytics = google_analytics()
    info = pipeline.run(data=data_analytics)
    print(info)
    return info


def chose_date_first_load(start_date: str = "2000-01-01") -> Any:
    """
    Chooses the starting date for the first pipeline load. Subsequent loads of the pipeline will be from the last loaded date.

    Args:
        start_date: The string version of the date in the format yyyy-mm-dd and some other values.
            More info: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/data/v1/rest/v1beta/DateRange

    Returns:
        Load info on the pipeline that has been run.
    """
    # FULL PIPELINE RUN
    pipeline = dlt.pipeline(
        pipeline_name="dlt_google_analytics_pipeline",
        destination='mssql',
        full_refresh=False,
        dataset_name="sample_analytics_data",
    )
    # Google Analytics source function
    data_analytics = google_analytics(start_date=start_date)
    info = pipeline.run(data=data_analytics)
    print(info)
    return info


if __name__ == "__main__":
    start_time = time.time()
    simple_load()
    end_time = time.time()
    print(f"Time taken: {end_time-start_time}")

Provided you have set up your credentials, you can run your pipeline like a regular python script with the following command:

python google_analytics_pipeline.py

4. Inspecting your load result​

You can now inspect the state of your pipeline with the dlt cli:

dlt pipeline dlt_google_analytics_pipeline info

You can also use streamlit to inspect the contents of your Microsoft SQL Server destination for this:

# install streamlit
pip install streamlit
# run the streamlit app for your pipeline with the dlt cli:
dlt pipeline dlt_google_analytics_pipeline show

5. Next steps to get your pipeline running in production​

One of the beauties of dlt is, that we are just a plain Python library, so you can run your pipeline in any environment that supports Python >= 3.8. We have a couple of helpers and guides in our docs to get you there:

The Deploy section will show you how to deploy your pipeline to​

  • Deploy with Github Actions: dlt can be deployed using Github Actions. This involves setting up a Github Actions workflow that triggers the pipeline at specified intervals.
  • Deploy with Airflow: You can also deploy your dlt pipeline with Airflow. This involves setting up an Airflow DAG that executes the pipeline according to a predefined schedule.
  • Deploy with Google Cloud Functions: dlt supports deployment using Google Cloud Functions. This allows you to run your pipeline in a serverless environment, eliminating the need to manage servers.
  • Other Deployment Options: There are several other ways to deploy your dlt pipeline. You can find more information about these options here.

The running in production section will teach you about:​

  • Monitor your Pipeline: Keep track of your pipeline's performance and status. dlt offers tools and techniques for monitoring your pipeline in real-time. Learn more about this in our guide on How to Monitor your pipeline.
  • Set up Alerts: Stay informed about any issues or anomalies in your pipeline. dlt allows you to set up alerts that notify you when something goes wrong. Learn how to do this in our Set up alerts guide.
  • Set up Tracing: Understand the flow of data and operations in your pipeline. dlt provides tools for tracing your pipeline's execution, which can be crucial for debugging and optimization. Check out our guide on setting up tracing.

Additional pipeline guides​

This demo works on codespaces. Codespaces is a development environment available for free to anyone with a Github account. You'll be asked to fork the demo repository and from there the README guides you with further steps.
The demo uses the Continue VSCode extension.

Off to codespaces!

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