fabric-cli-powerbi

Fabric CLI Power BI Operations

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Install skill "fabric-cli-powerbi" with this command: npx skills add microsoft/fabric-cli/microsoft-fabric-cli-fabric-cli-powerbi

Fabric CLI Power BI Operations

Expert guidance for working with Power BI items (semantic models, reports, dashboards) using the fab CLI.

When to Use This Skill

Activate automatically when tasks involve:

  • Semantic model (dataset) operations — get, export, refresh, update

  • Report management — export, clone, rebind to different model

  • Executing DAX queries against semantic models

  • Managing refresh schedules and troubleshooting failures

  • Gateway and data source configuration

  • TMDL (Tabular Model Definition Language) operations

Prerequisites

  • Load fabric-cli-core skill first for foundational CLI guidance

  • User must be authenticated: fab auth status

  • Appropriate workspace permissions for target items

Automation Scripts

Ready-to-use Python scripts for Power BI tasks. Run any script with --help for full options.

Script Purpose Usage

refresh_model.py

Trigger and monitor semantic model refresh python scripts/refresh_model.py <model> [--wait] [--timeout 300]

list_refresh_history.py

Show refresh history and failure details python scripts/list_refresh_history.py <model> [--last N]

rebind_report.py

Rebind report to different semantic model python scripts/rebind_report.py <report> --model <new-model>

Scripts are located in the scripts/ folder of this skill.

1 - Power BI Item Types

Entity Suffix Type Description

.SemanticModel

Semantic Model Power BI dataset (tabular model)

.Report

Report Power BI report (visualizations)

.Dashboard

Dashboard Power BI dashboard (pinned tiles)

.Dataflow

Dataflow Power Query dataflow

.PaginatedReport

Paginated Report RDL-based paginated report

Path Examples

Semantic model

Production.Workspace/Sales.SemanticModel

Report connected to model

Production.Workspace/SalesReport.Report

Dashboard

Production.Workspace/ExecutiveDash.Dashboard

2 - Semantic Model Operations

Get Model Information

Check if model exists

fab exists "ws.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel"

Get model properties

fab get "ws.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel"

Get model ID (needed for Power BI API calls)

fab get "ws.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" -q "id"

Get full definition (TMDL)

fab get "ws.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" -q "definition"

Export Model

Export to local directory (PBIP format with TMDL)

fab export "ws.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" -o ./exports -f

Creates folder structure:

Model.SemanticModel/ ├── .platform ├── definition.pbism └── definition/ ├── model.tmdl ├── tables/ │ ├── Sales.tmdl │ └── Date.tmdl └── relationships.tmdl

Import/Update Model

Import from PBIP folder

fab import "ws.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" -i ./exports/Model.SemanticModel -f

Copy between workspaces

fab cp "Dev.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" "Prod.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" -f

3 - Refresh Operations

Trigger Refresh

Get IDs

WS_ID=$(fab get "ws.Workspace" -q "id" | tr -d '"') MODEL_ID=$(fab get "ws.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" -q "id" | tr -d '"')

Trigger full refresh

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$WS_ID/datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshes" -X post -i '{"type":"Full"}'

Check refresh status

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$WS_ID/datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshes?$top=1"

Enhanced Refresh (Partition-Level)

Refresh specific tables

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$WS_ID/datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshes" -X post -i '{ "type": "Full", "commitMode": "transactional", "objects": [ {"table": "Sales"}, {"table": "Inventory"} ] }'

Refresh with retry

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$WS_ID/datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshes" -X post -i '{ "type": "Full", "retryCount": 3 }'

Refresh Schedule

Get current schedule

fab api -A powerbi "datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshSchedule"

Set daily refresh at 6 AM UTC

fab api -A powerbi "datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshSchedule" -X patch -i '{ "enabled": true, "days": ["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday"], "times": ["06:00"], "localTimeZoneId": "UTC" }'

Troubleshoot Refresh Failures

Get refresh history

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$WS_ID/datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshes"

Common failure patterns:

- "credentials" → Update data source credentials

- "gateway" → Check gateway status

- "timeout" → Use enhanced refresh with smaller batches

- "memory" → Optimize model or use incremental refresh

4 - DAX Query Execution

Execute DAX queries against semantic models:

MODEL_ID=$(fab get "ws.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" -q "id" | tr -d '"')

Simple query

fab api -A powerbi "datasets/$MODEL_ID/executeQueries" -X post -i '{ "queries": [{"query": "EVALUATE VALUES(Date[Year])"}] }'

Aggregation query

fab api -A powerbi "datasets/$MODEL_ID/executeQueries" -X post -i '{ "queries": [{ "query": "EVALUATE SUMMARIZECOLUMNS(Date[Year], "Total", SUM(Sales[Amount]))" }] }'

TOPN query

fab api -A powerbi "datasets/$MODEL_ID/executeQueries" -X post -i '{ "queries": [{ "query": "EVALUATE TOPN(10, Product, [Total Sales], DESC)" }] }'

Query with parameters

fab api -A powerbi "datasets/$MODEL_ID/executeQueries" -X post -i '{ "queries": [{ "query": "EVALUATE FILTER(Sales, Sales[Year] = @Year)", "parameters": [{"name": "@Year", "value": "2024"}] }] }'

5 - Report Operations

Get Report Info

Check exists

fab exists "ws.Workspace/Report.Report"

Get properties

fab get "ws.Workspace/Report.Report"

Get connected model

fab get "ws.Workspace/Report.Report" -q "definition.parts[?contains(path, 'definition.pbir')].payload | [0]"

Export Report

Export to PBIP format

fab export "ws.Workspace/Report.Report" -o ./exports -f

Clone Report

Copy within workspace

fab cp "ws.Workspace/Report.Report" "ws.Workspace/ReportCopy.Report" -f

Copy to another workspace

fab cp "Dev.Workspace/Report.Report" "Prod.Workspace/Report.Report" -f

Rebind Report to Different Model

WS_ID=$(fab get "ws.Workspace" -q "id" | tr -d '"') REPORT_ID=$(fab get "ws.Workspace/Report.Report" -q "id" | tr -d '"') NEW_MODEL_ID=$(fab get "ws.Workspace/NewModel.SemanticModel" -q "id" | tr -d '"')

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$WS_ID/reports/$REPORT_ID/Rebind" -X post -i "{ "datasetId": "$NEW_MODEL_ID" }"

Export Report to File (PDF/PPTX)

Export to PDF

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$WS_ID/reports/$REPORT_ID/ExportTo" -X post -i '{ "format": "PDF" }'

Poll for completion, then download

6 - Gateway Operations

List Gateways

Tenant-level gateways (hidden entity)

fab ls .gateways

Get gateway details

fab get ".gateways/MyGateway.Gateway"

Data Source Management

GATEWAY_ID=$(fab get ".gateways/MyGateway.Gateway" -q "id" | tr -d '"')

List data sources on gateway

fab api -A powerbi "gateways/$GATEWAY_ID/datasources"

Get data source status

fab api -A powerbi "gateways/$GATEWAY_ID/datasources/$DATASOURCE_ID"

Update Data Source Credentials

Update credentials (basic auth example)

fab api -A powerbi "gateways/$GATEWAY_ID/datasources/$DATASOURCE_ID" -X patch -i '{ "credentialDetails": { "credentialType": "Basic", "credentials": "{"credentialData":[{"name":"username","value":"user"},{"name":"password","value":"pass"}]}", "encryptedConnection": "Encrypted", "encryptionAlgorithm": "None", "privacyLevel": "Organizational" } }'

7 - Take Over Ownership

When a semantic model owner leaves the organization:

WS_ID=$(fab get "ws.Workspace" -q "id" | tr -d '"') MODEL_ID=$(fab get "ws.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" -q "id" | tr -d '"')

Take over semantic model ownership

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$WS_ID/datasets/$MODEL_ID/Default.TakeOver" -X post

8 - Common Patterns

Dev to Production Deployment

#!/bin/bash DEV_WS="Dev.Workspace" PROD_WS="Prod.Workspace"

1. Export from dev

fab export "$DEV_WS/Sales.SemanticModel" -o ./deploy -f fab export "$DEV_WS/SalesReport.Report" -o ./deploy -f

2. Import to prod

fab import "$PROD_WS/Sales.SemanticModel" -i ./deploy/Sales.SemanticModel -f fab import "$PROD_WS/SalesReport.Report" -i ./deploy/SalesReport.Report -f

3. Trigger refresh

PROD_WS_ID=$(fab get "$PROD_WS" -q "id" | tr -d '"') MODEL_ID=$(fab get "$PROD_WS/Sales.SemanticModel" -q "id" | tr -d '"') fab api -A powerbi "groups/$PROD_WS_ID/datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshes" -X post -i '{"type":"Full"}'

4. Verify

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$PROD_WS_ID/datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshes?$top=1" -q "value[0].status"

Backup Semantic Model

Export definition for version control

fab export "Prod.Workspace/Model.SemanticModel" -o ./backups/$(date +%Y%m%d) -f git add ./backups/ git commit -m "Backup Model $(date +%Y-%m-%d)"

Incremental Refresh Setup

For large models, use incremental refresh:

  • Configure in Power BI Desktop with RangeStart/RangeEnd parameters

  • Publish to workspace

  • First refresh creates partitions:

Monitor partition creation

fab api -A powerbi "groups/$WS_ID/datasets/$MODEL_ID/refreshes?$top=5"

9 - Safety Guidelines

  • Always verify workspace context before refresh operations

  • Test in dev first — never refresh production without testing

  • Monitor refresh duration — set appropriate timeouts

  • Backup before major changes — export definition before updates

  • Use enhanced refresh for large models to avoid timeouts

10 - References

For detailed patterns, see:

  • references/semantic-models.md — Full TMDL operations

  • references/reports.md — Report management

  • references/refresh.md — Refresh troubleshooting

  • references/dax-queries.md — Advanced DAX patterns

  • references/gateways.md — Gateway configuration

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