Fabric Cli Powerbi

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

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

1 - Power BI Item Types

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:

1. Configure in Power BI Desktop with RangeStart/RangeEnd parameters
2. Publish to workspace
3. 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