Powerbi Report CLI — Agent Skill by Microsoft

From the author

Plan, design, author, preview, publish, and manage Power BI reports across requirements, page design, local PBIR/PBIP edits, validation, screenshots, Fabric upload/download, and rebinding. Use for report lifecycle work; use semantic-model-authoring for model or DAX changes and fabriciq for data questions. Triggers: plan Power BI report, design report page, edit PBIR, preview PBIP, publish report, rebind report

— the description by Microsoft

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The powerbi-report-cli skill provides a structured, mode-based framework for managing the entire Power BI report lifecycle. It acts as a dispatcher across four distinct phases: planning (requirements and scope), design (visual and layout strategy), authoring (local PBIR/PBIP file manipulation and validation), and management (Fabric item transport and rebinding). The skill enforces strict boundaries between these modes to ensure quality, requiring explicit approval for new reports and utilizing a dedicated CLI for metadata-driven validation and authoring tasks.

What it does

Guides users through report requirements, scope, and page planning.
Provides design contracts for visual archetypes, layouts, and branding.
Enables local editing, validation, and previewing of PBIR and PBIP files.
Handles report item transport to and from Microsoft Fabric.
Supports re-theming, conditional formatting, and visual configuration.
Enforces a mandatory approval gate for greenfield report development.

When to use it

When planning a new Power BI report from a semantic model.
When you need to define a professional design brief or layout strategy.
When editing local PBIR/PBIP files, including visuals, filters, and themes.
When validating report structure and formatting before deployment.
When publishing or managing report items within a Fabric workspace.

Advantages

Ensures consistent report quality through a structured, multi-mode workflow.
Prevents premature publishing by enforcing a mandatory approval barrier.
Uses a dedicated CLI to eliminate guesswork in PBIR schema and property editing.
Maintains clear separation between design intent and technical implementation.
Provides robust validation tools to catch errors before Fabric deployment.

Usage examples

“Create a new executive report from this semantic model.”: The agent enters planning mode, inspects the model, generates a report spec, and requests user approval before proceeding.
“Design an operational page and choose the right charts.”: The agent enters design mode, produces a design brief with page archetypes and chart recommendations.
“Add a KPI page to this PBIP, validate it, and take screenshots.”: The agent enters authoring mode, modifies the local PBIP files, runs validation, and captures screenshots for review.
“Publish this local PBIP to my Fabric workspace and rebind it.”: The agent enters management mode, performs the upload to Fabric, and completes the rebind operation.

Install

Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/powerbi-report-cli/download

Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip powerbi-report-cli.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Microsoft

Telemetry — MANDATORY. Every api.fabric.microsoft.com call must carry x-ms-fabric-skill: powerbi-report-cli (az rest: --headers "x-ms-fabric-skill=powerbi-report-cli"), including every LRO poll, fabric_lro and retry. Snippets omit it — add it anyway.

CRITICAL NOTES
To find workspace details, including its ID, from a workspace name: list all workspaces, then use JMESPath filtering.
To find item details, including its ID, from a workspace ID, item type, and item name: list all items of that type in that workspace, then use JMESPath filtering.
Use powerbi-report-cli for the report artifact: requirements, design, PBIR/PBIP page and visual edits, preview, and publishing. Semantic model, measure, and DAX work belongs to a semantic-model skill. Natural-language questions about report data belong to fabriciq.

Power BI Reports - CLI Skill

This skill owns the Power BI report lifecycle end to end: requirements and scope, visual design, local PBIR/PBIP authoring and preview, and report-item transport to and from Microsoft Fabric.

It is a mode dispatcher and intentionally contains no detailed procedures. Select the mode that matches the request, then read the matching mode reference end to end before acting. The mode file holds the required workflow, commands, payloads, templates, and failure rules.

Mode Selection

Mode	Use when the request...	Existing route examples	Read first
`planning`	creates a new report/dashboard and needs requirements, model/dependency inspection, scope, a page plan, and approval before implementation	create a report, build a dashboard, create from a semantic model, plan then implement, walk me through creating a report	references/planning.md, then references/planning-part-02.md
`design`	decides what a report should look like: tone, signature, page archetype, chart type, layout, color, typography, theme direction, accessibility, brand application, redesign, or critique	design a Power BI report, make the dashboard professional, choose a chart, apply a brand, redesign the report, create a design brief	references/design.md
`authoring`	reads or edits local PBIR/PBIP files, validates them, previews the report, or captures screenshots	edit PBIR, create/add a report page or visual, format a visual, add filters/slicers/bookmarks/themes, validate PBIR, preview/reload/screenshot in Desktop or service	references/authoring.md
`management`	moves a report definition to or from Fabric or manages the workspace report item	publish/upload/download PBIR or PBIP, list reports, get/update/delete a report, rebind a report	references/management.md

Mode Boundary Rules

Classify by intent, not by which file or tool is already open.
design decides what the report should look like; authoring writes the PBIR that realizes it. Choosing a chart type is design; encoding it into visual.json is authoring.
Restyling or reformatting an existing local report is authoring, even when the request uses design language. Use design when the user wants advice or a design contract rather than a file change.
authoring changes local files and performs preview/validation. It does not publish to Fabric.
management transports definitions and manages Fabric report items. It does not invent or directly author PBIR content.
planning owns the guided requirements-to-approval flow for a new report. A focused edit to an existing report goes directly to authoring.

A greenfield request can span modes in this order:

planning -> design -> authoring -> management

Handle one mode at a time. Announce each switch and read the new mode reference before starting that part. The planning approval gate is a turn boundary: never build or publish until the user explicitly approves the locked spec in a later reply.

GREENFIELD APPROVAL BARRIER — MANDATORY. When a new-report request asks to plan, build, and/or publish but the user has not approved a locked spec in a prior reply, set the current phase to approval_pending and keep planning as the only active mode. In this phase, do not load authoring or management, edit/scaffold PBIR or semantic-model files, generate synthetic data, call Fabric write APIs, or publish. Persist _brief/report-spec.md, ask for explicit approval, and end the turn. The build/publish wording in the original request is desired future scope, not approval to cross this barrier.

Required Deliverable by Mode

Mode	Completion requirement
`planning`	Persist `_brief/report-spec.md` or the user-named equivalent, ask for explicit approval, and stop before implementation.
`design`	Produce the complete `Design Brief:` contract, including `design_identity` and a page archetype/layout contract for every page. Do not edit PBIR or call Fabric APIs.
`authoring`	Persist the requested PBIR/PBIP changes, validate each logical batch, then complete the selected preview and screenshot-review workflow required by the authoring reference. Do not publish.
`management`	Complete the requested Fabric report operation, including LRO polling and documented readback verification.

Rules

MUST

Select the narrowest mode that fully covers the current request.
Read references/<mode>.md end to end before the first command or file edit in that mode. When an already-loaded mode explicitly routes one narrow cross-mode operation to a named topic reference, treat that topic reference as the complete handoff; do not load the target mode's umbrella file unless the work expands beyond that operation.
In planning mode, also read references/planning-part-02.md before producing _brief/report-spec.md; it contains the required canonical design contract and approval checks.
Across a multi-turn task, retain a compact working state containing resolved workspace/item/model IDs, local and downloaded paths, and references already read. Reuse it in later turns unless the user explicitly requests a fresh query or the preceding operation invalidated a value.
Preserve every argument and safety boundary documented by the selected mode.
Announce and perform an explicit mode switch when the request crosses a boundary.
Use the powerbi-report-author CLI metadata and validation surfaces instead of guessing PBIR schemas, roles, formatting properties, selectors, or enum values.
Keep local edits local unless the user explicitly requests publishing.
Resolve Fabric workspace and item IDs by listing and filtering rather than guessing identifiers.
Produce the artifact the user requested; reading or summarizing a reference is not task completion.

PREFER

Infer facts already present in the prompt, semantic model, existing PBIP, or prior approved spec instead of asking again.
Load only the selected mode and its directly relevant topic references.
Reuse reference guidance already loaded in the current task. Open a new reference only when the requested operation or an observed mismatch requires it.
Preserve the user's existing project structure, schemas, host, operation, binding, and delivery target unless the selected mode explicitly requires a change.

AVOID

Acting from this dispatcher without reading the selected mode reference.
Reloading this dispatcher, a mode file, or a topic reference already read in the current task solely because the conversation advanced to a later turn.
Loading a retired sibling skill name; planning, design, authoring, and management are modes of this skill.
Editing PBIR or calling Fabric APIs in planning or design.
Publishing from authoring, or authoring PBIR content from management.
Bypassing the planning approval gate because the original request also asked to build or publish.

Complete Reference Index

Open every relevant reference directly from this index. Files named part-XX continue the named topic.

Authoring

Design

Mode Guides

Examples

User request	Mode
"Create a new executive report from this semantic model."	`planning`
"Design an operational page and choose the right charts."	`design`
"Add a KPI page to this PBIP, validate it, and take screenshots."	`authoring`
"Publish this local PBIP to my Fabric workspace and rebind it."	`management`

Route Compatibility

The merged skill preserves the four previous route surfaces. Treat the following phrases as explicit aliases for the corresponding mode:

Mode	Preserved route phrases
`planning`	create a report; build a report; create a dashboard; create a new report from scratch; create a report from a semantic model or dataset link; build a report for this model; make me a dashboard; plan then implement; walk me through creating a report
`design`	design Power BI report; make dashboard look professional; choose chart type; apply brand to report; redesign report; create design brief; Power BI report design archetype
`authoring`	edit PBIR; create Power BI report page; add visual to PBIP; format report visual; validate Power BI report; preview Power BI report; Power BI Desktop preview status; preview report in service; preview report in browser; screenshot report page; screenshot all report pages; list preview hosts; implement dashboard in PBIP; add dashboard visuals to report; implement an approved PBIP report spec; edit PBIR pages/visuals; edit a Power BI report
`management`	upload PBIR report definition; upload Power BI report; download PBIR definition; publish PBIR definition; publish Power BI report to Fabric; manage Power BI reports; list workspace reports

Files

ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer881 B
LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.1 KiB
SKILL.md16.1 KiB
apm.yml642 B
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references/authoring/screenshot-review.md

Screenshot Review

Use this file after mandatory screenshot capture through the host-specific workflow in preview.md (see preview.md) and before reporting completion for every rendered-output change. Capturing and reviewing every affected page is part of the authoring completion gate, even when the user did not explicitly request a screenshot.

Keep every validation capture and retry in the workflow-owned directory selected through preview.md (see preview.md). Delete that directory only after the complete review loop finishes.

Review workflow

Perform an independent screenshot review using:

The screenshot image file paths.
A short description of what changed and what should be visible.
The checklist and troubleshooting table below.

Do not rely only on structural validation. Fix any issue found in screenshots, then repeat the PBIR validate -> preview -> screenshot review loop.

Screenshot scope: Each screenshot captures the report page AND the right-hand filter pane (outspacePane) when the filter pane is enabled and expanded. Filter pane and filter card (filterCard) chrome are formattable surfaces — review them alongside on-page visuals (background color, border, font color, search/checkbox treatment, applied vs available states). See filter-pane.md (see filter-pane.md) for the formatting model.

Checklist

Layout and visibility

Are all visuals fully visible with no edge clipping or unintentional overlap?
Does each page have a visible descriptive title/header?
Do top-bar slicers sit to the right of the title instead of replacing the title anchor?
Are titles, labels, values, subtitles, and legends readable and not truncated?
Do cards and KPIs show complete values, not ellipses or missing digits?
Do textboxes render without scrollbars?
Are slicers fully visible, including lower portions and dropdown areas?
Is spacing intentional, with no accidental large gaps?

Data rendering

Do charts show actual bars, lines, or points rather than empty frames?
Do tables and matrices have data rows, not just headers?
Are any visuals showing error icons, "Can't display", or "Requires X fields"?
Are blank, null, or dash values expected?
Do slicers show selectable values?

Formatting and theming

Are background colors and theme applied, not default white/gray?
Do font colors contrast against their backgrounds?
Do chart colors contrast with card/page backgrounds and distinguish series?
Does each measure follow Design Brief.color_map consistently across visuals?
Are card gutters/padding intentional, with no accidental white padding from wildcard theme styles?
Is conditional formatting visually present where expected?
Do border radius, shadows, and other effects render as intended?

Note: Some formatting properties are valid JSON but have no visible effect for a visual type. If a property is not rendering, verify it with powerbi-report-author formatting describe-object <type> <object>.

Common screenshot problems

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Visual shows error icon	Wrong entity/property names in `queryState`	Check TMDL for correct table/column names.
Chart frame with no data	Missing or wrong role bindings	Verify roles with `powerbi-report-author catalog describe <type>`.
Card/KPI value shows `...` or cutoff	Font too large for visual size, or card resized without font adjustment	Read `position.height`/`width`, then increase size or reduce `value.fontSize`; recheck `label.fontSize` and padding.
Textbox shows scrollbar or clipped title	Textbox height did not account for theme/VCO padding	Increase height with `max(18, ceil(fontSize * 25/16)) + padding_top + padding_bottom`, or add textbox-specific zero padding.
Redundant subtitle appears	Auto-generated or hand-authored subtitle repeats the title	Hide it or replace with useful context such as date range, units, active filter, baseline, or caveat.
Text invisible on dark background	Font color matches background	Set explicit contrasting `fontColor`.
Visual overlaps another	Position coordinates conflict	Recalculate `x`, `y`, `width`, and `height`.
Slicer hidden behind chart/table	Header band overlaps next row, or slicer height is too small	Re-read `references/authoring/slicers.md`, recompute height, and reserve a full top/header band or rail.
Card has white gutters/padding	Wildcard theme padding/background applied to cards	Add/restore `cardVisual`-specific padding, spacing, and background overrides.
Same measure uses different colors	`Design Brief.color_map` was not applied consistently	Re-read the brief and set each measure-bound visual to the mapped color.
Blank page	Page has no visuals, or visuals have `z < 0`	Check visual directories and z-order.
Slicer shows no items	Wrong column binding or filter conflict	Verify the slicer's `queryState` column has data.
Bars/columns invisible despite data	`dataPoint.fill` without a selector	Use `defaultColor` for base color, or add a `metadata` selector to `fill`.

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Security

What our scanner noticed· Low risk

Phrasing that asks for actions without confirmation
Instructions that use the network

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

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Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download powerbi-report-cli.zip