Powerbi Report CLI

MicrosoftOfficialPublished by Microsoft

Skill
Tool integration
Data and AI
MIT
Low risk

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

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references/authoring-part-02.md

powerbi-report-cli authoring mode -- Power BI Report Authoring (PBIR/PBIP) - Part 2

Topic Files and Examples
- Greenfield / Design Handoff
- Large Build Execution
CLI Setup
PBIR File Layout
- Key Files
- Greenfield: creating a brand-new report

Continuation of authoring.md. Open this file directly from the skill reference index.

Topic Files and Examples

Use the user's intent to choose the relevant topic file(s) before editing:

File	When to read
`authoring-workflows.md` (see `authoring/authoring-workflows.md`)	Adding/modifying pages, visuals, drillthrough, interactions — includes complete JSON examples
`model-binding.md` (see `authoring/model-binding.md`)	Creating/repointing/repairing `definition.pbir` — `byPath` vs live-Desktop `byConnection` vs API `byConnection`, full connection-string fields, Desktop connection-error fixes
`preview.md` (see `authoring/preview.md`)	Desktop/service preview — selected-host routing, argument derivation, status, screenshots, lifecycle, errors, and troubleshooting
`screenshot-review.md` (see `authoring/screenshot-review.md`)	Screenshot review checklist and rendered-output troubleshooting after preview capture
`formatting-overview.md` (see `authoring/formatting-overview.md`)	Read first for appearance changes — cascade model, encoding rules, selectors, routing to other formatting files
`formatting.md` (see `authoring/formatting.md`)	Editing `visual.json` appearance — selectors, VCOs, encoding mechanics, background-image routing, cascade
`color-strategy.md` (see `authoring/color-strategy.md`)	Chart data point colors — theme `dataColors` vs `dataPoint.defaultColor` vs `dataPoint.fill` with selectors, cross-visual measure-color consistency
`conditional-formatting.md` (see `authoring/conditional-formatting.md`)	Data-driven formatting — field-value result contracts and support guardrails, color gradients (FillRule), rules, icon sets, data bars, web URLs, field-driven colors, images, and totals/subtotal targeting
`page-formatting.md` (see `authoring/page-formatting.md`)	Editing `page.json` appearance — canvas background, wallpaper, page background images
`filter-pane.md` (see `authoring/filter-pane.md`)	Filter pane (`outspacePane`) and filter card (`filterCard`) chrome — Applied/Available state styling, pane width, search/checkbox colors
`theming.md` (see `authoring/theming.md`)	Creating or editing `theme.json` — dataColors, textClasses, visualStyles, style presets, ThemeDataColor reference
`re-theming.md` (see `authoring/re-theming.md`)	Switching themes on a report with existing visuals — re-theming workflow (color mapping + bulk sweep), dark mode checklist, dark↔light polarity changes. Pair with `theming.md` when changing colors on a report with per-visual overrides.
`expressions.md` (see `authoring/expressions.md`)	Building field references (Column, Measure, Aggregation, Hierarchy), visual calculations, and sort definitions
`filters.md` (see `authoring/filters.md`)	Adding/modifying filters — includes complete JSON examples
`slicers.md` (see `authoring/slicers.md`)	Read first when adding/modifying slicers or slicer selections — agent workflow, JSON templates, selection config
`field-parameters.md` (see `authoring/field-parameters.md`)	Slicer-driven "metric selector" / "dynamic view" / "view by" visuals — recognizing/using a field parameter, target-visual projection encoding
`bookmark.md` (see `authoring/bookmark.md`)	Creating and editing report bookmarks — metadata/index files, saved page/visual/filter state, visibility toggles, groups, button actions, validation, and Desktop verification
`cartesian.md` (see `authoring/cartesian.md`)	Adding bar, column, line, and scatter/bubble charts — families, roles, query patterns (multi-measure, drill hierarchy, date hierarchy, scatter grouping), formatting
`map.md` (see `authoring/map.md`)	Adding map visuals — template, roles, geocoding workflow, handling render failures
`card.md` (see `authoring/card.md`)	Adding or formatting KPI/card visuals — `cardVisual`, id selectors, callout/value sizing, accent bars
`kpi.md` (see `authoring/kpi.md`)	Adding `kpi` visuals (Indicator + Trend axis + Target) — valid field combos, blank-visual root causes and fixes, query templates
`button.md` (see `authoring/button.md`)	Adding or formatting button visuals — `actionButton`, actions (Back, PageNavigation, WebUrl, Bookmark, Q&A), state selectors, dual-entry pattern
`table.md` (see `authoring/table.md`)	Adding or formatting tables/matrices — `tableEx`, `pivotTable`, grow-to-fit columns, row banding
`image.md` (see `authoring/image.md`)	Adding image visuals — local resources, URLs, data-bound images, ImageUrl validation/refusal workflow; also plot area background images for chart visuals
`shape.md` (see `authoring/shape.md`)	Adding shape visuals — containers, dividers, backgrounds, reference-image matching
`textbox.md` (see `authoring/textbox.md`)	Adding static or dynamic textbox visuals — paragraphs, text runs, and bound value expressions
`version-control.md` (see `authoring/version-control.md`)	Git branching, committing, reverting — read when the task involves version control or safe rollback planning
`custom-visuals.md` (see `authoring/custom-visuals.md`)	Adding AppSource, organizational, or private `.pbiviz` custom visuals — GUID discovery, `report.json` registration (`publicCustomVisuals` / `OrganizationalStoreCustomVisual` `_OrgStore` package / `resourcePackages`), `CustomVisuals/` layout, data binding, freemium licensing

Greenfield / Design Handoff

This skill owns PBIR file mechanics once the work is concrete: page/visual JSON, bindings, filters, slicers, themes, formatting, navigation, bookmarks, validation, previews, and screenshots.
Use the planning mode before authoring for new report/dashboard requests, requirements gathering, dependency checks, approval, or end-to-end build sequencing. Use the design mode for open-ended visual design, redesign/restyle, brand/theme direction, chart selection, or layout critique. Return here once there is an approved spec/design brief or a concrete PBIR edit to implement — see Quick Start step 0 for how to consume the brief.

Large Build Execution

For full report/PBIP builds, do not delegate complete PBIP generation to a subagent — the owning agent must keep the design brief, model inventory, cross-page consistency, validation loop, and preview verification coordinated.

When context or repetition is the constraint, prefer a deterministic Node.js generator that reads the approved design brief and writes PBIR JSON. If delegation is still useful, split it by page or visual family and give each subagent the relevant brief excerpt, exact fields/measures, and layout/visual contract; have it return scoped PBIR JSON or a patch for the owning agent to integrate and validate.

CLI Setup

Prerequisite: Node.js 20 or later. Check with node --version. If missing or older, install from nodejs.org or via your package manager — Windows: winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS; macOS: brew install node; Linux: distro package or nodesource.

Before using the CLI in a session, ensure the latest published version is installed:

npm install -g @microsoft/powerbi-report-authoring-cli@latest

Public install channel: use @latest for user environments. Exact prerelease versions pinned by repository evaluation workflows are test-only dependencies and must not be copied into user installation guidance.

Confirm it is on PATH:

powerbi-report-author --version

PBIR File Layout

A PBIP project on disk looks like this:

<Report>.pbip                              # Project manifest
├── <Report>.Report/
│   ├── .platform                          # Fabric metadata (type, logicalId)
│   ├── definition.pbir                    # Report → SemanticModel binding
│   ├── definition/
│   │   ├── version.json                   # Format version (e.g. "2.0.0")
│   │   ├── report.json                    # Report-level: themes, settings, resources
│   │   └── pages/
│   │       ├── pages.json                 # Page order + active page name
│   │       └── <pageId>/
│   │           ├── page.json              # Page: displayName, size, type, filters
│   │           └── visuals/
│   │               └── <visualId>/
│   │                   └── visual.json    # Visual: type, position, query, formatting
│   ├── CustomVisuals/                     # Private .pbiviz packages (also need a report.json resourcePackages entry — see references/authoring/custom-visuals.md)
│   └── StaticResources/
│       ├── SharedResources/BaseThemes/    # Built-in base themes
│       └── RegisteredResources/           # User images, custom theme JSON
└── <Report>.SemanticModel/                # OUT OF SCOPE

Key Files

File	Purpose	Agent rule
`.platform`	Fabric/PBIP report item metadata	Keep it with the `.Report` folder
`definition.pbir`	Report → semantic model binding via `byPath` or `byConnection`	Preserve schema/version unless intentionally migrating; when creating/repointing/repairing the binding, see `model-binding.md` (see `authoring/model-binding.md`)
`version.json`	PBIR format metadata	Preserve the full scaffolded file, including `$schema`
`report.json`	Report-level settings, themes, resources	Edit through references and validate after changes
`pages.json`	Page order and active page	Add every new page to `pageOrder`; preserve `activePageName`
`page.json`	Page metadata, size, filters	Preserve dimensions unless resizing is approved
`visual.json`	Visual type, position, query, formatting	Validate roles and formatting with CLI metadata
`localSettings.json`	User-local settings	Do not commit or rely on it

Schema URLs live under developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/fabric/…, but different PBIR files use different schema families — the item/report/definition/ prefix only applies to the files inside the definition/ folder, not to the .pbip or definition.pbir:

File	Schema family (URL after `…/fabric/`)	Example (versions at time of writing)
`<Report>.pbip`	`pbip/pbipProperties`	`pbip/pbipProperties/1.0.0/schema.json`
`definition.pbir`	`item/report/definitionProperties`	`item/report/definitionProperties/2.0.0/schema.json`
`version.json`	`item/report/definition/versionMetadata`	`…/definition/versionMetadata/1.0.0/schema.json`
`pages.json`	`item/report/definition/pagesMetadata`	`…/definition/pagesMetadata/1.1.0/schema.json`
`page.json`	`item/report/definition/page`	`…/definition/page/2.1.0/schema.json`
`report.json`	`item/report/definition/report`	`…/definition/report/3.3.0/schema.json`
`visual.json`	`item/report/definition/visualContainer`	`…/definition/visualContainer/2.9.0/schema.json`

The suffixes are versioned PBIR contracts that Power BI Desktop bumps with most releases (e.g. visualContainer/2.9.0, page/2.1.0, report/3.3.0 at the time of writing — newer values may appear in any user's PBIP). When editing, always preserve the existing $schema value; when adding a new file, copy the $schema URL from an existing file of the same type in the same report. Do not bump versions on your own. Validate with powerbi-report-author validate.

Greenfield: creating a brand-new report

For a brand-new report there is no existing file to copy a $schema from, so do not hand-author the project-shell files (.pbip, .platform, definition.pbir, version.json, report.json, pages.json, first page.json) from memory. The two failure modes that causes — both from guessing a $schema — are:

Desktop error	Cause
`UnrecognizedSchemaVersion`	Wrong family/path — e.g. a `.pbip` whose `$schema` points at an `item/report/…` URL instead of `pbip/pbipProperties`
"This version of Power BI does not support the version you have provided in `<file>`"	Correct family, but a version number the installed build does not recognize (usually guessed too new)

Primary path — scaffold the project with the CLI (no Desktop required):

powerbi-report-author scaffold <output-dir> --name <ReportName> \
  [--model-path ../<Model>.SemanticModel] [--page-name "Page 1"] [--force] [--offline]

This writes a complete, valid PBIP shell — .pbip, .platform, definition.pbir, version.json, report.json (with a real Desktop base theme), pages.json, and one empty page.json — then self-validates the result offline. Use it for every new report, then author pages/visuals into it with the normal edit -> validate -> preview -> review loop.

--model-path — relative path (from the .Report dir) to a co-located semantic model, e.g. ../Sales.SemanticModel. Omit it to get a placeholder binding (../<ReportName>.SemanticModel); the CLI flags it as a placeholder and the binding must be repointed (see model-binding.md (see authoring/model-binding.md)) before the report opens in Desktop.
Schema versions — by default the CLI fetches the latest published $schema version per family from the public microsoft/json-schemas mirror at scaffold time (the response schema.source is github). If any family can't be fetched (offline, rate-limited), it falls back per-family to the versions pinned in the CLI (schema.source becomes pinned/mixed, schema.fallbacks lists what fell back). Pass --offline to skip the network entirely and use the pinned versions. The pinned versions are older-but-valid; Desktop and the Fabric service accept them and silently upgrade on first save/publish.
If a scaffolded file triggers "does not support the version you have provided in <file>" on an older Desktop build (the live-fetched version is newer than that build supports), re-scaffold with --offline — that uses the older-but-valid versions pinned in the CLI, which Desktop accepts and upgrades in place.

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.

Attribution and licence

Published by

Microsoft

Publisher

Microsoft (Official)

Source

microsoft/skills-for-fabric · skills/powerbi-report-cli · commit f8fac11

Licence

MIT License (redistribution allowed)

LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)

Synced

2026-11-09

Also distributed in

microsoft/skills-for-fabric

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft or Microsoft.

Download ZIP

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