- 01
/plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills-for-fabric - 02
/plugin install powerbi-authoring@fabric-collection
Takes a Power BI report through its whole life: agreeing what it should show, designing its pages, building them in the report's project files, and publishing it to Fabric. For a new report, your assistant writes a plan and waits for your approval before building anything; edits stay on your computer until you ask it to publish.
WHEN TO USE
USE FOR
- Plan a new executive report from a semantic model.
- Choose charts and a layout for an operational page.
- Add a KPI page to a Power BI project, check it and take screenshots.
- Publish a local Power BI project to Fabric and rebind it to a model there.
NOT FOR
- Changing the model, measures or DAX behind a report: the semantic-model-authoring skill.
- Questions about the numbers in a report: the fabriciq skill.
This is a saved copy of the skill's SKILL.md instructions. It may differ from the upstream file or the version you install.
Telemetry — MANDATORY. Every
api.fabric.microsoft.comcall must carryx-ms-fabric-skill: powerbi-report-cli(az rest:--headers "x-ms-fabric-skill=powerbi-report-cli"), including every LRO poll,fabric_lroand 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-clifor 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 tofabriciq.
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.
designdecides what the report should look like;authoringwrites the PBIR that realizes it. Choosing a chart type isdesign; encoding it intovisual.jsonisauthoring.- Restyling or reformatting an existing local report is
authoring, even when the request uses design language. Usedesignwhen the user wants advice or a design contract rather than a file change. authoringchanges local files and performs preview/validation. It does not publish to Fabric.managementtransports definitions and manages Fabric report items. It does not invent or directly author PBIR content.planningowns the guided requirements-to-approval flow for a new report. A focused edit to an existing report goes directly toauthoring.
A greenfield request can span modes in this order:
planning -> design -> authoring -> managementHandle 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_pendingand keepplanningas the only active mode. In this phase, do not loadauthoringormanagement, 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>.mdend 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
planningmode, also readreferences/planning-part-02.mdbefore 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-authorCLI 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
planningordesign. - Publishing from
authoring, or authoring PBIR content frommanagement. - 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
authoring/authoring-workflowsauthoring/bookmarkauthoring/button-part-02authoring/button-part-03authoring/buttonauthoring/card-part-02authoring/card-part-03authoring/cardauthoring/cartesian-part-02authoring/cartesian-part-03authoring/cartesian-part-04authoring/cartesianauthoring/color-strategyauthoring/conditional-formatting-part-02authoring/conditional-formatting-part-03authoring/conditional-formatting-part-04authoring/conditional-formatting-part-05authoring/conditional-formatting-part-06authoring/conditional-formatting-part-07authoring/conditional-formattingauthoring/custom-visualsauthoring/expressionsauthoring/field-parametersauthoring/filter-paneauthoring/filtersauthoring/formatting-overviewauthoring/formatting-part-02authoring/formattingauthoring/imageauthoring/kpiauthoring/mapauthoring/model-bindingauthoring/page-formattingauthoring/powerbi-desktopauthoring/powerbi-report-author-cli-part-02authoring/powerbi-report-author-cliauthoring/preview-part-02authoring/preview-part-03authoring/preview-part-04authoring/previewauthoring/re-theming-part-02authoring/re-theming-part-03authoring/re-themingauthoring/screenshot-reviewauthoring/shapeauthoring/slicers-part-02authoring/slicersauthoring/tableauthoring/textboxauthoring/theming-part-02authoring/themingauthoring/version-control
Design
design/accessibilitydesign/anti-patternsdesign/archetype-compositiondesign/archetypes/analytical-canvasdesign/archetypes/comparative-benchmark-part-02design/archetypes/comparative-benchmarkdesign/archetypes/executive-summarydesign/archetypes/narrative-storydesign/archetypes/operational-monitordesign/brownfielddesign/chart-selectiondesign/colordesign/design-brief-part-02design/design-briefdesign/interactivitydesign/layoutdesign/pre-flight-checklistdesign/signaturesdesign/tone-catalogdesign/typographydesign/visual-cookbook-part-02design/visual-cookbook
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 |
Account or credentials required
3 FOR YOUAll items below are required.
- 01Install it with the Power BI plugin, not as one folder
Install it as part of Microsoft's powerbi-authoring plugin, not as a single copied folder. Its guides link to shared Fabric files kept outside its own folder, such as the sign-in steps, and a lone copy leaves those links pointing nowhere. The plugin brings those files, the semantic-model skill and a Power BI modeling server that runs on your computer.
- 02A Power BI tenant where you can publish
A Power BI tenant where you may create, edit and publish semantic models and reports, and the Azure command-line tool signed in (az login) for work in Fabric. Microsoft recommends Power BI Desktop for opening and checking projects on your computer.
- 03Install Microsoft's powerbi-report-author tool (Node.js 20+)
The skill looks up visual and formatting options, checks report files and previews reports with Microsoft's powerbi-report-author command-line tool, which the plugin does not install. The tool is in public preview and needs Node.js 20 or later. To install it, run this in a terminal: npm install -g @microsoft/powerbi-report-authoring-cli — Microsoft's notes on the tool: https://github.com/microsoft/skills-for-fabric/blob/bc42aaf734771bf752c1d7082dd91e5a6ca72b9f/skills/powerbi-report-cli/references/authoring/powerbi-report-author-cli-part-02.md
This skill ships inside the Skills for Microsoft Fabric plugin. Listed package contents include 4 agents and an MCP server. Installed components and skill versions may vary by AI tool.
Install as a Claude Code plugin
Typed inside the agent's own prompt, not in a terminal. This skill uses files kept elsewhere in its plugin, so install the whole plugin — on its own the skill would be missing them.
The repository is licensed under MIT — use, modification, and redistribution are allowed under that license’s terms.
View the repository’s license file on GitHub →