| name | te-cli |
| description | Expert guidance for the cross-platform Tabular Editor CLI (the `te` binary, currently in preview) that manages Power BI / Analysis Services semantic models from the terminal on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Use when the user mentions the `te` CLI or "Tabular Editor CLI" (not the "2"), or runs a `te <command>` to scaffold, inspect, edit, validate, run BPA on, query, deploy, refresh, test, or migrate a semantic model. Not for the legacy Windows-only `TabularEditor.exe` (TE2). |
Tabular Editor CLI (te)
To get the te CLI yourself (as the agent), see references/get-te-cli.md.
The te CLI is a single self-contained binary that loads, edits, validates, deploys, refreshes, and tests semantic models against TMDL/BIM files, Power BI Desktop, and cloud workspaces (Power BI, Fabric, Azure AS, SSAS). It is built on the same TOMWrapper that powers Tabular Editor 3, so model edits behave like the desktop app.
Always pass --output-format json when driving te programmatically. The default text/table output uses tables and ANSI styling that mangle in agent transcripts; JSON is parseable and avoids rendering issues.
Limited public preview. Preview builds stop functioning after 2026-09-30. No license is required during preview. Issues and feedback: https://github.com/TabularEditor/CLI
Not the TE2 CLI. This is a different product from the legacy Windows-only TabularEditor.exe (TE2). If the user invokes TE2 flag syntax (-D, -S, -A, -B, -TMDL, -O, -C, -V, -G), route it through the compat layer or invoke TabularEditor.exe directly. See references/te2-migration.md.
When to use this skill
- The user mentions "te CLI", "the new Tabular Editor CLI", or runs a
te <command> in a terminal
- The user wants to scaffold, inspect, edit, validate, deploy, refresh, query, or test a semantic model from the terminal on any OS
- The user wants to convert TMDL, BIM, or PBIP, run BPA, or format DAX from the command line
- The user wants to set up a DAX regression test suite, snapshot baselines, or A/B-compare two deployed models
- The user is building a CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps) that validates, tests, or deploys a semantic model to Power BI / Fabric
- The user is migrating CI/CD pipelines from
TabularEditor.exe (TE2) to te
When NOT to use this skill
- The user explicitly wants to run
TabularEditor.exe natively (TE2); use that product directly
- The user asks about Tabular Editor 3 desktop UI features (Preferences.json, MacroActions.json, Layouts.json); consult https://docs.tabulareditor.com/
- The user wants help authoring a C# script body or a BPA rule expression itself rather than running it; use the
c-sharp-scripting and bpa-rules skills
Critical general rules
- First use in a session: run
te --version and te auth status. If not authenticated, ask the user to run te auth login.
- Run
te --help and te <command> --help the first time composing a command; flags are still evolving during preview.
te connect state is per-shell-session and does NOT survive across separate Bash tool calls (each call is a fresh shell). Pass -m <model> (and -s/-d for remote) on every command, or set TE_SESSION=<name> before the first call to share state.- MPartition path asymmetry:
te add for an M partition uses <Table>/<Partition>, but every other command (te remove, te get, te list, te move, te set) uses <Table>/Partitions/<Partition>.
- Mutations stage in memory by default.
te set, te add, te remove, te move, te replace, te format, te script, te macro run, te incremental-refresh set/remove need --save to persist (unless interactiveEditMode is set to save).
- The BPA gate is ON by default for
te deploy and te save. Bypass deliberately: --skip-bpa, --fix-bpa, or bpa.onDeploy / bpa.onSave config (keys are nested under bpa., not flat).
- In CI: pass
--non-interactive and --force. te deploy prompts with n as the safe default and hangs pipelines without --force.
- Metadata commands (
te list, te get, te set, te add, te validate, te bpa run, te format, te script) work on a local model via -m. Commands that execute DAX or touch data (, , , , ) need a deployed model: pass / (or an active connection); alone errors with "No server specified". is the offline exception.
Verb naming (canonical long-form + Unix aliases)
Long-form verbs are canonical: te list, te remove, te move at the root, and list/remove in subgroups (te macro, te bpa rules, te profile, te session, te test, te incremental-refresh). Short Unix-style aliases work everywhere: ls, rm, mv. te move also accepts rename. te config list is the canonical name (previously te config show). te add has no short alias. This skill uses the long forms throughout; the aliases still work if you prefer to type them.
Staging model (--save / --stage / --revert)
Every mutating command runs through a staging dispatcher: edits (set, add, rm, mv, replace), DAX/M (format), TOM (script, macro run), refresh policy, and BPA --fix.
By default edits stage in memory and are discarded on exit. Pass --save to persist. The default is configurable with te config set interactiveEditMode <mode>:
stage (default): keep changes in memory; persist with explicit --savesave: auto-persist after each successful mutationrevert: auto-roll-back after each mutation (safe audit/dry-run style)
Inside te interactive, --save, --stage, and --revert are available per command and mutually exclusive. --save-to <path> writes the mutation to a different location without overwriting the source. --force on te script / te save lets a mutation persist even when it introduces NEW DAX validation errors; the default save gate refuses to persist if the mutation introduces new errors (pre-existing errors do not block).
Quickstart
te --version && te auth status
te auth login
te init ./my-model
te load ./model
te find "Revenue" --in names -m ./model
te get Sales/Revenue -q expression -m ./model
te bpa run --fail-on error --ci github -m ./model
te format --save -m ./model
te query "EVALUATE TOPN(5, 'Sales')" -s ws -d model
te save -o ./out --serialization tmdl -m ./model
te deploy ./model -s ws -d model --force --ci github
te refresh --type full -s ws -d model
te connect <ws> <model> sets an active connection for interactive terminals, but it does not persist across separate Bash tool calls. In agentic or scripted use, pass -m/-s/-d explicitly every command (or set TE_SESSION).
Common operations
The highest-frequency tasks in their most concise form. Full flags are in references/command-reference.md; flags are still moving in preview, so confirm with te <command> --help.
- Summarize a model (most concise):
te load ./model prints a model summary. For a structural inventory, te list (tables), te list Measures (every measure across the model), te list Relationships (all relationships). Add --output-format json for a machine-readable dump.
- Search the model (fastest):
te find "<text>" --in names --paths-only -m ./model. Scope --in to names, expressions, descriptions, displayFolders, ...; --in expressions walks every DAX and M expression. --paths-only is the fast, pipeable form. Structural lookups use wildcards (te list "Sales/*Amount"). Relationships are enumerated with te list Relationships (or DAX EVALUATE INFO.VIEW.RELATIONSHIPS() for the friendly view with cross-filter direction and active flag).
- Query the model (needs a deployed model:
-s/-d or an active connection; a local -m path cannot execute DAX):
- Positional DAX:
te query "EVALUATE TOPN(10, Sales)" -s ws -d model (or -q "<dax>"; explicit -q still wins)
- From a
.dax file: te query --file query.dax -s ws -d model
- Save results (format picked by extension):
--output-file out.csv (csv/tsv/json/dax); machine-readable stdout: --output-format json.
- Make a change (stages in memory;
--save persists): te set Sales/Revenue -q expression -i "SUM(Sales[Amount])" --save. Also te add, te remove, te move. Read the current value first with te get Sales/Revenue -q expression.
- Make bulk changes:
- Text find/replace across the whole model:
te replace "Old" "New" --in expressions --save (previews unless --save).
- Arbitrary bulk logic in one pass (the model loads once, avoiding ~1-2s per-call startup):
te script -S bulk.csx --save, or inline . Predefined macros: .
Global options
Abbreviated; the full table (including --recent, server and database detail) is in references/command-reference.md.
| Option | Description |
|---|
-m, --model <path> | TMDL folder, .bim, or TE folder |
-s, --server / -d, --database | Workspace/endpoint and semantic model name |
--local | Running Power BI Desktop (Windows only) |
--auth <method> | auto | interactive | spn | env | managed-identity |
--output-format <fmt> | auto | text | json | csv | tmsl (alias bim) | tmdl; how STDOUT renders |
--non-interactive | Disable prompts; fail if input missing (set in CI) |
--error-format <fmt> | text (default) | json; how errors/warnings render on stderr |
--debug | Debug logs to stderr |
Note: --output-format (how stdout renders) and --serialization (how a model is written to disk on init/save) are different flags. Do not conflate them.
Semantic modeling checklist
Driving the CLI correctly is not the same as building a good model. After te add creates an object, apply the modeling decision that makes it correct and usable. The highest-value practices, each with its te command:
| Practice | Why | te command |
|---|
summarizeBy = none on key/ID columns | stops Power BI silently summing keys into meaningless totals | te set Sales/ProductKey -q summarizeBy -i none --save |
| Hide foreign-key and surrogate-key columns | keys serve relationships, not visuals; keeps the field list clean | te set Sales/ProductKey -q isHidden -i true --save |
| Mark the date table | unlocks reliable time intelligence | te set Date -q dataCategory -i Time --save |
| Single cross-filter direction by default | avoids ambiguous filter paths and double counting | list with te list Relationships (or DAX EVALUATE INFO.VIEW.RELATIONSHIPS() for the friendly view), read one with te get Relationships/<name> (the -> shorthand is for te add only); enable bidirectional only for a deliberate bridge |
| Format string on every measure | unformatted measures render raw floats | te set "_Measures/Revenue" -q formatString -i "#,0.00" --save |
| Display folder + description on measures | a flat field pane is unusable past a few dozen measures; descriptions feed tooltips and Copilot | te set "_Measures/Revenue" -q displayFolder -i "Revenue" --save |
| Minimal correct data types; integer surrogate keys | high-cardinality and oversized types bloat VertiPaq | te set Sales/CustomerKey -q dataType -i int64 --save |
| Prefer measures over calculated columns | calculated columns cost storage and break some DirectQuery/DirectLake paths | te add "_Measures/Margin" -t Measure -i "[Revenue]-[COGS]" --save |
| Calculation groups over measure sprawl | turns N measures x K variants into N + K objects | see references/semantic-modeling-practices.md |
| Gate every batch with validate + BPA | catches broken references and antipatterns while the change is fresh | te validate -m ./model && te bpa run --fail-on warning -m ./model |
Full rationale, citations, and worked workflows (RLS roles, calculation groups, date tables, VertiPaq tuning): references/semantic-modeling-practices.md.
Command index
Ten command families. Full flags and examples in references/command-reference.md.
- Model I/O:
te load, te save, te open, te init
- Editing:
te set, te add, te remove, te move, te replace
- Inspection:
te list, te get, te find, te diff, te deps
- Analysis & quality:
te validate, te bpa run, te vertipaq, te format
- Execution:
te query, te script, te macro
- Deploy & refresh:
te deploy, te refresh, te incremental-refresh
- Testing:
te test (run, init, list, spec, use, snapshot, compare); suite authoring in references/testing.md
- Connection & auth:
te connect, te auth, te profile, te session
- Configuration:
te config, te migrate, te completion
- Shell:
te interactive (model-aware REPL; subcommands work without the te prefix)
The authoring loop
Run quality gates continuously, not only at deploy:
te validate -m ./model --errors-only
te bpa run --fail-on warning -m ./model
te format --save -m ./model
For build scripts that issue many te calls, set te config set bpa.onSave false first (skip the per-save BPA pass), run BPA once at the end, and set te config set spinner false for cleaner logs. Each invocation has ~1-2s of startup; prefer one te script with a C# loop over N te set calls for bulk edits.
Using te with other Power BI CLIs
te owns the semantic model. Two sibling CLIs own the layers around it, and the highest-value workflows cross the boundary:
pbir (the Power BI report layer): renaming or moving a model object leaves the report bound to the old Table.Field. te move cascades DAX references inside the model, but it cannot see report JSON; repair the report bindings separately (pbir fields replace, pbir validate --fields). See references/pbir-cli-tandem.md.fab (the Fabric / Power BI service): export a model from a workspace, edit and gate it locally with te, then deploy over XMLA (te deploy) or import it back (fab import). See references/fabric-cli-tandem.md.
Gate any cross-tool refactor with te validate before touching the report or the service, and remember every te mutation stages in memory until --save.
Bundled scripts
scripts/manage-ai-metadata.csx - non-interactive te script CRUD for
semantic model AI instructions (CustomInstructions) and AI schema
(Entities) stored in culture linguistic metadata.scripts/edit-ai-instructions-interactive.csx - TE3 Desktop GUI editor for
semantic model AI instructions.scripts/edit-ai-schema-interactive.csx - TE3 Desktop GUI editor for
semantic model AI schema.scripts/manage-ai-metadata-interactive.csx - original combined TE3 Desktop
editor prototype.
References
Bundled (load as needed):
references/get-te-cli.md - agent self-service install of the te binary from the public CDNreferences/command-reference.md - object path grammar, global options, all 10 command families, authentication, connections/profiles/sessionsreferences/testing.md - authoring .test.yaml suites (assertions, tolerance, tags, matrix), snapshot regression, A/B compare across workspacesreferences/semantic-modeling-practices.md - modeling best practices tied to te commands, with sourcesreferences/workflows.md - multi-step recipes (table + M partition, format conversions, deploy, refresh, perspectives, translations, incremental refresh, field parameters)references/gotchas.md - path/property asymmetries, output shapes, behavior trapsreferences/config-cicd-env.md - config keys, speed knobs, CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Fabric practices), output formats, exit codes, environment variablesreferences/te2-migration.md - TE2 compat activation and full flag mappingreferences/pbir-cli-tandem.md - using te with the pbir CLI (rename and refactor propagation, thin reports, validation pairing)references/fabric-cli-tandem.md - using te with the fab CLI (export/edit/deploy round-trip, discovery, refresh, promotion)
Authoritative docs:
