| name | te2-cli |
| description | CLI syntax reference for Tabular Editor 2 (TabularEditor.exe); deployment, scripting, BPA analysis, and CI/CD integration. Automatically invoke when the user mentions "TabularEditor.exe", TE2 CLI flags (-D, -S, -A, -B, -TMDL, -O, -C), or asks to "deploy a model via CLI", "set up CI/CD for Power BI", "automate model deployment", "run BPA from command line", "save model as TMDL". |
Tabular Editor 2 CLI
Command-line interface for Tabular Editor 2 (TE2). This skill covers the TabularEditor.exe executable; TE3 has its own CLI and is a separate product.
[!NOTE]
The TE2 CLI (TabularEditor.exe) is still supported and stable, and remains a solid choice for existing Windows CI/CD pipelines. It is now considered outdated against the newer cross-platform Tabular Editor CLI (te), which is built on TE3 and is in preview until Q4 2026. For the te command set and a flag-by-flag migration, see the te-cli skill. Download te preview binaries from the Tabular Editor CLI downloads page.
Installation
Tabular Editor 2 (Free)
Executable
TabularEditor.exe -- free, Windows-only. For Mac/Linux, run via a Windows VM or container.
Connection Sources
Local Files
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim
TabularEditor.exe definition/
TabularEditor.exe MyReport.pbip
Remote XMLA Endpoints
TabularEditor.exe "localhost\tabular" "AdventureWorks"
TabularEditor.exe "powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/WorkspaceName" "ModelName"
Power BI Desktop
TabularEditor.exe localhost:PORT DatabaseName
Note: Find the port in PBIDesktop diagnostic files or use tools like DAX Studio.
Command-Line Reference
Basic Syntax
TabularEditor.exe <source> [options]
Script Execution
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -S "Info(Model.Name);"
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -S script.csx
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -S script1.csx -S script2.csx
Deployment
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -D "server" "database"
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -D "server" "database" -O -C -P -R -M -E -V -W
Deployment Options
| Flag | Long Form | Description |
|---|
-O | -OVERWRITE | Overwrite existing database |
-C | -CONNECTIONS | Deploy/overwrite data sources (supports connection string placeholder substitution) |
-P | -PARTITIONS | Deploy/overwrite existing table partitions |
-R | -ROLES | Deploy roles |
-M | -MEMBERS | Deploy role members |
-S | -SHARED | Deploy shared expressions (within -D context; note: -S also means script outside -D) |
-E | -ERR | Return non-zero exit code if AS returns error messages after deployment |
-V | -VSTS | Output Azure DevOps logging commands |
-W | -WARN | Output warnings for unprocessed objects |
-F | -FULL | Full deployment (equivalent to -O -C -P -S -R -M) |
-X | -XMLA | Generate XMLA/TMSL script instead of deploying |
-L | -LOGIN | Disable integrated security for deployment |
-Y | -SKIPPOLICY | Skip incremental refresh policy partitions |
Save Output
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -S script.csx -B Output.bim
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -S script.csx -TMDL output/
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -S script.csx -F output/
Best Practice Analyzer
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -A rules.json
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -A rules.json -V
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -A rules.json -G
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -AX rules.json
Schema Check
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -SC
Common Operations
1. Deploy Local Model to Service
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim ^
-D "powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/Workspace" "SemanticModel" ^
-O -C
2. Run Script and Save
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim -S format-dax.csx -B Model.bim
3. Run BPA Analysis
TabularEditor.exe Model.bim ^
-A https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/Analysis-Services/master/BestPracticeRules/BPARules.json ^
-V
4. Refresh Model Data
TabularEditor.exe "server" "database" ^
-S "Model.RequestRefresh(RefreshType.Full);" ^
-D "server" "database"
5. Export Model from Service
TabularEditor.exe "powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/Workspace" "Model" ^
-TMDL output/definition
Authentication
For authentication methods (Windows, Service Principal, Interactive) and CI/CD integration (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions), see references/auth-and-cicd.md.
Exit Codes
| Code | Description |
|---|
| 0 | Success |
| 1 | Any error-level output (script error, deployment failure, BPA violations at severity >= 3) |
File Formats
Input Formats
model.bim - Tabular JSON (legacy)definition/ - TMDL folder (modern)*.pbip - Power BI Project (TE3)
Output Formats
| Flag | Format | Description |
|---|
-B | .bim | Tabular JSON |
-TMDL | folder | TMDL |
-F | folder | Legacy folder structure |
Troubleshooting
For common errors (database not found, authentication failed, script execution failed), see references/auth-and-cicd.md.
Quick Reference Card
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| TABULAR EDITOR CLI QUICK REFERENCE |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| SOURCES |
| Model.bim Local JSON model |
| definition/ TMDL folder |
| "server" "db" XMLA connection |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| SCRIPTS |
| -S "code" Inline C# script |
| -S file.csx Script file |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| DEPLOYMENT |
| -D "server" "db" Deploy to target |
| -O Overwrite existing |
| -C Create if not exists |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| OUTPUT |
| -B output.bim Save as JSON |
| -TMDL folder/ Save as TMDL |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| BPA |
| -A rules.json Run BPA analysis |
| -G results.sarif Output BPA results |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
References
To retrieve current XMLA and deployment docs, use microsoft_docs_search + microsoft_docs_fetch (MCP) if available, otherwise mslearn search + mslearn fetch (CLI). Search based on the user's request and run multiple searches as needed to ensure sufficient context before proceeding.
