dataflows-authoring-cli

name

dataflows-authoring-cli

description

Create, update, delete, and manage Fabric Dataflows Gen2 artifacts with Power Query M mashup definitions via CLI (az rest / curl). Uses az rest and curl against the Fabric REST API to author definitions containing base64-encoded mashup.pq, queryMetadata.json, and .platform parts. Supports creating dataflows with inline definitions, modifying mashup queries, binding connections, triggering Execute refresh jobs with typed parameter overrides, and exporting definitions for CI/CD. Use when the user wants to: (1) create a new Dataflow Gen2 with Power Query M queries, (2) update a dataflow mashup definition, (3) trigger a dataflow refresh job, (4) bind or manage dataflow connections, (5) set up CI/CD via definition export and import, (6) delete a dataflow, (7) configure staging destinations. Triggers: "create dataflow", "author dataflow", "Power Query M", "mashup document", "update dataflow definition", "refresh dataflow", "dataflow connection", "ETL dataflow", "dataflow CI/CD".

Update Check — ONCE PER SESSION (mandatory) The first time this skill is used in a session, run the check-updates skill before proceeding.

• GitHub Copilot CLI / VS Code: invoke the check-updates skill.
• Claude Code / Cowork / Cursor / Windsurf / Codex: compare local vs remote package.json version.
• Skip if the check was already performed earlier in this session.

CRITICAL NOTES

1. To find the workspace details (including its ID) from workspace name: list all workspaces and, then, use JMESPath filtering
2. To find the item details (including its ID) from workspace ID, item type, and item name: list all items of that type in that workspace and, then, use JMESPath filtering

Dataflows Gen2 — Authoring via CLI

Table of Contents

Task	Reference	Notes
Finding Workspaces and Items in Fabric	COMMON-CLI.md § Finding Workspaces and Items in Fabric	Mandatory — READ link first [needed for finding workspace id by its name or item id by its name, item type, and workspace id]
Fabric Topology & Key Concepts	COMMON-CORE.md § Fabric Topology & Key Concepts
Environment URLs	COMMON-CORE.md § Environment URLs
Authentication & Token Acquisition	COMMON-CORE.md § Authentication & Token Acquisition	Wrong audience = 401; read before any auth issue
Core Control-Plane REST APIs	COMMON-CORE.md § Core Control-Plane REST APIs	Includes pagination, LRO polling, and rate-limiting patterns
Definition Envelope	ITEM-DEFINITIONS-CORE.md § Definition Envelope	Definition payload structure
Per-Item-Type Definitions	ITEM-DEFINITIONS-CORE.md § Per-Item-Type Definitions	Support matrix, decoded content, part paths — REST specs, CLI recipes
Job Execution	COMMON-CORE.md § Job Execution
Tool Selection Rationale	COMMON-CLI.md § Tool Selection Rationale
Authentication Recipes	COMMON-CLI.md § Authentication Recipes	az login flows and token acquisition
Fabric Control-Plane API via az rest	COMMON-CLI.md § Fabric Control-Plane API via az rest	Always pass ; includes pagination and LRO helpers

---

Tool Stack

Tool	Role	Install
az CLI	Primary: Auth (az login), REST API calls (az rest), token acquisition.	Pre-installed in most dev environments
jq	Parse and manipulate JSON responses and definition payloads.	Pre-installed or trivial
base64	Encode/decode definition parts for the REST API.	Built into bash / [Convert]::ToBase64String() in PowerShell
curl	Alternative to az rest when raw HTTP control is needed.	Pre-installed

Agent check — verify before first operation:

az --version 2>/dev/null || echo "INSTALL: https://aka.ms/install-azure-cli"
jq --version 2>/dev/null || echo "INSTALL: apt-get install jq OR brew install jq"

---

Connection

Discover Workspace and Dataflow IDs

Per COMMON-CLI.md Finding Workspaces and Items in Fabric:

# List workspaces — find workspace ID by name
az rest --method get \
  --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
  --url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces" \
  --query "value[?displayName=='MyWorkspace'].id" --output tsv

# List dataflows in workspace — find dataflow ID by name
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
az rest --method get \
  --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
  --url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows" \
  --query "value[?displayName=='MyDataflow'].id" --output tsv

Reusable Connection Variables

WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
DF_ID="<dataflowId>"
API="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1"
RESOURCE="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"

---

Agentic Workflows

Discover → Formulate → Execute → Verify

1. Discover → List workspaces, list dataflows, get definition (decode to inspect M code and metadata).
2. Formulate → Create or modify M code (mashup.pq), update queriesMetadata, prepare all 3 definition parts.
3. Execute → Create or update dataflow via REST API, optionally trigger refresh.
4. Verify → Poll LRO for completion, get definition again to confirm changes, check refresh status.

# 1. Discover — get current definition
RESULT=$(az rest --method post \
  --resource "$RESOURCE" \
  --url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/getDefinition")

# Decode mashup.pq to inspect current queries
echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path=="mashup.pq") | .payload' | base64 -d

# 2. Formulate — edit M code, prepare new definition parts
# (modify the decoded mashup, re-encode, build JSON payload)

# 3. Execute — update definition
az rest --method post \
  --resource "$RESOURCE" \
  --url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/updateDefinition?updateMetadata=true" \
  --body @definition.json

# 4. Verify — trigger refresh and poll
LOCATION=$(az rest --method post \
  --resource "$RESOURCE" \
  --url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/items/$DF_ID/jobs/Execute/instances" \
  --headers "Content-Length=0" \
  --output none --include-response-headers 2>&1 | grep -i "^location:" | awk '{print $2}' | tr -d '\r')

---

Gotchas, Rules, Troubleshooting

For full authoring gotchas: DATAFLOWS-AUTHORING-CORE.md Gotchas and Troubleshooting. For CLI-specific issues: COMMON-CLI.md Gotchas & Troubleshooting (CLI-Specific).

MUST DO

• az login first — all az rest calls use the active session. No session → 401.
• Always --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" — wrong audience = 401.
• Base64-encode all definition parts — REST API expects payloadType: "InlineBase64".
• Send all 3 parts in updateDefinition — it's a full replacement, not incremental.
• Handle LRO polling — getDefinition, updateDefinition (with def), and job execution return 202; poll via Location header.
• Verify workspace has capacity — GET /v1/workspaces/{id} and check capacityId.
• Set formatVersion to "202502" in queryMetadata.json.
• Set loadEnabled: true for queries that should write output on refresh.

AVOID

• Hardcoded GUIDs — discover workspace/dataflow IDs via REST API (Connection section).
• Skipping base64 encoding — payloads will be rejected or corrupted.
• Partial definition updates — sending 1 or 2 parts silently drops queries.
• Creating dataflows with unbound connections — queries referencing nonexistent connectionId will fail at refresh.
• Using GET for getDefinition — it's a POST endpoint; GET returns 405.
• Constructing operation URLs manually — always use the Location header from 202 responses.
• Duplicate displayName values — not enforced but causes confusion.

PREFER

• az rest over raw curl — handles token acquisition and refresh automatically.
• getDefinition before updateDefinition — read-modify-write prevents accidental data loss.
• Validate M code before creating dataflow — syntax errors won't surface until refresh.
• jq for JSON manipulation — build definition payloads programmatically.
• "Automatic" for parameter type in job execution — lets engine infer from definition.
• ?updateMetadata=true on updateDefinition — ensures .platform changes (display name) are applied.
• Env vars (WS_ID, DF_ID, API, RESOURCE) for script reuse.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Symptom	Fix
401 Unauthorized	Verify az login is active; check --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"
405 Method Not Allowed on getDefinition	Use POST, not GET — getDefinition follows LRO pattern
updateDefinition silently drops queries	Send all 3 parts (queryMetadata.json, mashup.pq, .platform)
Refresh fails on new dataflow	Ensure connectionId values exist in user's Fabric connection store
formatVersion mismatch error	Set formatVersion to "202502" in queryMetadata.json
Query doesn't produce output	Set loadEnabled: true in queriesMetadata
Fast copy not engaged	Add [StagingDefinition = [Kind = "FastCopy"]] before section in mashup.pq
LRO polling returns 404	Use Location header URL — don't construct operation URLs manually
429 Too Many Requests	Respect Retry-After header; implement exponential backoff
base64 decode produces garbage	Ensure no trailing newlines; use base64 -w0 (Linux) for encoding

---

Examples

Example 1: Create a Dataflow Gen2 with Inline Definition

# 1. Prepare mashup.pq
MASHUP='section Section1;
shared Output = let
    Source = #table(type table [Name = text, Value = number],
        {{"Alpha", 100}, {"Beta", 200}, {"Gamma", 300}})
in Source;'

# 2. Prepare queryMetadata.json
QUERY_META='{
  "formatVersion": "202502",
  "queriesMetadata": {
    "Output": { "queryId": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001",
                "queryName": "Output", "loadEnabled": true }
  }
}'

# 3. Prepare .platform
PLATFORM='{"$schema":"https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/fabric/gitIntegration/platformProperties/2.0.0/schema.json","metadata":{"type":"Dataflow","displayName":"MyDataflow"},"config":{"version":"2.0","logicalId":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001"}}'

# 4. Base64-encode all parts
MASHUP_B64=$(echo -n "$MASHUP" | base64 -w0)
META_B64=$(echo -n "$QUERY_META" | base64 -w0)
PLAT_B64=$(echo -n "$PLATFORM" | base64 -w0)

# 5. Create the dataflow
az rest --method post \
  --url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/items" \
  --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
  --headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
  --body "{
    \"displayName\": \"MyDataflow\",
    \"type\": \"Dataflow\",
    \"definition\": {
      \"parts\": [
        {\"path\": \"mashup.pq\",          \"payload\": \"${MASHUP_B64}\", \"payloadType\": \"InlineBase64\"},
        {\"path\": \"queryMetadata.json\", \"payload\": \"${META_B64}\",   \"payloadType\": \"InlineBase64\"},
        {\"path\": \".platform\",          \"payload\": \"${PLAT_B64}\",   \"payloadType\": \"InlineBase64\"}
      ]
    }
  }"

Example 2: Trigger a Refresh Job

# Trigger refresh (returns 202 + Location header for polling)
LOCATION=$(az rest --method post \
  --url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/items/${DF_ID}/jobs/instances?jobType=Pipeline" \
  --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
  --headers "Content-Length=0" \
  --output none --include-response-headers 2>&1 | grep -i "^location:" | awk '{print $2}' | tr -d '\r')

# Poll until complete
while true; do
  STATUS=$(az rest --method get --url "$LOCATION" \
    --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" --query "status" -o tsv)
  echo "Status: $STATUS"
  [[ "$STATUS" == "Completed" || "$STATUS" == "Failed" ]] && break
  sleep 10
done

Example 3: Update a Dataflow Definition

# Get current definition (POST, not GET — returns 202)
LOCATION=$(az rest --method post \
  --url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/items/${DF_ID}/getDefinition" \
  --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
  --headers "Content-Length=0" \
  --output none --include-response-headers 2>&1 | grep -i "^location:" | awk '{print $2}' | tr -d '\r')

# Poll for the definition
DEF=$(az rest --method get --url "${LOCATION}" \
  --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com")

# Decode, modify, re-encode, then updateDefinition with all 3 parts
az rest --method post \
  --url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/items/${DF_ID}/updateDefinition" \
  --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
  --headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
  --body "{\"definition\": {\"parts\": [ ... ]}}"