fabric-cli-basics

name	fabric-cli-basics
description	Core Fabric CLI (fab) operations — workspace navigation, item management, authentication, resource types, path format, output formatting. Use when listing workspaces/items, creating/deleting resources, checking existence, describing items, or configuring the CLI.
allowed-tools	Bash(uv run *), Bash(fab *), Bash(cat *), Bash(grep *), Read, Write, Edit, Glob
user-invocable	false
metadata	{"author":"accelerate-data"}

Fabric CLI Basics

Core operations for Microsoft Fabric CLI (fab). All commands run through uv with .env for authentication tokens.

Execution Pattern

uv run --env-file .env fab <command>

Authentication tokens are pre-set in .env:

Variable	Purpose
FAB_TOKEN	Authentication token for Fabric
FAB_TOKEN_ONELAKE	Authentication token for OneLake
FAB_TOKEN_AZURE	Authentication token for Azure
FAB_TENANT_ID	Tenant ID

These are managed by VD Studio — the agent does not need to authenticate manually.

Current Workspace Context

The .env file also contains the current workspace and lakehouse context, set automatically when an intent is created:

Variable	Purpose	Example
WORKSPACE_ID	Current workspace GUID	cdb8142c-f4d1-4f48-ac27-2e24b7a960e7
WORKSPACE_NAME	Current workspace name	ephm_yo__new-intent-e388f802
LAKEHOUSE_ID	Default lakehouse GUID	724fee7d-2fdd-4a62-b9c8-eac42b02d249
LAKEHOUSE	Default lakehouse name	ai_lake2_new_intent_e388f802
SCHEMA	Default schema	dbo

Use these instead of running fab ls to discover workspace/lakehouse names. Build paths directly:

# Read from .env — no need to browse workspaces
uv run --env-file .env fab ls "${WORKSPACE_NAME}.Workspace"
uv run --env-file .env fab ls "${WORKSPACE_NAME}.Workspace/${LAKEHOUSE}.Lakehouse/Tables"
uv run --env-file .env fab table schema "${WORKSPACE_NAME}.Workspace/${LAKEHOUSE}.Lakehouse/Tables/dbo/my_table"
uv run --env-file .env fab cp ./data.csv "${WORKSPACE_NAME}.Workspace/${LAKEHOUSE}.Lakehouse/Files/data.csv"

Resource Hierarchy

Fabric organizes resources in a tree:

Tenant (root, implicit)
├── Workspaces
│   ├── Folders (nestable)
│   │   └── Items
│   ├── Items (Lakehouse, Notebook, DataPipeline, Report, etc.)
│   │   └── OneLake storage (Files/, Tables/)
│   └── Virtual containers (.sparkpools, .managedidentities, etc.)
└── Virtual containers (.capacities, .connections, .domains, .gateways)

Path Format

All paths use name.Type notation:

/myworkspace.Workspace
/myworkspace.Workspace/mylakehouse.Lakehouse
/myworkspace.Workspace/myfolder.Folder/mynotebook.Notebook
/myworkspace.Workspace/mylakehouse.Lakehouse/Files/data.csv
/myworkspace.Workspace/mylakehouse.Lakehouse/Tables/dbo/customers
/.capacities/cap1.Capacity
/myworkspace.Workspace/.sparkpools/spark1.SparkPool

Resource Types

Item Types (32)

.Notebook, .SparkJobDefinition, .DataPipeline, .Report, .SemanticModel, .KQLDatabase, .KQLDashboard, .KQLQueryset, .Lakehouse, .Warehouse, .SQLDatabase, .MirroredDatabase, .MirroredWarehouse, .Eventhouse, .Eventstream, .Dashboard, .Datamart, .CopyJob, .Environment, .MLExperiment, .MLModel, .MountedDataFactory, .PaginatedReport, .Reflex, .SQLEndpoint, .VariableLibrary, .GraphQLApi, .Dataflow, .ApacheAirflowJob, .CosmosDBDatabase, .DigitalTwinBuilder, .GraphQuerySet, .UserDataFunction

Workspace Virtual Item Types

.ExternalDataShare, .ManagedIdentity, .ManagedPrivateEndpoint, .SparkPool

Tenant Virtual Item Types

.Capacity, .Connection, .Domain, .Gateway, .Workspace

Core Commands

List (ls / dir)

# List workspaces
uv run --env-file .env fab ls

# List items in a workspace
uv run --env-file .env fab ls "Sales Analytics.Workspace"

# Detailed listing with metadata
uv run --env-file .env fab ls ws1.Workspace -l

# Query specific fields
uv run --env-file .env fab ls ws1.Workspace -q [].name

# Filter by type
uv run --env-file .env fab ls ws1.Workspace -q "[?contains(name, 'Notebook')]"

Check Existence (exists)

uv run --env-file .env fab exists ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook

Get Details (get)

# Full item details
uv run --env-file .env fab get ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse

# Verbose properties (all JSON fields)
uv run --env-file .env fab get ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse -v

# JMESPath query for specific field
uv run --env-file .env fab get ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse -q displayName

# Get item ID (force to skip sensitivity label)
uv run --env-file .env fab get ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook -f -q "id"

# Save to file
uv run --env-file .env fab get ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse -q . -o /tmp/metadata

Flags: -q JMESPath query, -v verbose, -f force (skip label prompt), -o output path

Describe (desc)

Show available commands for a resource type or specific item:

# By extension (shows supported commands for that type)
uv run --env-file .env fab desc .Notebook
uv run --env-file .env fab desc .DataPipeline
uv run --env-file .env fab desc .Lakehouse

# By path (specific item)
uv run --env-file .env fab desc ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook

# Show all supported element types
uv run --env-file .env fab desc all

Create (mkdir / create)

# Create a lakehouse
uv run --env-file .env fab create ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse

# Create with parameters
uv run --env-file .env fab create ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse -P enableSchemas=true

# Create a folder
uv run --env-file .env fab create ws1.Workspace/folder1.Folder

Cannot create: Dashboard, Datamart, MirroredWarehouse, PaginatedReport, SQLEndpoint.

Delete (rm / del)

# Delete with confirmation prompt
uv run --env-file .env fab rm ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook

# Force delete (no confirmation)
uv run --env-file .env fab rm ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse -f

Copy (cp / copy)

# Copy item between workspaces (renames)
uv run --env-file .env fab cp ws1.Workspace/source.Notebook ws2.Workspace/dest.Notebook

# Copy with force (overwrite if exists, skip sensitivity label)
uv run --env-file .env fab cp ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook ws2.Workspace/nb1.Notebook -f

# Recursive copy (all items in workspace/folder)
uv run --env-file .env fab cp ws1.Workspace ws2.Workspace -r

# Block on path collision (prevent name conflicts across folders)
uv run --env-file .env fab cp ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook ws2.Workspace -bpc

Flags: -f force, -r recursive, -bpc block on path collision

Move (mv / move)

# Move to another workspace
uv run --env-file .env fab mv ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook ws2.Workspace

# Rename during move
uv run --env-file .env fab mv ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook ws2.Workspace/renamed.Notebook

Update Properties (set)

# Rename an item
uv run --env-file .env fab set ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook -q displayName -i "New Name"

# Set description
uv run --env-file .env fab set ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook -q description -i "My description"

Export / Import

# Export a single item to local
uv run --env-file .env fab export ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook -o /tmp

# Export with force (skip sensitivity label prompt)
uv run --env-file .env fab export ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook -o /tmp -f

# Export all items from a workspace
uv run --env-file .env fab export ws1.Workspace -o /tmp -a

# Export to OneLake
uv run --env-file .env fab export ws1.Workspace/rep1.Report -o /ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse/Files/export -f

# Import from local (creates or updates)
uv run --env-file .env fab import ws1.Workspace/nb1_imported.Notebook -i /tmp/exports/nb1.Notebook

# Import with force (overwrite without confirmation)
uv run --env-file .env fab import ws1.Workspace/nb1.Notebook -i /tmp/nb1.Notebook -f

Export flags: -o output path, -f force, -a all, --format definition format Import flags: -i input path, -f force, --format definition format

Important: The -o output directory must already exist — fab export will not create it.

Open in Browser

uv run --env-file .env fab open ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse

Parameters Reference

Common Flags

Flag	Long	Purpose
-a	--all	Select or show all
-f	--force	Force execution, skip validation
-l	--long	Detailed listing
-i	--input	JSON input (path or inline)
-o	--output	Output path
-q	--query	Filter JSON output with JMESPath
-n	--name	Specify a name
-P	--params	Parameters in key=value format
-v	--version	Show fab version
-w	--wait	Wait for job completion
-C	--config	Config for job
-H	--headers	HTTP headers for API (key=value)
-X	--method	HTTP method for API request
-A	--audience	Audience for API token
-R	--role	Access control role
-W	--workspace	Workspace name for assign/unassign

Auth Flags

Flag	Long	Purpose
-u	--username	Service principal clientId
-p	--password	Service principal clientSecret
-t	--tenant	Tenant ID
-I	--identity	Entra managed identity
	--certificate	Path to certificate
	--federated-token	Federated token

Output Formats

Text (default)

Clean, formatted display with color-coded status. Headers shown with -l or -q.

JSON

uv run --env-file .env fab ls --output_format json

JSON response structure:

{
  "timestamp": "2026-01-06T08:00:00.000Z",
  "status": "Success",
  "command": "ls",
  "result": {
    "data": [],
    "hidden_data": [".capacities", ".gateways"],
    "message": "Operation completed successfully"
  }
}

Error response:

{
  "timestamp": "2026-01-06T08:00:00.000Z",
  "status": "Failure",
  "command": "ls",
  "result": {
    "message": "Unable to find workspace",
    "error_code": "ERROR_WORKSPACE_NOT_FOUND"
  }
}

Set persistent format:

uv run --env-file .env fab config set output_format json
uv run --env-file .env fab config get output_format

Stream behavior: stdout = results, stderr = warnings/progress.

JSON Input (-i flag)

Use single quotes around JSON:

# Bash
uv run --env-file .env fab set item.Resource -q query -i '{"key":"value"}'

# From file
uv run --env-file .env fab job start ws1.Workspace/pip1.DataPipeline -i ./input_file.json

Modes

Mode	Activation	Behavior
command_line	fab config set mode command_line	Single commands with fab prefix (default for scripting)
interactive	fab config set mode interactive	Shell-like fab:/$ prompt, no prefix needed

Re-authentication is required after switching modes.

Access Control (acl)

uv run --env-file .env fab acl ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse -R Admin

Direct API Calls (api)

uv run --env-file .env fab api /v1/workspaces -X GET
uv run --env-file .env fab api /v1/workspaces/{id}/items -X GET -H "Content-Type=application/json"

Shortcuts (ln)

# Internal OneLake shortcut
uv run --env-file .env fab ln ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse/Files/shared.Shortcut --type oneLake --target ../../shared.Workspace/source.Lakehouse/Files/datasets

# External Azure shortcut
uv run --env-file .env fab ln ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse/Tables/ext.Shortcut --type adlsGen2 -i '{"location": "...", "subpath": "...", "connectionId": "..."}'

# Check shortcut
uv run --env-file .env fab exists ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse/Files/external_data.Shortcut

# Get shortcut target
uv run --env-file .env fab get ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse/Files/external_data.Shortcut -q target

# Delete shortcut
uv run --env-file .env fab rm ws1.Workspace/lh1.Lakehouse/Files/old_data.Shortcut -f

Deploy

# Config-based deployment
uv run --env-file .env fab deploy --config config.yml -tenv dev

# Filter by item type
uv run --env-file .env fab deploy --config config.yml -P 'config_override={"core": {"item_types_in_scope": ["Notebook"]}}'