tmdl-linter-false-positives

name	tmdl-linter-false-positives
description	VS Code's TMDL (Tabular Model Definition Language) linter reports valid syntax as errors:
lastReviewed	2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z

TMDL Linter False Positives

The Problem

VS Code's TMDL (Tabular Model Definition Language) linter reports valid syntax as errors:

measure 'Total Sales' = SUM('Sales'[Amount])
    description = "Sum of all sales amounts"  // Linter: "Invalid property 'description'"

The description property IS valid — this is a linter limitation.

The Solution

Ignore these specific false positives:

Known False Positives

Property	Context	Actual Status
description	On measures	✅ Valid
description	On columns	✅ Valid
formatString	Some contexts	✅ Valid
displayFolder	On measures	✅ Valid

Verification

Test in Power BI Desktop or Tabular Editor:

1. Apply the TMDL
2. If it loads without error, the syntax is correct
3. The VS Code linter is wrong, not your code

Workaround Options

Option 1: Ignore the Squiggles

The TMDL will work — the linter is just incomplete.

Option 2: Suppress in Settings

// .vscode/settings.json
{
  "tmdl.validate": false
}

Option 3: Use Tabular Editor

Tabular Editor's TMDL support is more complete.

When Linter IS Correct

Error	Likely Real
Syntax errors (missing =, unmatched quotes)	Yes
Unknown table/column references	Yes
DAX function errors	Yes
Property on wrong object type	Maybe

Verification

# Deploy to test
# If no error in Power BI/SSAS, linter was wrong

When to Apply

• TMDL development in VS Code
• Any unexpected linter error on common properties
• When syntax looks correct but shows errors

Tags

data tmdl power-bi linting false-positive