| name | powerbi-report-authoring |
| description | Create and modify Power BI report files in PBIR/PBIP format using the `powerbi-report-author` and `powerbi-desktop` CLIs. Use when the user wants to: (1) implement an approved report spec or design brief, (2) add or edit pages, visuals, filters, slicers, bookmarks, themes, or formatting, (3) validate PBIR and verify rendering in Power BI Desktop. For open-ended visual design, use `powerbi-report-design` first. For end-to-end requirements and approval workflow, use `powerbi-report-planning` first. Triggers: "edit PBIR", "create Power BI report page", "add visual to PBIP", "format report visual", "validate Power BI report", "reload Desktop screenshot", "implement an approved PBIP report spec", "edit PBIR pages/visuals". |
| metadata | {"version":"0.1.0"} |
CRITICAL NOTES
- To find the workspace details (including its ID) from workspace name: list all workspaces and, then, use JMESPath filtering
- 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
Power BI Report Authoring Skill (PBIR/PBIP Format)
This skill enables reading, editing, and creation of Power BI report
definition files in the PBIR (Power BI Report) format used by PBIP
(Power BI Project) files.
Must/Prefer/Avoid
MUST
- Use this skill only for concrete PBIR/PBIP report-file mechanics such as pages, visuals, filters, slicers, navigation, bookmarks, themes, formatting, validation, Desktop reloads, and screenshots.
- Validate PBIR with
powerbi-report-author validate after each logical batch.
- Use
powerbi-desktop reload/screenshot workflows for rendered-output changes.
- Use CLI capability lookup before writing visual roles, formatting objects, enum values, selectors, or expression encodings.
PREFER
- Start from an approved
Design Brief: or _brief/report-spec.md for greenfield report builds.
- Route visual-design uncertainty to
powerbi-report-design before writing files.
- For semantic model metadata or model-side changes, use a semantic-model authoring skill, Power BI Modeling MCP, or local TMDL files when available.
AVOID
- Do not guess PBIR JSON from memory when CLI metadata or reference files are available.
- Do not use only this skill for open-ended design, report planning, or Fabric report item CRUD; pair it with
powerbi-report-design, powerbi-report-planning, or powerbi-report-management.
Quick Start Workflow
- Plan/design routing → for greenfield builds, read
powerbi-report-planning
first; for theming, visual style, layout, redesigns, or critiques, read
powerbi-report-design. Return here for PBIR mechanics. Before authoring,
use the Design Brief: yaml block from _brief/report-spec.md (or an
approved inline Design Brief: block in the conversation) as implementation
context.
- Set up/update CLIs → before first use, confirm
powerbi-report-author
and the global powerbi-desktop command are available; see
CLI Setup.
- Understand the model → use the Semantic Model MCP Server/skill if available,
or read TMDL files directly for table/column/measure names
- Desktop context → for live Desktop status, opening PBIP/PBIX files,
reloads, screenshots, or visual verification, use the
powerbi-desktop CLI from @microsoft/powerbi-desktop-bridge-cli; see
Edit → Validate → Reload → Screenshot Loop.
- Route by intent → use Topic Files and Examples to pick the relevant
guide.
- Use CLI metadata → use Authoring Metadata & Validation CLI
for exact visual roles, formatting objects, property names, enum values, and
selector requirements; do not infer these from memory.
- Check common pitfalls → read Anti-Patterns and Pitfalls
before editing or validating when the change touches visuals, bindings,
filters, formatting, layout, or Desktop rendering.
- Validate → run
powerbi-report-author validate <path-to-.Report-dir>
after every logical batch of PBIR changes; see Validation.
- Verify rendering → for any rendered-output change, use
powerbi-desktop
reload + screenshots; see Edit → Validate → Reload → Screenshot Loop
and Screenshot Review. Do not proceed until both
validation and visual review pass. For dashboard/report builds, page
scaffolding is not completion — each requested page needs data-bound visuals.
- Report back → give the user a concise summary of what was done and any
issues encountered (major and minor).
Topic Files and Examples
Use the user's intent to choose the relevant topic file(s) before editing:
| File | When to read |
|---|
authoring.md | Adding/modifying pages, visuals, drillthrough, interactions — includes complete JSON examples |
powerbi-desktop.md | Live Desktop verification — powerbi-desktop commands, PID selection, reload, screenshots, errors, troubleshooting |
screenshot-review.md | Screenshot review checklist and rendered-output troubleshooting after Desktop screenshot capture |
formatting-overview.md | Read first for appearance changes — cascade model, encoding rules, selectors, routing to other formatting files |
formatting.md | Editing visual.json appearance — selectors, VCOs, encoding mechanics, background-image routing, cascade |
color-strategy.md | Chart data point colors — theme dataColors vs dataPoint.defaultColor vs dataPoint.fill with selectors, cross-visual measure-color consistency |
conditional-formatting.md | Data-driven formatting — color gradients (FillRule), rules-based, icon sets, data bars, web URL, field value |
page-formatting.md | Editing page.json appearance — canvas background, wallpaper, page background images |
filter-pane.md | Filter pane (outspacePane) and filter card (filterCard) chrome — Applied/Available state styling, pane width, search/checkbox colors |
theming.md | Creating or editing theme.json — dataColors, textClasses, visualStyles, style presets, ThemeDataColor reference |
re-theming.md |
Greenfield / Design Handoff
This skill owns PBIR file mechanics once the work is concrete: page/visual
JSON, bindings, filters, slicers, themes, formatting, navigation, bookmarks,
validation, Desktop reloads, and screenshots.
Use powerbi-report-planning before authoring for new report/dashboard
requests, requirements gathering, dependency checks, approval, or end-to-end
build sequencing. Use powerbi-report-design for open-ended visual design,
redesign/restyle, brand/theme direction, chart selection, or layout critique.
Return here once there is an approved spec/design brief or a concrete PBIR
edit to implement — see Quick Start step 0 for how to consume the brief.
Large Build Execution
For full report/PBIP builds, do not delegate complete PBIP generation to a
subagent — the owning agent must keep the design brief, model inventory,
cross-page consistency, validation loop, and Desktop verification coordinated.
When context or repetition is the constraint, prefer a deterministic Node.js
generator that reads the approved design brief and writes PBIR JSON. If
delegation is still useful, split it by page or visual family and give each
subagent the relevant brief excerpt, exact fields/measures, and layout/visual
contract; have it return scoped PBIR JSON or a patch for the owning agent to
integrate and validate.
CLI Setup
Prerequisite: Node.js 20 or later. Check with node --version. If missing
or older, install from nodejs.org or via your package
manager — Windows: winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS; macOS: brew install node;
Linux: distro package or nodesource.
Before using the CLIs in a session, ensure the latest global versions are
installed:
npm install -g @microsoft/powerbi-report-authoring-cli@latest @microsoft/powerbi-desktop-bridge-cli@latest
Confirm both are on PATH:
powerbi-report-author --version
powerbi-desktop --version
PBIR File Layout
A PBIP project on disk looks like this:
<Report>.pbip # Project manifest
├── <Report>.Report/
│ ├── .platform # Fabric metadata (type, logicalId)
│ ├── definition.pbir # Report → SemanticModel binding
│ ├── definition/
│ │ ├── version.json # Format version (e.g. "2.0.0")
│ │ ├── report.json # Report-level: themes, settings, resources
│ │ └── pages/
│ │ ├── pages.json # Page order + active page name
│ │ └── <pageId>/
│ │ ├── page.json # Page: displayName, size, type, filters
│ │ └── visuals/
│ │ └── <visualId>/
│ │ └── visual.json # Visual: type, position, query, formatting
│ ├── CustomVisuals/ # Third-party .pbiviz packages
│ └── StaticResources/
│ ├── SharedResources/BaseThemes/ # Built-in base themes
│ └── RegisteredResources/ # User images, custom theme JSON
└── <Report>.SemanticModel/ # OUT OF SCOPE
Key Files
| File | Purpose | Agent rule |
|---|
.platform | Fabric/PBIP report item metadata | Keep it with the .Report folder |
definition.pbir | Report → semantic model binding via byPath or byConnection | Preserve schema/version unless intentionally migrating |
version.json | PBIR format metadata | Preserve the full scaffolded file, including $schema |
report.json | Report-level settings, themes, resources | Edit through references and validate after changes |
pages.json | Page order and active page | Add every new page to pageOrder; preserve activePageName |
page.json | Page metadata, size, filters | Preserve dimensions unless resizing is approved |
visual.json | Visual type, position, query, formatting | Validate roles and formatting with CLI metadata |
localSettings.json | User-local settings | Do not commit or rely on it |
Schema URLs use the prefix developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/fabric/item/report/definition/.
The suffixes are versioned PBIR contracts that Power BI Desktop bumps with most
releases (e.g. visualContainer/2.9.0, page/2.1.0, report/3.3.0 at the
time of writing — newer values may appear in any user's PBIP). When editing,
always preserve the existing $schema value; when adding a new file, copy
the $schema URL from an existing file of the same type in the same report.
Do not invent or bump versions on your own. Validate with powerbi-report-author validate.
Authoring Metadata & Validation CLI
Use powerbi-report-author whenever you need PBIR facts that should not be
guessed: visual types, data roles, formatting objects, property names, enum
values, selectors, expression/value encodings, and report validation. The CLI is
the source of truth for PBIR authoring details; examples and memory are not.
| Command | Purpose | When to use |
|---|
catalog list | List all built-in visual types (and any deprecated entries) | Choosing a visual type |
catalog describe <type> | Roles, formatting keys, cardinality | Before creating/editing a visual |
formatting list-objects <type> | Valid objects.* keys + VCO keys; flags objects needing id selectors | Before applying formatting |
formatting describe-object <type> <object> | Property names, types, enum values, descriptions; _selectorHint when id selector required | Finding exact property names and allowed values |
formatting describe-property <type> <object> <prop> | Focused single-property lookup | When you already know the object and want just one property |
formatting search <type> <regex> | Regex search across all formatting objects + VCOs | When you don't know which object a property belongs to |
formatting list-vcos | Enumerate shared visualContainerObjects | Auditing chrome/container formatting surface |
validate <path> | Full validation of a .pbip or .Report directory: JSON Schema, structure, IDs, formatting properties, enum values, nesting, layout bounds, theme | After every batch of changes |
preview-* <path> [--with-derived] | Report inventory: preview-visuals, preview-pages, preview-filters, preview-themes | Auditing existing report content |
--help / <command> --help | Command syntax and available options | Before using an unfamiliar command or flag |
More commands: powerbi-report-author-cli.md.
Validation result handling
Run powerbi-report-author validate <path-to-.Report-dir> after every logical
batch of PBIR edits.
failed / non-zero exit: fix every error before Desktop reload. Desktop may
reject or misrender invalid PBIR.succeededWithWarnings: review warnings before proceeding. Unknown visual
types or theme visual keys usually mean a typo unless the report intentionally
uses a custom .pbiviz.- Diagnostics include file paths and JSON paths. Use them to jump directly to
the broken node.
- For large diagnostics, use
--pretty for readable output or --out <file> to
write the full result to a file.
Visual Capability Guardrails
Use these as pre-edit safety rails. Always confirm exact roles, formatting
objects, properties, enum values, and selectors with powerbi-report-author
before editing.
Prefer modern visual types
Never create legacy visual types. If repairing an existing legacy visual,
migrate to the modern type and rebuild roles/formatting from CLI metadata.
| Do not create | Use instead |
|---|
card | cardVisual |
multiRowCard | cardVisual — use multi-value cardVisual (multiple projections in Data) for multiple KPIs |
table | tableEx |
matrix | pivotTable |
map, filledMap | azureMap |
Instance Selectors
Some formatting objects need { id: ... } selectors. Run formatting list-objects and formatting describe-object; follow _selectorHint and the
dual-entry pattern in references/formatting.md.
Edit → Validate → Reload → Screenshot Loop
For rendered-output changes, follow this loop. Do not report completion until
validation, reload, and screenshot review are clean.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Edit PBIR files │
│ 2. Validate → errors? fix and go to 1 │
│ 3. Desktop status → choose the correct bridge PID │
│ 4. Desktop reload → error? fix PBIR and go to 1 │
│ 5. Screenshot/review → issues? fix and go to 1 │
│ 6. Clean → report completion │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Rules:
- Step 2 —
powerbi-report-author validate <path-to-.Report-dir>. Pass the
report definition directory (e.g., Sales.Report), not the .pbip file or
project root. Fix all errors before reload — invalid PBIR errors will surface
in Desktop.
- Steps 3–5 — use
powerbi-desktop CLI: status to choose the PID, then
reload --pid <pid> for PBIP/PBIR current files and screenshots from the
same PID. Then perform the screenshot review below.
After status, if the selected instance has hasUnsavedChanges: true, do
not reload yet; ask the user to save or discard their Desktop UI changes,
rerun status, and continue only once it is false.
reload covers report/PBIR changes only. For semantic-model/TMDL changes,
use a semantic-model skill or Modeling MCP and reopen the PBIP if changes are
not reflected.
Exception: Theme JSON files are cache-keyed by name — Desktop may not
pick up edits on reload. Either rename the theme file with a random suffix
(and update report.json), or close and reopen Desktop.
Desktop CLI commands:
| Command | Purpose | When to use |
|---|
open "<path.pbip>" | Launch Power BI Desktop for a PBIP/PBIX | Starting Desktop or opening the target report |
status | List Desktop Bridge instances, current files, report dirs, and bridge state | Before reload/screenshot; choose the correct PID |
reload --pid <pid> | Reload the selected Desktop instance's current PBIP report files | After validated PBIR edits in an open PBIP |
screenshot <page-id> --pid <pid> --output <file> | Capture one page by PBIR page ID | Isolated page changes |
screenshot-all --pid <pid> --output-dir <dir> | Capture every report page | Theme, navigation, page-order, or report-wide changes |
Use powerbi-desktop screenshot <page-id> --pid <pid> when only one PBIR
page needs review. reload is supported only for PBIP-backed reports. No powerbi-desktop command accepts --report; use status
to select the Desktop instance by PID because the same PBIP can be open in more
than one process. Screenshots default to scale 2. Run reload and screenshot
operations serially per PID — never in parallel against the same PID, even as a
workaround for a slow or retryable error. Read references/powerbi-desktop.md for the
complete command reference and troubleshooting workflow.
Common Desktop CLI outcomes:
| Output/error | Meaning | Action |
|---|
"status": "not_connected" | No Desktop Bridge discoverable | Run powerbi-desktop open "<path.pbip>" or ask the user to start Desktop. If still unreachable, ask them to enable the Desktop preview feature — see docs |
AMBIGUOUS_DESKTOP_INSTANCE | More than one Desktop Bridge instance is available | Run powerbi-desktop status, choose the intended PID, retry with --pid |
METHOD_NOT_AVAILABLE | Desktop build lacks a required production bridge method | Tell the user Desktop is stale/unsupported — see docs |
HostNotReady / retryable bridge error | Desktop is up but the report host isn't ready (often briefly after a reload) | CLI auto-retries; rerun once if it surfaces. Do not add custom sleeps — rely on the CLI's retry path. |
Timeout (bridge error) | A reload or screenshot exceeded the CLI's retry budget | Confirm status shows bridgeStatus: "connected", then rerun once. If Timeout persists, raise the budget (e.g., reload --pid <pid> --wait-seconds 120). If bridgeStatus: "error" or status hangs, ask the user whether a Desktop modal dialog is blocking input. |
Cancelled during screenshot/reload | A reload/screenshot was cancelled — usually a concurrent reload/screenshot on the same PID. Distinct from Timeout (operation ran too long). | Run reload and screenshot serially per PID. Wait for connected via status, retry one at a time. |
ReportDefinitionValidationFailed | Desktop rejected the PBIR definition | Fix PBIR, run powerbi-report-author validate <path>, then reload again |
REPORT_DIR_REQUIRED | Selected PID has no PBIP/PBIR current file; reload/screenshot-all need PBIP/PBIR state | Select the correct PID from status or open the target PBIP |
Screenshot Review
After taking screenshots, perform an independent rendered-output review before reporting completion. Read screenshot-review.md, check layout, data rendering, formatting/theme, slicers, and common screenshot failure modes, then fix PBIR and repeat the loop until clean.
Validation
Run powerbi-report-author validate <path> after every logical batch of PBIR
changes. Prefer the .Report directory; the CLI also accepts a .pbip file or
a project root containing a single .Report directory. Errors block Desktop
reload — fix them first. Review warnings and fix unless there's a clear reason
not to.
The validator is an offline preflight covering PBIR structure, JSON/schema
validity, cross-file references, IDs/names, visual types, role bindings,
filters, formatting objects/properties/enums/selectors, visualContainerObjects,
theme registration, layout bounds, and selected Desktop/rendering failure
patterns. It does not replace Desktop reload and screenshot review.
Anti-Patterns and Pitfalls
| Pitfall | Consequence | Fix |
|---|
Using "Entity" inside filter Where conditions | Filter silently fails | Use "Source" with the alias from From |
Omitting nativeQueryRef | Visual calculations may break | Always include nativeQueryRef |
| Reusing visual/filter names | Unpredictable behavior | Generate unique IDs |
Setting visualType to invalid string | Visual renders as error box | Run powerbi-report-author catalog describe <type> or powerbi-report-author catalog list |
| Wrong role name for visual type | Field is ignored; visual blank | Match role names from powerbi-report-author catalog describe <type> |
Mixing Column and Measure types | Query fails; visual error | Columns use Column, measures use Measure |
Forgetting to add page to pages.json | Page invisible | Add to pageOrder array |
| Booleans without correct format | Wrong type | "true" / "false" (no suffix, unquoted in Value) |
| Numbers without type suffix | Type mismatch | D for decimals, L for integers |
Editing $schema version | PBI Desktop may reject | Preserve existing version |
Stringified JSON in paragraphs | Textbox shows nothing | paragraphs is a native JSON array |
| Using textbox as a thin line/divider | Renders ~24px tall regardless of height | Use a shape visual (rectangle) instead — shapes respect small dimensions |
visualContainerObjects as sibling of visual |
Official Documentation
For Microsoft Learn setup guidance, support constraints, and feature
availability, use Power BI report authoring docs.
