Operations

This section covers the commands you use around the edit loop rather than inside it.

Think of these as the commands that make CLI work safe and practical:

• validate the report after changes
• create backups before risky edits
• recover from mistakes
• move reports between local PBIR folders and Fabric
• open the result in Power BI Desktop

validate

pbir validate is the command you should trust most. Run it after every mutation.

pbir validate "Report.Report"
pbir validate "Report.Report" --qa
pbir validate "Report.Report" --all
pbir validate "Report.Report" --fields
pbir validate "Report.Report" --strict

Use different validation levels depending on what changed:

• plain validate for everyday structure checks
• --fields after rebinding or field changes
• --qa after layout and formatting passes
• --all before publishing or handing the report to someone else

Flag	Purpose
--fields	Confirm fields still exist in the connected model
--qa	Run quality checks such as overlaps and hidden visuals
--all	Run schema, field, and QA checks together
--strict	Treat warnings as errors
--json	Machine-readable output
--tree	Tree view of results

backup and restore

These commands protect you from yourself.

Use backups before larger edits, especially:

• bulk formatting
• report conversion
• merge and split operations
• publish workflows with tight deadlines

pbir backup "Report.Report"
pbir backup "Report.Report" -m "Before restyle"
pbir backup --list "Report.Report"
pbir backup --prune "Report.Report" --keep 5

pbir restore "Report.Report"
pbir restore "Report.Report" --backup-id 20260312T143000Z
pbir restore "Report.Report" -f

download

pbir download is the handoff from Fabric to local PBIR work.

Use it when the report starts in a workspace and you want a local folder you can inspect, edit, validate, and version.

pbir download "My Workspace.Workspace"
pbir download "My Workspace.Workspace/Sales.Report" -o ./working --format pbir
pbir download "My Workspace.Workspace/Sales.Report" -o ./working --format pbip --open

This requires Microsoft Fabric CLI to be installed and authenticated.

publish

pbir publish is the reverse flow: local report back to Fabric.

pbir publish "Sales.Report" "My Workspace.Workspace/Sales.Report"
pbir publish "Sales.Report" "My Workspace.Workspace/Sales.Report" -f -o
pbir publish

Use -f carefully. It is for overwrite scenarios, not ordinary publishing by default.

open

pbir open is a convenience command for jumping back into Power BI Desktop after CLI work.

pbir open "Sales.Report"
pbir open "Sales.Report/Overview.Page"

If you pass a page path, pbir sets that page active before opening the report.

batch

pbir batch runs declarative, multi-step automation specs. Define changes in a JSON file and preview or apply them.

pbir batch examples                                        # List bundled examples
pbir batch example brand-format                            # Print an example spec
pbir batch validate spec.json                              # Validate a spec file
pbir batch plan spec.json --root "Report.Report"           # Preview without writing
pbir batch run spec.json --root "Report.Report"            # Execute