pbir.tools

CLI tools for Power BI report automation; built for humans, optimized for agents

Browse, edit, validate, and publish PBIR reports from the terminal, or let Claude Code, Codex, or Copilot drive the CLI after running pbir setup.

Warning

pbir.tools is in beta. Back up reports before large edits, especially bulk formatting, conversion, merge, and publish workflows.

Important

After installing pbir, run pbir setup to install agent skills, or install them from the power-bi-agentic-development marketplace. Without skills, your agent won't know how to use the CLI.

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Install

PyPI (recommended)

uv tool install pbir-cli

Or with pip: pip install pbir-cli

Native installers (macOS / Windows)

Download the latest macOS or Windows installer from GitHub Releases.

macOS

1. Download the installer from Releases and try to open it once.
2. If macOS blocks it because the installer is unsigned or not notarized, open: System Settings => Privacy & Security
3. Scroll down to the Security section. You should see a message about the blocked installer there.
4. Click Open Anyway.
5. When macOS asks again, click Open and finish the installation.

Windows

1. Download the installer from Releases and run it.
2. If Windows Defender SmartScreen shows Windows protected your PC, click More info.
3. Confirm the installer name, then click Run anyway.
4. Finish the installation.

After installation, open a new terminal and verify:

pbir --version

Quick Start

pbir ls                                                                # List reports
pbir tree "Sales.Report" -v                                            # Full structure with fields
pbir model "Sales.Report" -d                                           # Model schema
pbir add visual card "Sales.Report/Overview.Page" --title "Revenue"    # Add a visual
pbir validate "Sales.Report"                                           # Health check

pbir works with PBIR-format reports stored as folders, using paths like:

Report.Report/Page.Page/Visual.Visual

Agents & Plugins

pbir is built for agents. To get the most out of it, install the Power BI plugins from the power-bi-agentic-development marketplace. These plugins provide skills, hooks, and agents that teach your agent how to work with Power BI reports, semantic models, themes, DAX, and more.

Option 1: Install the marketplace directly (recommended)

Follow the instructions at power-bi-agentic-development to install the full marketplace plugin with all skills, agents, and hooks. After installing, run /plugin in your agent to enable auto-update and install plugins.

Claude Code:

claude plugin marketplace add data-goblin/power-bi-agentic-development

GitHub Copilot CLI:

copilot plugin install data-goblin/power-bi-agentic-development

Option 2: Install plugins via pbir setup

pbir setup

This auto-detects which agents you have installed (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex) and lets you pick which plugins to install interactively.

pbir setup --all                                # Install all plugins, all agents
pbir setup --agent claude-code --all            # Claude Code only, all plugins
pbir setup --plugin reports --plugin fabric-cli # Specific plugins

After installing, your agent will have access to skills for report creation, visual formatting, field binding, conditional formatting, theme management, filters, bookmarks, and more -- all driven by pbir commands under the hood.

Documentation

Area	What it covers
Getting Started	Install, terminal basics, first 5 minutes
CLI Docs	Command groups and task-based CLI reference
CLI Workflows	End-to-end report workflows

Safety

• We recommend you take a manual backup (copy + paste) of your report folder before using pbir for the first time.
• Run pbir backup "Report.Report" before larger edits.
• Run pbir validate "Report.Report" after every mutation.
• Use -f only when you intend bulk or destructive operations.
• Treat publish, convert, merge, and split commands as higher-risk workflows.

Disclaimer

This software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, express or implied. The authors are not responsible for any data loss, report corruption, or other damages resulting from the use of this tool. You use pbir at your own risk. Always maintain independent backups of your reports before making changes, especially with bulk operations, format conversion, merge, and publish workflows.

Support

• Run pbir --help for the top-level CLI surface.
• Run pbir <command> --help for command-specific usage.
• Report issues

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Kurt Buhler & Maxim Anatsko