From fabric-consumption
Creates, updates, deletes, and refreshes Fabric Dataflows Gen2 via CLI. Builds mashup.pq definitions, manages connections, and configures output destinations (Lakehouse, Warehouse, ADX, Azure SQL). Includes a preview-driven authoring loop.
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/fabric-consumption:dataflows-authoring-cliThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
> **Update Check — ONCE PER SESSION (mandatory)**
Update Check — ONCE PER SESSION (mandatory) The first time this skill is used in a session, run the check-updates skill before proceeding.
- GitHub Copilot CLI / VS Code: invoke the
check-updatesskill.- Claude Code / Cowork / Cursor / Windsurf / Codex: compare local vs remote package.json version.
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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
This skill (SKILL.md)
| Section | Notes |
|---|---|
| Tool Stack | az + jq + base64 + curl |
| Connection | Workspace/dataflow ID discovery |
| Agentic Workflows | Start here. A: create end-to-end; B: modify existing; C: preview loop |
| MUST DO / AVOID / PREFER | Authoring rules |
| Troubleshooting | Symptom → fix table |
| Examples | Runnable bash + PowerShell recipes |
| Output Expectations | Response conventions |
References (in references/)
| File | When to read |
|---|---|
| authoring-cli-quickref.md | One-liner recipes, status enums, base64 helpers, connection-binding quick patterns |
| authoring-script-templates.md | Full bash + PowerShell templates; end-to-end smoke test; LRO polling pattern |
| connection-management.md | List/create/inspect connections; supportedConnectionTypes; resolve ClusterId; ID format cheat sheet |
| connectors.md | M-side source connectors: live-verified function inventory, Lakehouse deep navigation, runtime-disabled functions (Web.Page, Web.BrowserContents), Html.Table / Csv.Document / Json.Document patterns |
| m-language.md | M language semantics for Dataflow Gen2: try record shapes, per-cell error wrapping in column transforms, each scoping in row vs sub-table contexts, optional field access [?] / Record.FieldOrDefault, quoted identifiers, sandbox-disabled symbols (File.Contents) |
| mashup-preview.md | executeQuery contract: bootstrap branch, auto-wrap rule, hard avoid for unbounded preview |
| output-destinations.md | Output destination patterns: Lakehouse Table, Lakehouse Files, Warehouse, ADX, Azure SQL. DataDestinations annotation, hidden query, loadEnabled rules, connection limitations |
Common refs (in ../../common/)
| File | When to read |
|---|---|
| COMMON-CLI.md | az login, token acquisition, az rest, pagination, LRO polling, CLI gotchas. § Finding Workspaces and Items in Fabric is mandatory. |
| COMMON-CORE.md | Fabric topology, environment URLs, authentication, core REST API surface |
| ITEM-DEFINITIONS-CORE.md | Definition envelope; per-item-type payload contracts |
| DATAFLOWS-AUTHORING-CORE.md | Authoring capability matrix; 3-part definition structure; M structure; connection model; ALM / Git integration |
Sister skills
| Skill | Use for |
|---|---|
| dataflows-consumption-cli | Execute persisted queries; ad-hoc read-only customMashupDocument with no intent to persist; Arrow → CSV/pandas conversion; refresh status/history. |
| Tool | Role | Install |
|---|---|---|
az CLI | Primary: Auth (az login), REST API calls (az rest), token acquisition. | Pre-installed in most dev environments |
jq | Parse and manipulate JSON responses and definition payloads. | Pre-installed or trivial |
base64 | Encode/decode definition parts for the REST API. | Built into bash / [Convert]::ToBase64String() in PowerShell |
curl | Alternative to az rest when raw HTTP control is needed. | Pre-installed |
uuidgen | Generate per-query / per-platform GUIDs for queryId and logicalId when building a new dataflow definition (Workflow A). | Pre-installed on Linux/macOS; on Windows use PowerShell [guid]::NewGuid().Guid or run via WSL |
Agent check — verify
az,jq, andcurlare available before first operation.uuidgenis only needed for Workflow A (Create). For installation and auth setup see COMMON-CLI.md.
Per COMMON-CLI.md Finding Workspaces and Items in Fabric:
# List workspaces — find workspace ID by name
az rest --method get \
--resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
--url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces" \
--query "value[?displayName=='MyWorkspace'].id" --output tsv
# List dataflows in workspace — find dataflow ID by name
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
az rest --method get \
--resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
--url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows" \
--query "value[?displayName=='MyDataflow'].id" --output tsv
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
DF_ID="<dataflowId>"
API="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1"
RESOURCE="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"
Three workflows cover the typical authoring tasks:
executeQuery before persisting via updateDefinition.DataDestinations annotation. Full reference: output-destinations.md.Use this when the dataflow does not yet exist. Covers the full happy path: discover-or-create a connection, create the dataflow shell, save M + bindings in one updateDefinition, validate, optionally refresh.
Steps:
connectionDetails.type and the target URL/host — reuse if a match exists (GET /v1/connections + JMESPath).GET /v1/connections/supportedConnectionTypes to discover required parameters and supported credential types, then POST /v1/connections (sync 201). Body shape and credential schemas: connection-management.md.ClusterId for the composite binding. GET https://api.powerbi.com/v2.0/myorg/me/gatewayClusterDatasources with --query "value[?id=='$CONN_ID'] | [0].clusterId", audience --resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" (no trailing slash). The per-id route returns PowerBIEntityNotFound for cloud connections. Newly-created connections may take a few seconds to surface — retry on empty. Detail: connection-management.md § Resolving ClusterId.POST /v1/workspaces/{ws}/dataflows with {"displayName":"<displayName>"} returns sync 201. The definition field is optional at create time and can be set in the next step. If you instead supply the full definition (all three parts) in this create POST, that call is the persist surface -- name POST /v1/workspaces/{ws}/dataflows (not updateDefinition) as the persist path in your summary.POST /v1/workspaces/{ws}/dataflows/{df}/updateDefinition?updateMetadata=true with three parts: mashup.pq (real Web.Contents / Sql.Database / …), queryMetadata.json (with connections[] populated; each connectionId is the stringified composite {"ClusterId":"…","DatasourceId":"…"}), and .platform. Typically returns sync 200; may return 202 + LRO Location on large bodies — handle both.getDefinition, decode queryMetadata.json, and confirm connections[] is intact. Do not use GET /items/{id}/connections for verification — that endpoint reflects refresh-materialized state, not the persisted definition, and returns 0 even after a successful bind. See AVOID.
Guarded preview-only fallback: If connection binding cannot proceed because Power BI v2 gatewayClusterDatasources returns 401/403/Unauthorized or no ClusterId is visible after retries, do not stop before creating the dataflow. Create the shell, persist the saved query definitions without claiming a valid source binding, call executeQuery with QueryName only for each saved query, surface the exact credential or binding error from the Arrow stream, do not fabricate chart data, and do not refresh.updateDefinition — e.g. iterating on the M, or bootstrap-binding a credentialed source so executeQuery can see it — use the pre-persist Preview-Driven Authoring Loop; the chart rendering is identical, only the ordering relative to the save differs.) If accepted, call executeQuery for each entity, parse the Arrow IPC stream, render line charts (time-series) or horizontal bar charts (categories) via references/charts/line_chart.py / references/charts/bar_chart.py, and ask the user to confirm before proceeding. Details: mashup-preview.md § ASCII chart preview. If declined, proceed directly to step 8.POST .../jobs/instances?jobType=Refresh with body {"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}. ApplyChangesIfNeeded is required on the first refresh after any definition change — without it, Fabric refreshes the previously-applied definition. Poll the LRO until status is Completed (refresh enum) or Failed/Cancelled.# Concise skeleton — full runnable bash is Example 1 below.
# PowerShell + LRO-polled variants: references/authoring-script-templates.md
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"; URL="<source-url>"
RES="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"; API="$RES/v1"
PBI="https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api"
# 1. List existing & try reuse
CONN_ID=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RES" --url "$API/connections" \
--query "value[?connectionDetails.type=='Web' && connectionDetails.path=='$URL'] | [0].id" -o tsv)
# 2. Create connection if missing — see connection-management.md for full body
# 3. List+filter for ClusterId
CLUSTER_ID=$(az rest --method get --resource "$PBI" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v2.0/myorg/me/gatewayClusterDatasources" \
--query "value[?id=='$CONN_ID'] | [0].clusterId" -o tsv)
# 4. Empty dataflow shell — sync 201
SHELL_BODY=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp)
printf '{"displayName":"my-df"}' > "$SHELL_BODY"
DF_ID=$(az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
--url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows" \
--headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
--body "@$SHELL_BODY" --query id -o tsv)
rm -f "$SHELL_BODY"
# 5. One-shot updateDefinition with real M + connections[] (sync 200 typical)
# Body assembly (mashup.pq + queryMetadata.json + .platform, base64-encoded;
# queryMetadata.json.connections[].connectionId = composite ClusterId/DatasourceId):
# see Example 1 below.
# 6. Verify via getDefinition (NOT GET /items/{id}/connections — see AVOID)
# 7. (optional) executeQuery — Workflow C
# 8. (optional) Refresh with executeOption=ApplyChangesIfNeeded — Example 2
One-shot vs two-step bind+save. Steps 4-5 can be one call (default; saves an HTTP round trip) or split into a bootstrap-bind
updateDefinitionfollowed by a full-MupdateDefinition. Both work — see PREFER.
Use this when the dataflow already exists. Canonical Discover → Formulate → Execute → Verify loop. If the dataflow does not yet exist, see Workflow A instead.
getDefinition (decode mashup.pq and queryMetadata.json). Validate all connections[] entries via GET /v1/connections/{id}.connectionId exists in the caller's connection store.POST .../updateDefinition?updateMetadata=true with all 3 parts (full replacement). Optionally trigger refresh.getDefinition to confirm changes; poll refresh LRO; for refresh failures, make at most one executeQuery isolation attempt to localize a fixable M/source issue. On a terminal/non-retriable failure (isRetriable: false, workspace-wide UnknownException), surface the raw error and stop rather than re-triggering.# Concise skeleton — full templates: references/authoring-script-templates.md
# Acquire $TOKEN per common/COMMON-CLI.md § Token-in-Variable Pattern (resource = $RESOURCE).
RESOURCE="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"; API="$RESOURCE/v1"
# 1. Discover — getDefinition (handles 200 sync and 202 + LRO via curl)
HDR=$(mktemp); BODY=$(mktemp)
CODE=$(curl -sS -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Length: 0" \
"$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/getDefinition" \
-D "$HDR" -o "$BODY" -w "%{http_code}")
if [ "$CODE" = "202" ]; then
LOC=$(tr -d '\r' < "$HDR" | grep -i "^location:" | awk '{print $2}')
RETRY=$(tr -d '\r' < "$HDR" | grep -i "^retry-after:" | awk '{print $2}'); RETRY=${RETRY:-5}
while :; do
sleep "$RETRY"
OP=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RESOURCE" --url "$LOC")
case "$(echo "$OP" | jq -r '.status // empty')" in
Succeeded) RESULT=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RESOURCE" --url "${LOC%/}/result"); break ;;
Failed|Cancelled) echo "ERROR: getDefinition $(echo "$OP" | jq -r '.status')" >&2; exit 1 ;;
esac
done
else
RESULT=$(cat "$BODY")
fi
rm -f "$HDR" "$BODY"
# Validate bound connections (connectionId is a composite JSON string — iterate safely)
QUERY_META=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path=="queryMetadata.json") | .payload' | base64 -d)
echo "$QUERY_META" | jq -c '.connections[]?' | while IFS= read -r conn; do
RAW=$(echo "$conn" | jq -r '.connectionId')
DATASOURCE_ID=$(echo "$RAW" | jq -r '.DatasourceId? // empty' 2>/dev/null)
[ -z "$DATASOURCE_ID" ] && DATASOURCE_ID="$RAW"
# GET /v1/connections/$DATASOURCE_ID to confirm access
done
# 2-3. Formulate & Execute — see Example 3
# 4. Verify — trigger refresh via curl (az rest cannot capture Location header).
# Full LRO polling: references/authoring-script-templates.md.
When the change touches Power Query M (new query, edited mashup, new source, changed parameters), preview the candidate customMashupDocument against the dataflow's bound connections before persisting. Catches syntax, schema, and credential errors at authoring time. Full ordered steps, bootstrap branch, auto-wrap rule, hard-avoid for unbounded preview, ASCII chart preview, and Apache Arrow handling: mashup-preview.md § Preview-Driven Authoring Loop.
Intent split. This workflow is for the pre-save intent. To execute a saved query (
QueryNameonly) or run an ad-hoc read-onlycustomMashupDocumentwith no intent to persist, usedataflows-consumption-cli.mashup-preview.mdis the shared API reference for both intents.
Skip the preview only for metadata-only edits (display name, schedule, loadEnabled toggle) or when the agent records an explicit skip reason (bootstrap, prohibitive cost, side-effecting source).
Use this when the dataflow should write query results to an external store (Lakehouse table, Lakehouse files, Warehouse, ADX, Azure SQL). Extends Workflow A with DataDestinations annotations and a hidden destination query. Full reference with complete examples: output-destinations.md.
Key requirements:
[DataDestinations = {[...]}] annotation referencing the destination query by name._DataDestination) navigates to the target storage using null-safe ?[Data]? (tables) or ?[Content]? (files) operators."loadEnabled": false on the destination query — refresh fails without it. State this in your summary using the literal part name (e.g., "set loadEnabled: false on the destination query in queryMetadata.json").IsNewTarget = true for API-created dataflows, even for existing tables."Lakehouse"; Warehouse: kind "Warehouse"; ADX: kind "AzureDataExplorer"; Azure SQL: kind "Sql") with composite ClusterId/DatasourceId ID.ApplyChangesIfNeeded to publish the draft and reconcile annotations.Any-type columns are rejected by all destination types.mashup.pq, queryMetadata.json, and .platform — so the part names survive in the answer (e.g., "Saved mashup.pq + queryMetadata.json + .platform via updateDefinition"). Do not abbreviate queryMetadata.json to "query metadata" or the inner field queriesMetadata.Supported destinations:
| Destination | Connection Kind | Destination Query Function | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakehouse Table | Lakehouse | Lakehouse.Contents(...) | Path: "Lakehouse" |
| Lakehouse Files | Lakehouse | Lakehouse.Contents(...) | TypeSettings = [Kind = "File"], ?[Content]? |
| Warehouse | Warehouse | Fabric.Warehouse(...) | Path: "Warehouse", Schema/Item navigation |
| Azure Data Explorer | AzureDataExplorer | AzureDataExplorer.Contents(...) | Path must match connection exactly (trailing slash!) |
| Azure SQL | Sql | Sql.Database(...) | Path: "server;database" |
Minimal steps: Create dataflow → Find/create connection → Resolve ClusterId → Save definition with OD annotations → Verify → Refresh.
# Skeleton — full PowerShell recipe: references/output-destinations.md § Complete Example
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"; LH_ID="<lakehouseId>"; RES="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"
# M pattern (two queries):
# 1. Source with [DataDestinations] annotation
# 2. Hidden _DataDestination query with ?[Data]? null-safe navigation
# queryMetadata: source loadEnabled=true, destination loadEnabled=false + isHidden=true
# Refresh: {"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}
For full authoring gotchas: DATAFLOWS-AUTHORING-CORE.md Gotchas and Troubleshooting. For CLI-specific issues: COMMON-CLI.md Gotchas & Troubleshooting (CLI-Specific). For connection discovery: authoring-cli-quickref.md § Connection Discovery and Validation.
updateDefinition (which persists the definition), ask the user if they want to see preview charts before materializing via refresh. In the preview-driven loop the preview instead precedes the persisting updateDefinition. If accepted, follow mashup-preview.md § ASCII chart preview. Skip only for metadata-only edits (display name, schedule) or when the agent records an explicit skip reason.az login first — all az rest calls use the active session. No session → 401.--resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" for Fabric APIs. For Power BI v2 (gatewayClusterDatasources), use --resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" without a trailing slash — the slashed form fails AADSTS500011 invalid_resource.mashup.pq + queryMetadata.json + .platform, each payloadType: "InlineBase64". updateDefinition is a full replacement; sending 1 or 2 parts silently drops queries.POST /dataflows, updateDefinition, and getDefinition typically return sync (200/201) but may return 202 + LRO Location on large bodies — handle both. See authoring-script-templates.md § Fabric LRO Polling Pattern.formatVersion: "202502" in queryMetadata.json and include a top-level name matching displayName — omitting either causes save-time failures or stale display-name state.loadEnabled is opt-out, not opt-in. Fabric auto-loads every query to the staging Lakehouse by default; set loadEnabled: false only on helper queries you do not want written. Note: loadEnabled: true is also stripped from queryMetadata.json on round-trip via getDefinition (it's the default) — its absence on read-back is not a bug. Detail: DATAFLOWS-AUTHORING-CORE.md § loadEnabled semantics./v1/connections operations take the plain GUID from connection.id; queryMetadata.json connections[].connectionId takes the stringified composite {"ClusterId":"…","DatasourceId":"…"}. See connection-management.md § Connection ID Format Cheat Sheet.ClusterId via list+filter. GET .../gatewayClusterDatasources filtered by value[?id=='$CONN_ID']. The per-id route returns PowerBIEntityNotFound for cloud connections; newly-created connections may need a 5-15 s retry. See connection-management.md § Resolving ClusterId.executeQuery body uses a top-level QueryName field (PascalCase canonical; the field name itself is case-insensitive on the wire — lowercase queryName also evaluates). Value must name a shared member from the persisted M or the supplied customMashupDocument. The {"queries":[…]} array shape always fails with DataflowExecuteQueryError: Invalid query name; a wrong query name returns QueryNotFound. Full contract: mashup-preview.md § Request body.executeQuery (singular, never executeQueries) and the request-body field is customMashupDocument (never mashupDocument, never base64-encoded — it is a plain UTF-8 M string). The same M body becomes the saved mashup.pq part referenced as customMashupDocument. Vocabulary table: mashup-preview.md § Vocabulary.updateDefinition MUST use executeOption: "ApplyChangesIfNeeded". Body: {"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}. Without it, Fabric refreshes the previously-applied definition.Failed/Cancelled, or a backend error carries isRetriable: false (or a workspace-wide UnknownException), report the raw error verbatim and stop. These are backend/infra outcomes the agent cannot fix by retrying — do not re-trigger the refresh, keep re-polling, or open an extended investigation. At most, make one executeQuery isolation attempt to localize a fixable M/source cause; if that does not reveal a definition-side issue, end and surface the error.GET /v1/connections/supportedConnectionTypes before POST /v1/connections -- never guess parameter names or credential types; they vary by connector, tenant, and time. When summarizing a connector's required parameters or credentialType set for a user, use the exact, case-sensitive endpoint path GET /v1/connections/supportedConnectionTypes. This applies even to a pure lookup ("which parameters/credentialType does connector X support?"): run the live GET /v1/connections/supportedConnectionTypes against the tenant. The bundled connection-management.md reference guides the response shape but is not a substitute for the tenant-specific, case-sensitive values, which vary by connector and over time.connectionId in queryMetadata.json, GET /v1/connections/{id} (plain GUID extracted from the composite). Cryptic EntityUserFailure at refresh time is often a missing/inaccessible connection. See connection-management.md.connections[] array in the initial create payload is not yet visible to executeQuery; persist it through at least one updateDefinition first. Detail: mashup-preview.md § Bootstrap branch.section Section1; ... document in customMashupDocument — executeQuery does not auto-wrap raw expressions. See mashup-preview.md § customMashupDocument format.executeQuery before updateDefinition — unless the change is metadata-only or the agent records an explicit skip reason. Treat preview success as "M evaluates"; treat the next refresh as the real go/no-go.--body "@<file>", not inline. Write to $env:TEMP\<name>.json (PowerShell, UTF-8 no-BOM via [IO.File]::WriteAllText) or /tmp/<name>.json (bash). Inline --body "<json>" is fragile in bash and broken on Windows because cmd.exe's argument parser mangles embedded quotes. See authoring-script-templates.md § PowerShell — Create Dataflow with Definition.WorkspaceIdentity / ServicePrincipal credentials for unattended refresh. OAuth2 + singleSignOnType: None works for interactive executeQuery but is fragile under tenant Conditional Access for service-context refresh. Check supported types via supportedConnectionTypes.updateDefinition). The user may decline, but the offer should always be made.format property to definition — Items API uses parts[] only; "format": "json" returns 400 InvalidDefinitionFormat.GET /v1/workspaces/{ws}/items/{itemId}/connections to verify a freshly-bound dataflow. It reflects refresh-materialized state, not the persisted definition, and returns 0 after a successful bind. Verify via getDefinition + decode queryMetadata.json.connections[].updateDefinition / POST /dataflows is always LRO. Typical responses are sync (200/201); handle both shapes — see MUST DO above.--resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/") — fails AADSTS500011 invalid_resource. Use the no-slash form.gatewayClusterDatasources/{id} for cloud connections — returns PowerBIEntityNotFound. Use list+filter (MUST DO above).{"queries":[…]} array body shape for executeQuery — always returns 400 DataflowExecuteQueryError: Invalid query name regardless of inner casing. Use a top-level QueryName (or queryName — the field is case-insensitive); pick exactly one query per call.GET for getDefinition — it's a POST endpoint; GET returns 405.Location header from a 202 response.displayName values — not enforced but causes confusion.GET /v1/connections/{id} may return 403/404 for callers without access. An empty GET /v1/connections is not proof a connection is absent.supportedConnectionTypes — guessing produces 400 InvalidConnectionDetails / 400 InvalidCredentialDetails.passwordReference / keyReference / tokenReference / servicePrincipalSecretReference.OnPremisesGateway needs RSA-encrypted credentials per gateway member.updateDefinition — executeQuery is significantly faster than the updateDefinition-then-debug-refresh loop. See mashup-preview.md.executeQuery returns the full evaluated dataset. Inject Table.FirstN / TOP N / date predicate into the preview-only document; strip before saving. See mashup-preview.md § Hard avoid.executeQuery with EvaluateQuery. EvaluateQuery requires a prior successful refresh; executeQuery + customMashupDocument does not. Use executeQuery for the authoring preview loop.--body on Windows/PowerShell — cmd.exe mangles quotes; always use --body "@$env:TEMP\<name>.json".updateDefinition carrying real M + connections[] over a bootstrap-bind + save pair — saves an HTTP round trip; both are functionally equivalent. Use the two-step form for didactic walk-throughs or when the bootstrap M needs to differ from the production M (e.g., the bootstrap branch in mashup-preview.md).az rest over raw curl — handles token acquisition and refresh automatically. Fall back to curl only when you need to capture response headers (e.g., 202 LRO Location) — az rest cannot.getDefinition before updateDefinition — read-modify-write prevents accidental data loss; updateDefinition is a full replacement.?updateMetadata=true on updateDefinition — ensures .platform changes (display name) are applied.jq for JSON manipulation — build definition payloads programmatically."Automatic" for parameter type in job execution — lets the engine infer from definition.WS_ID, DF_ID, API, RESOURCE) for script reuse.queryMetadata.json connections[] and GET /v1/connections/{id} in one pass before refresh; optionally POST /v1/connections/{id}/testConnection to catch rotated credentials.| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| 401 Unauthorized | Verify az login is active; check --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" (or https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api no trailing slash for PBI v2). |
405 Method Not Allowed on getDefinition | Use POST, not GET. |
updateDefinition silently drops queries | Send all 3 parts (mashup.pq, queryMetadata.json, .platform). |
executeQuery → 400 DataflowExecuteQueryError: Invalid query name | Body uses the {"queries":[…]} array shape — that always fails. Switch to a top-level {"QueryName":"<shared>"} (PascalCase canonical; the field is case-insensitive on the wire). |
executeQuery → 400 DataflowExecuteQueryError: ErrorCode: QueryNotFound | The value of QueryName doesn't match any shared member of the persisted M or supplied customMashupDocument. List queries via getDefinition → decode mashup.pq. |
GET /items/{id}/connections returns 0 after a successful bind | That endpoint reflects refresh-materialized state, not the definition. Verify via getDefinition → decode queryMetadata.json.connections[]. |
404 / PowerBIEntityNotFound fetching ClusterId from gatewayClusterDatasources/{id} | Per-id route does not resolve cloud connections. Use list + filter: GET .../gatewayClusterDatasources --query "value[?id=='$CONN_ID'] | [0].clusterId", audience https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api (no slash). Newly-created connections may need 5-15 s to surface — retry. See connection-management.md § Resolving ClusterId. |
Refresh fails on first run after updateDefinition (stale data, missing changes) | Body must include {"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}} on the first refresh after any definition change. |
| Refresh fails with "Connection not found" | Extract connectionId (composite) from queryMetadata.json, parse DatasourceId, confirm via GET /v1/connections/{id}. |
connections[] missing after updateDefinition | Read-modify-write rebuilt queryMetadata.json from a snapshot without bindings. Re-bind and updateDefinition again before refresh. |
| Refresh reports "connection not found" after create+bind | Wrong ID format in queryMetadata.json. REST id is plain GUID; connectionId is the stringified composite {"ClusterId":"…","DatasourceId":"…"}. |
formatVersion mismatch error | Set formatVersion: "202502" in queryMetadata.json. |
| Fast copy not engaged | Add [StagingDefinition = [Kind = "FastCopy"]] before section in mashup.pq. |
| LRO polling returns 404 | Use the Location header URL — don't construct operation URLs manually. |
| 429 Too Many Requests | Respect Retry-After; exponential backoff. |
| Base64 decode produces garbage | Strip trailing newlines; use base64 -w0 (Linux). |
Inline --body "<json>" returns 400 / empty body on Windows | cmd.exe arg parser mangles quotes when launching az.exe. Write to $env:TEMP\body.json (UTF-8, no BOM) and pass --body "@$env:TEMP\body.json". See authoring-script-templates.md § PowerShell — Create Dataflow with Definition. |
Refresh fails with EntityUserFailure / "Something went wrong" and no detail | (1) Confirm updateDefinition was called after create; (2) check credential type — OAuth2+singleSignOnType: None often fails under tenant Conditional Access for unattended refresh; prefer WorkspaceIdentity/ServicePrincipal; (3) executeQuery against the dataflow to isolate M+source; (4) GET https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/{ws}/dataflows/{df}/transactions (PBI v1.0) sometimes returns richer per-entity errors. |
Platform note — examples below are bash. On Windows / PowerShell the bash patterns (
MASHUP='...'heredoc,echo -n | base64 -w0,tr -d '\r' | grep -i location | awk) cause real escaping pain and refresh-pattern flakes. PowerShell variants are linked from the two highest-friction examples (Create and Refresh) below. For full PowerShell templates (Create, Refresh, Validate Connections, Bind Connection, Create Cloud Connection): authoring-script-templates.md § PowerShell. On PowerShell, prefer--body "@$env:TEMP\body.json"and write the body via[IO.File]::WriteAllText($path, $body, [System.Text.UTF8Encoding]::new($false))overOut-File(which writes a UTF-8 BOM on Windows PowerShell 5.1 and breaksaz.exebody parsing) and over inline--body "{...}"(whichcmd.exemangles).
Prompt: "Create a new Dataflow Gen2 that reads a public CSV via the Web connector, and verify it."
Agent response — runnable bash implementation of Workflow A. PowerShell variant: authoring-script-templates.md § End-to-End Smoke Test.
# Prereqs: az login, jq, base64, uuidgen. Workspace must support Dataflow Gen2.
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
DF_NAME="my-titanic-df"
CONN_NAME="my-titanic-web-conn"
URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/datasciencedojo/datasets/master/titanic.csv"
RES="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"; API="$RES/v1"
PBI="https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" # NO trailing slash
# Step 1: List existing connections, try to reuse by name.
CONN_ID=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RES" --url "$API/connections" \
--query "value[?displayName=='$CONN_NAME'] | [0].id" -o tsv)
# Step 2: Create if missing (Web + Anonymous; see connection-management.md for other shapes).
if [ -z "$CONN_ID" ] || [ "$CONN_ID" = "null" ]; then
BODY_FILE=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp) # GNU + BSD/macOS compatible
cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<EOF
{
"displayName": "$CONN_NAME",
"connectivityType": "ShareableCloud",
"connectionDetails": {
"type": "Web", "creationMethod": "Web",
"parameters": [{"name": "url", "dataType": "Text", "value": "$URL"}]
},
"privacyLevel": "Organizational",
"credentialDetails": {
"singleSignOnType": "None", "connectionEncryption": "NotEncrypted",
"skipTestConnection": false,
"credentials": {"credentialType": "Anonymous"}
}
}
EOF
CONN_ID=$(az rest --method post --resource "$RES" --url "$API/connections" \
--headers "Content-Type=application/json" --body "@$BODY_FILE" --query id -o tsv)
rm -f "$BODY_FILE"
fi
# Step 3: Resolve ClusterId via list+filter; retry — PBI v2 lags by 5-15s on new conns.
for i in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8; do
CLUSTER_ID=$(az rest --method get --resource "$PBI" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v2.0/myorg/me/gatewayClusterDatasources" \
--query "value[?id=='$CONN_ID'] | [0].clusterId" -o tsv 2>/dev/null)
[ -n "$CLUSTER_ID" ] && [ "$CLUSTER_ID" != "null" ] && break
sleep $((i*3))
done
# Fail-fast: an empty ClusterId silently corrupts the composite connectionId and the
# resulting updateDefinition / refresh failures are hard to debug. Stop here instead.
if [ -z "$CLUSTER_ID" ] || [ "$CLUSTER_ID" = "null" ]; then
echo "FAIL: ClusterId not resolved for $CONN_ID after retries. Verify the connection is visible at PBI v2 (api.powerbi.com/v2.0/myorg/me/gatewayClusterDatasources)." >&2
exit 1
fi
# Step 4: Create empty dataflow shell (sync 201).
SHELL_BODY=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp)
printf '{"displayName":"%s"}' "$DF_NAME" > "$SHELL_BODY"
DF_ID=$(az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
--url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows" \
--headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
--body "@$SHELL_BODY" --query id -o tsv)
rm -f "$SHELL_BODY"
# Step 5: One-shot updateDefinition — real M + composite-bound connections[] + .platform.
MASHUP='section Section1;
shared Titanic = let
Source = Csv.Document(Web.Contents("'"$URL"'"), [Delimiter=",", Encoding=65001, QuoteStyle=QuoteStyle.Csv]),
Headers = Table.PromoteHeaders(Source, [PromoteAllScalars=true])
in Headers;'
COMPOSITE_ID="{\"ClusterId\":\"$CLUSTER_ID\",\"DatasourceId\":\"$CONN_ID\"}"
QUERY_META=$(jq -n --arg name "$DF_NAME" --arg cid "$COMPOSITE_ID" --arg url "$URL" --arg qid "$(uuidgen)" '{
formatVersion: "202502",
name: $name,
queriesMetadata: { Titanic: { queryId: $qid, queryName: "Titanic" } },
connections: [ { connectionId: $cid, kind: "Web", path: $url } ]
}')
PLATFORM=$(jq -n --arg name "$DF_NAME" --arg lid "$(uuidgen)" '{
"$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/fabric/gitIntegration/platformProperties/2.0.0/schema.json",
metadata: { type: "Dataflow", displayName: $name },
config: { version: "2.0", logicalId: $lid }
}')
MASHUP_B64=$(echo -n "$MASHUP" | base64 -w0)
META_B64=$(echo -n "$QUERY_META" | base64 -w0)
PLAT_B64=$(echo -n "$PLATFORM" | base64 -w0)
BODY_FILE=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp) # GNU + BSD/macOS compatible
cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<EOF
{"definition":{"parts":[
{"path":"mashup.pq", "payload":"${MASHUP_B64}", "payloadType":"InlineBase64"},
{"path":"queryMetadata.json", "payload":"${META_B64}", "payloadType":"InlineBase64"},
{"path":".platform", "payload":"${PLAT_B64}", "payloadType":"InlineBase64"}
]}}
EOF
az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
--url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/updateDefinition?updateMetadata=true" \
--headers "Content-Type=application/json" --body "@$BODY_FILE"
rm -f "$BODY_FILE"
# Step 6: Verify connections[] persisted via getDefinition (NOT /items/{id}/connections).
# Assumes the sync 200 fast-path (typical, ~1s). If the call ever returns 202 LRO,
# az rest can't expose the Location header — switch to the curl + poll pattern from
# Example 3 / authoring-script-templates.md and decode the polled 200 body instead.
PERSISTED=$(az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
--url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/getDefinition" \
--headers "Content-Length=0" \
| jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path=="queryMetadata.json") | .payload' | base64 -d \
| jq -r '.connections | length')
[ "${PERSISTED:-0}" -gt 0 ] && echo "OK: connections[] persisted." || { echo "FAIL: bind missing (or getDefinition returned a 202 LRO body — see note above)." >&2; exit 1; }
# Step 7 (optional): Validate the M evaluates — top-level QueryName, PascalCase.
EQ_BODY=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp)
printf '{"QueryName":"Titanic"}' > "$EQ_BODY"
az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
--url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/executeQuery" \
--headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
--body "@$EQ_BODY" --output-file /tmp/titanic.arrow
rm -f "$EQ_BODY"
# Apache Arrow stream — embedded {"Error":"..."} means failure even on HTTP 200.
grep -q '"Error":"' /tmp/titanic.arrow && { echo "executeQuery surfaced an error." >&2; exit 1; }
# Step 8 (optional): Trigger refresh with ApplyChangesIfNeeded on first run — see Example 2.
Prompt: "Trigger a refresh on this dataflow and poll until it completes."
Agent response:
# Trigger refresh (returns 202 + Location header for polling).
# jobType MUST be "Refresh"; "Pipeline" returns 400 InvalidJobType.
# On the first refresh after any updateDefinition, body MUST include executeOption=ApplyChangesIfNeeded
# (otherwise Fabric refreshes the previously-applied definition).
# Acquire $TOKEN per common/COMMON-CLI.md § Token-in-Variable Pattern (resource = https://api.fabric.microsoft.com).
LOCATION=$(curl -sS -X POST \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--data '{"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}' \
"https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/dataflows/${DF_ID}/jobs/instances?jobType=Refresh" \
-o /dev/null -D - | tr -d '\r' | grep -i "^location:" | awk '{print $2}')
# Poll while the status is non-terminal. Fabric refresh job status enum:
# NotStarted / InProgress -> non-terminal, keep polling
# Completed -> success
# Failed / Cancelled -> terminal backend outcome (fatal-stop)
# Deduped -> another refresh is already running; this trigger was skipped (NOT success)
# Treat ONLY NotStarted/InProgress as non-terminal and break on anything else, so a newly-added
# terminal status surfaces immediately instead of waiting out MAX_POLLS (the contract notes more
# status values may be added over time). MAX_POLLS bounds the wait if the job never terminates.
ATTEMPT=0; MAX_POLLS="${MAX_POLLS:-60}"
while [ "$ATTEMPT" -lt "$MAX_POLLS" ]; do
STATUS=$(az rest --method get --url "$LOCATION" \
--resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" --query "status" -o tsv)
echo "Status: $STATUS"
case "$STATUS" in NotStarted|InProgress) ;; *) break ;; esac
sleep 10; ATTEMPT=$((ATTEMPT + 1))
done
case "$STATUS" in
Completed) : ;; # success (exit 0)
Deduped)
# Concurrency, not success: another refresh is already running and this trigger was skipped.
# Monitor the in-flight instance instead of re-triggering. Exit non-zero so automation does not
# mistake a skipped trigger for a completed refresh.
echo "Refresh deduplicated — another instance is already running; monitor that instance instead of re-triggering."
exit 2 ;;
NotStarted|InProgress)
# Max-poll bound reached before any terminal status — a polling timeout, NOT a terminal outcome.
# Surface the raw job instance and stop; do not assume success.
echo "Polling stopped after ${MAX_POLLS} attempts with non-terminal status '$STATUS' (max-poll timeout, not a terminal outcome)."
az rest --method get --url "$LOCATION" --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"
exit 1 ;;
*) # Failed / Cancelled (or any other terminal status): a terminal backend outcome — not something
# to debug-loop. Surface the job's raw error (the job-instance body's .failureReason, an
# ErrorResponse with .errorCode / .isRetriable / .message) and STOP. Do NOT re-trigger or keep
# polling when .failureReason.isRetriable=false or the error is workspace-wide.
az rest --method get --url "$LOCATION" --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"
exit 1 ;;
esac
PowerShell variant (Invoke-WebRequest exposes response headers natively; avoids the tr | grep | awk pipe):
# Notes:
# - $Resp.Headers["Location"] returns string or string[] depending on PS version — never
# use .Location[0] (returns first character on Windows PS 5.1 plain-string case).
# - Wrap Invoke-WebRequest in try/catch on 5.1 (-SkipHttpErrorCheck is PS 7+).
# - Fabric refresh job status enum: NotStarted / InProgress (non-terminal); Completed (success);
# Failed / Cancelled (fatal); Deduped (another refresh already running — NOT success). Treat only
# NotStarted/InProgress as non-terminal and break on anything else, bounded by a max-poll count, so
# a newly-added terminal status surfaces immediately instead of waiting out $MaxPolls.
# This is distinct from the LRO operation enum (Running / Succeeded / Failed / Cancelled).
# Refresh "success" = "Completed", not "Succeeded".
# Acquire $Token per common/COMMON-CLI.md § Token-in-Variable Pattern (resource = https://api.fabric.microsoft.com).
try {
$Resp = Invoke-WebRequest -Method POST -UseBasicParsing `
-Uri "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/jobs/instances?jobType=Refresh" `
-Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $Token"; "Content-Type" = "application/json" } `
-Body '{"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}'
} catch {
Write-Error "Refresh trigger failed: $($_.Exception.Message)"; exit 1
}
$Location = $Resp.Headers["Location"]
if ($Location -is [array]) { $Location = $Location[0] }
$Attempt = 0; $MaxPolls = 60
do {
$Status = az rest --method get --url $Location `
--resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" --query "status" -o tsv
Write-Host "Status: $Status"
if ($Status -notin 'NotStarted','InProgress') { break }
Start-Sleep -Seconds 10; $Attempt++
} while ($Attempt -lt $MaxPolls)
if ($Status -in 'NotStarted','InProgress') {
# Max-poll bound reached before any terminal status — a polling timeout, NOT a terminal outcome.
Write-Host "Polling stopped after $MaxPolls attempts with non-terminal status '$Status' (max-poll timeout, not a terminal outcome)."
az rest --method get --url $Location --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"
exit 1
}
switch ($Status) {
'Completed' { } # success (exit 0)
'Deduped' {
# Concurrency, not success: another refresh is already running and this trigger was skipped.
# Exit non-zero so callers don't treat a skipped trigger as a completed refresh.
Write-Host "Refresh deduplicated — another instance is already running; monitor that instance instead of re-triggering."
exit 2
}
default {
# Failed / Cancelled (or any other terminal status): a terminal backend outcome — surface the job's
# raw error (the job-instance body's .failureReason: .errorCode / .isRetriable / .message) and STOP;
# do not re-trigger or debug-loop when failureReason.isRetriable=false or the error is workspace-wide.
az rest --method get --url $Location --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"
Write-Error "Refresh terminated '$Status' (not Completed)"; exit 1
}
}
Prompt: "Update the mashup of an existing dataflow with a modified query."
Agent response — read-modify-write loop. getDefinition returns sync 200 in the typical case; this template handles the 202 + LRO branch as well.
RESOURCE="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"
# Acquire $TOKEN per common/COMMON-CLI.md § Token-in-Variable Pattern (resource = $RESOURCE).
# 1. Read current definition (sync 200 or 202 LRO — handle both).
HDR=$(mktemp); BODY=$(mktemp)
CODE=$(curl -sS -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Length: 0" \
"$RESOURCE/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/dataflows/${DF_ID}/getDefinition" \
-D "$HDR" -o "$BODY" -w "%{http_code}")
if [ "$CODE" = "202" ]; then
LOC=$(tr -d '\r' < "$HDR" | grep -i "^location:" | awk '{print $2}')
RETRY=$(tr -d '\r' < "$HDR" | grep -i "^retry-after:" | awk '{print $2}'); RETRY=${RETRY:-5}
while :; do
sleep "$RETRY"
OP=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RESOURCE" --url "$LOC")
case "$(echo "$OP" | jq -r '.status // empty')" in
Succeeded) DEF=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RESOURCE" --url "${LOC%/}/result"); break ;;
Failed|Cancelled) echo "ERROR: getDefinition $(echo "$OP" | jq -r '.status')" >&2; exit 1 ;;
esac
done
else
DEF=$(cat "$BODY")
fi
rm -f "$HDR" "$BODY"
# 2. Decode each part, modify mashup.pq, re-encode all 3.
MASHUP=$(echo "$DEF" | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path=="mashup.pq") | .payload' | base64 -d)
META=$( echo "$DEF" | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path=="queryMetadata.json") | .payload' | base64 -d)
PLAT=$( echo "$DEF" | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path==".platform") | .payload' | base64 -d)
NEW_MASHUP=$(echo "$MASHUP" | sed 's/old-pattern/new-pattern/') # edit M here
MASHUP_B64=$(echo -n "$NEW_MASHUP" | base64 -w0)
META_B64=$(echo -n "$META" | base64 -w0)
PLAT_B64=$(echo -n "$PLAT" | base64 -w0)
# 3. Build the updateDefinition body in a temp file (full replacement — all 3 parts).
BODY_FILE=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp) # GNU + BSD/macOS compatible
cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<EOF
{"definition":{"parts":[
{"path":"mashup.pq", "payload":"${MASHUP_B64}", "payloadType":"InlineBase64"},
{"path":"queryMetadata.json", "payload":"${META_B64}", "payloadType":"InlineBase64"},
{"path":".platform", "payload":"${PLAT_B64}", "payloadType":"InlineBase64"}
]}}
EOF
az rest --method post --resource "$RESOURCE" \
--url "$RESOURCE/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/dataflows/${DF_ID}/updateDefinition?updateMetadata=true" \
--headers "Content-Type=application/json" --body "@$BODY_FILE"
rm -f "$BODY_FILE"
Binding a new connection? Example 1 (steps 1-5) is the canonical bind+save flow. Bind-only walk-throughs live in authoring-cli-quickref.md § Connection Binding Quick Patterns and authoring-script-templates.md § Connection Binding Templates.
When this skill completes a task, the agent should return:
| Field | Convention |
|---|---|
| Verbosity | Concise summary (3–10 lines) of what was created/modified. |
| Default format | Markdown for status reports; fenced JSON code block for single-resource responses; markdown table for list responses. |
| Side-effect disclosure | Explicitly report IDs created/modified/deleted and the target workspace ID. Never imply success without an ID. When you saved or replaced a dataflow definition, name the parts you wrote in prose -- mashup.pq, queryMetadata.json, .platform -- since long command bodies are truncated in the transcript and the part names would otherwise be lost. Also name the actual persist path you used: updateDefinition when you saved the definition through that endpoint, or the create call POST /v1/workspaces/{ws}/dataflows when the definition was supplied at create time. Do not claim updateDefinition if the definition was persisted via the create POST. |
| Verification | Re-GET the affected resource (dataflow, connection, job instance) and surface its state (e.g., provisionState, status, Completed) before declaring done. |
| Error surfacing | If any step returned a non-2xx status, an LRO Failed/Cancelled, or an Arrow-stream {"Error":"..."}, propagate the raw error verbatim and stop. A terminal refresh Failed/Cancelled, an isRetriable: false backend error, or a workspace-wide UnknownException is a fatal-stop condition — report it and end; do not re-trigger, re-poll, or enter an extended debugging loop. |
| Preview rendering (Workflow C) | After executeQuery, render head(10) of the result as a markdown table in chat alongside the saved Arrow file — even when the embedded-error check passes. Catches silent-success bugs (filter dropped all rows, wrong column, off-by-one, wrong cast) that the embedded-error detector cannot see. Snippet + suppression rules: dataflows-consumption-cli § Example 5b. |
| API names | When the answer references API endpoints or request-body fields, use their exact, case-sensitive names (executeQuery, customMashupDocument, QueryName, mashup.pq, queryMetadata.json, GET /v1/connections/supportedConnectionTypes) rather than paraphrased or pluralized variants. |
3plugins reuse this skill
First indexed Jul 16, 2026
npx claudepluginhub microsoft/skills-for-fabricCreates, updates, deletes, and refreshes Fabric Dataflows Gen2 via CLI. Builds mashup.pq definitions, manages connections, and configures output destinations (Lakehouse, Warehouse, ADX, Azure SQL). Includes a preview-driven authoring loop.
Monitors, inspects, and queries saved Fabric Dataflows Gen2 via read-only CLI. Lists dataflows, decodes base64 definitions, discovers parameters, retrieves refresh status and job history, classifies queries by staging, and executes queries via the read-side executeQuery mashup engine with Arrow IPC response parsing.
Explains Microsoft Fabric features like Direct Lake mode, OneLake delta tables, semantic models, lakehouse Power BI integration, and comparisons to Import/DirectQuery.