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Set up GitHub Copilot CLI for agentic development with Power BI Desktop

This article describes how to configure GitHub Copilot CLI so that an AI agent can read and modify a Power BI semantic model open in Power BI Desktop, and the report of a Power BI project.

The only requirement we assume is Power BI Desktop, already installed. Everything else is part of this setup.

Sample model used in all the steps: ContosoDemo10k.zip. Please, download it before you start.

At the end you have an agent in the terminal that reads and writes the semantic model, and that also creates and validates report pages. The report part is the reason to use the command line: the report authoring skill is not offered in the Visual Studio Code extension marketplace today. GitHub Copilot CLI is not the only client that supports it, Claude Code uses the same plugin marketplace, and Cursor, Codex, and Windsurf have their own path. This article covers the GitHub one.

Requirements

  • Power BI Desktop, installed.
  • Node.js 22 or later. GitHub Copilot CLI requires it when installed with npm, and the Power BI Modeling MCP server is started with npx, which is part of Node.js. A new machine does not have it, so step 1 installs it.
  • PowerShell 7 or later on Windows. GitHub documents PowerShell 6 as the minimum, the Skills for Fabric documentation asks for PowerShell 7. Install 7, in step 1.
  • The Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable x64. GitHub Copilot CLI does not run without it, and a new installation of Windows does not always have it. Step 2 installs it.
  • A GitHub account. Free to create. Step 5 asks for it.
  • Git for Windows. The marketplace of the skills is downloaded with git, and Windows does not include it. Step 11 installs it.
  • A GitHub Copilot plan that includes MCP. Every plan includes GitHub Copilot CLI, MCP is a different matter: if you sign in without a subscription, you are enrolled in Copilot Free, which currently does not include MCP. Check the plans page before you start.
  • Write permission on any semantic model you modify. The MCP server follows the same rules as the Power BI external tools.

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. The Power BI Modeling MCP server runs on your machine and connects to Power BI Desktop like an external tool. GitHub Copilot CLI is the client that hosts the agent, and it starts the server as a local process.

Back up your model before an agent writes to it. With the sample model, extract the archive again if something goes wrong.

If your organization manages Copilot centrally, an administrator must enable both the GitHub Copilot CLI policy and the MCP servers option in the Copilot policy settings on github.com. Until then, the commands below run and provide no tools.

Step 1: install Node.js and PowerShell 7

A new installation of Windows has neither of them. npm and npx are part of Node.js, and GitHub Copilot CLI uses PowerShell to run the commands it proposes.

Open the command prompt

Several steps of this article ask you to type a command. Windows has two programs that run the commands, and they are not interchangeable:

  • The command prompt. Press Windows+R, type cmd, and press Enter. The window shows a folder path followed by >.
  • PowerShell. Press Windows+R, type powershell, and press Enter. The line starts with PS. PowerShell 7, installed below, is a separate program: it appears in the Start menu as PowerShell 7, and its command is pwsh.

Every command of this article says which of the two to use. To open a window already positioned in a folder, open that folder in File Explorer, type cmd in the address bar, and press Enter. When an installation asks for administrator rights, find Command Prompt in the Start menu, right-click it, and choose Run as administrator.

Install the two programs

Node.js. LTS stands for Long Term Support.

Choose one of the two methods.

Option 1: the installer. Download it from nodejs.org/en/download and run it.

Option 2: WinGet. In the command prompt:

winget install --id OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS --source winget

Both methods write in the folders of the machine, so they ask for administrator rights. If you do not have them, use one of the options at the end of this step.

PowerShell 7.

Choose one of the two methods. The installation page of Microsoft documents the others, including the MSI package.

Option 1: the Microsoft Store. Install it from the Store page, which requires no administrator rights.

Option 2: WinGet. In the command prompt:

winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget

Close the command prompt and open it again, so that it reads the updated path. Then verify both installations, in the command prompt:

node --version

pwsh --version

The first command returns 22 or later, the second one returns 7 or later.

Install Node.js without administrator rights

These are options, not a replacement of the installer. Use one of them when the machine is managed and you do not have administrator rights. Each one writes in your user profile, and each one provides npm and npx.

Option 1: the standalone binary. The download page offers a standalone archive besides the installer. Extract it in a folder of your user profile, for example %LOCALAPPDATA%\nodejs, and add that folder to the Path variable of the user, in Settings > System > About > Advanced system settings > Environment variables. Nothing else is installed.

Option 2: fnm, the Fast Node Manager. It installs and switches the versions of Node.js in your user profile. Install fnm with WinGet, in the command prompt:

winget install Schniz.fnm

Add this line to your PowerShell profile, so that every session finds Node.js. The command notepad $PROFILE, typed in PowerShell, opens that file:

fnm env --use-on-cd --shell powershell | Out-String | Invoke-Expression

Open a new PowerShell window, install the LTS version, and read the version number it installed:

fnm install --lts

fnm list

Then set that version as the default, replacing <version> with the number of the LTS entry of the list:

fnm default <version>

Option 3: Scoop. It is a package manager that installs in %USERPROFILE%\scoop. Install it in PowerShell, in a window that is not elevated:

irm get.scoop.sh | iex

Then install Node.js, in the same PowerShell window:

scoop install nodejs-lts

With any of the three options, close the window, open a command prompt, and verify with node --version and npm --version.

Step 2: install GitHub Copilot CLI

First, install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable x64. GitHub Copilot CLI depends on it, and a new installation of Windows does not always include it.

Choose one of the two methods.

Option 1: the browser. Open this address and run the installer it downloads:

https://aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x64.exe

Option 2: WinGet. In the command prompt:

winget install --id Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x64 --source winget

The installer asks for administrator rights, and it reports that the product is already installed when a more recent version is present. Restart the machine if it asks for it.

Then install the client.

Choose one of the two methods.

Option 1: npm. In the command prompt:

npm install -g @github/copilot

Option 2: WinGet. In the command prompt:

winget install GitHub.Copilot

Verify the installation, in the command prompt:

copilot --version

Step 3: open the sample model

  1. Download ContosoDemo10k.zip.
  2. Extract the archive in a local folder, for example C:\Demo. Please, do not open the file directly from the compressed folder.
  3. Open ContosoDemo10k.pbix in Power BI Desktop and leave Power BI Desktop open.

The title bar shows ContosoDemo10k. You use that name in step 6.

Step 4: register the Power BI Modeling MCP server

There is no extension to install. The server is an npm package, and GitHub Copilot CLI starts it on demand.

Run this command in the command prompt:

copilot mcp add powerbi-modeling-mcp -- npx -y @microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp@latest --start --readonly

The --readonly argument blocks every write operation. We suggest it for the first session, so that a wrong prompt cannot modify anything. Step 8 replaces it.

The command writes the entry in %USERPROFILE%\.copilot\mcp-config.json. You can edit that file directly instead of running the command:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "powerbi-modeling-mcp": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp@latest",
        "--start",
        "--readonly"
      ]
    }
  }
}

To share one configuration in a team, put the same mcpServers block in a .mcp.json file in the root of the project folder, and commit it. The project file takes precedence over the user file.

Verify the registration, in the command prompt:

copilot mcp list

Step 5: start the agent and sign in

  1. Open a command prompt in the folder that contains the sample, for example C:\Demo.

  2. Start the client:

    copilot
  3. Answer the trust prompt for the folder. The agent reads and writes files only in the folders you trust. Choose to remember the folder if you plan to work on the report later.

  4. Sign in, if the client asks for it:

    /login

A browser window opens, you sign in with your GitHub account, and the control returns to the terminal.

The first call to the MCP server raises a tool approval prompt. Read it: together with the confirmation prompt of the server, it is the only checkpoint before a change.

Step 6: connect to Power BI Desktop

Send this prompt:

Connect to 'ContosoDemo10k' in Power BI Desktop

The answer reports the model name and an active connection.

Step 7: verify the connection

Send these two prompts to the agent, one after the other:

List the tables and their row counts
Show me the relationships in the model

Both answers arrive in a few seconds. The chain works: GitHub Copilot CLI, MCP server, Power BI Desktop.

Step 8: enable the write operations

The session started in read-only mode, so the next prompt would fail. Remove the restriction:

  1. Exit the client with /quit.

  2. Remove the read-only registration, in the command prompt:

    copilot mcp remove powerbi-modeling-mcp

  3. Register the server again without --readonly:

    copilot mcp add powerbi-modeling-mcp -- npx -y @microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp@latest --start
  4. Start copilot again and resume the previous session or connect again, as in step 6.

Then send this prompt:

Create a measure that returns the Sales Amount of the previous year using the same format of the original measure.

The measure appears in Power BI Desktop without a refresh. Each write operation raises a confirmation prompt. The same approach applies to bulk operations, like format strings and display folders on hundreds of objects in a single request.

Step 9: enable the preview features for the report layer

The MCP server operates on the semantic model. The report layer requires a different tool, the Power BI report authoring skill, which works only on PBIP files in PBIR format. PBIP stands for Power BI Project, PBIR for Power BI enhanced report format. The skill cannot modify a .pbix file.

In Power BI Desktop, open File > Options and settings > Options > Preview features and enable these three options:

  • Power BI Project (.pbip) save option
  • Store reports using enhanced metadata format (PBIR)
  • Enable external tool access to Power BI Desktop through secure local APIs

The third option is the Power BI Desktop Bridge, and it is enabled by default. The report authoring skill uses it to reload the project and to capture a screenshot of a page, so that the agent verifies its own work. Verify that the option is checked.

Restart Power BI Desktop.

Step 10: save the sample as a project

Use File > Save as and choose the Power BI Project (*.pbip) file type. Power BI Desktop creates this structure:

ContosoDemo10k.pbip
ContosoDemo10k.SemanticModel/
ContosoDemo10k.Report/
.gitignore

The model is a set of TMDL files (Tabular Model Definition Language) and the report is a set of JSON files. Put the folder under source control and commit a baseline, so to undo a wrong operation with one command.

Step 11: install the report authoring skill

The skill is part of the powerbi-authoring plugin, published in the skills-for-fabric marketplace by Microsoft. The plugin contains five skills: semantic model authoring, report planning, report design, report authoring, and report management.

Git is required for this step. The marketplace is downloaded with git, and Windows does not include it. Install it, then close the command prompt and open it again.

Choose one of the two methods.

Option 1: the installer. Download it from git-scm.com/downloads/win and run it.

Option 2: WinGet. In the command prompt:

winget install --id Git.Git --source winget

The skills call two command-line tools. Install them first, in the command prompt:

npm install -g @microsoft/powerbi-report-authoring-cli@latest @microsoft/powerbi-desktop-bridge-cli@latest

Then, in the client, add the marketplace and install the plugin:

/plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills-for-fabric

/plugin install powerbi-authoring@fabric-collection

Restart the client:

/quit

Start copilot again and list the skills:

/skills

The list includes the five skills. The two commands above are typed inside the client. The same operations are available in the command prompt as copilot plugin marketplace add and copilot plugin install.

The plugin registers its own copy of the MCP server, with the same name powerbi-modeling-mcp and without --readonly. When two definitions share a name, the one loaded last wins, so after this step the read-only registration of step 4 could be replaced. Run copilot mcp list and verify which arguments are active before you rely on read-only mode.

The Fabric skills are published in the same marketplace, in the fabric-skills bundle. They are a separate installation, and they are not required for the steps of this article.

Step 12: connect the agent to the project

Start copilot in a command prompt opened in the folder that contains the .pbip file, so that the agent sees both the model folder and the report folder. If you started it elsewhere, add the folder inside the client:

/add-dir C:\Demo

Then send this prompt:

Open semantic model from PBIP folder 'C:\Demo\ContosoDemo10k.SemanticModel'

The MCP server manages the semantic model folder. The authoring skill reads and writes the report folder as files.

Step 13: create a report page

Create a report page with a line chart showing Sales Amount by Quarter, and a card showing the Sales Amount of the last year that has data.

Then ask the agent to validate the report, which checks the structure of the PBIR files, and open the .pbip file in Power BI Desktop. The command behind the validation is this one, and you can also run it yourself in the command prompt:

powerbi-report-author validate "C:\Demo\ContosoDemo10k.Report"

Save any manual change in Power BI Desktop before the agent iterates. The agent reads the files on disk and does not see the unsaved state. Editing in both places at the same time loses one set of changes.

The examples in the documentation use cards, bar charts, clustered column charts, tables, KPI cards, and slicers, and the skill converts the legacy card and matrix visuals into the modern cardVisual and pivotTable. There is no published list of the supported visuals, so expect some trial and error. Q&A, Bing maps, and filled maps are announced for deprecation, and Microsoft recommends avoiding them.

Configuration options

The command-line arguments of the MCP server go after --start, in the args array of the configuration or after -- in the copilot mcp add command.

Option Default Description
--start required Starts the server.
--readwrite enabled Allows write operations, each one with a confirmation.
--readonly   Blocks all the write operations.
--skipconfirmation   Removes the confirmation prompts.
--compatibility PowerBI Set it to Full for Analysis Services databases.
--authmode interactive Set it to serviceprincipal for unattended scenarios.

For the service principal authentication, set AZURE_CLIENT_ID and AZURE_TENANT_ID in the env object of the configuration, with either AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET or AZURE_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_PATH.

On a model that matters, run the first session with --readonly, as in step 4.

Alternative installation methods

Manual installation. Download the VSIX package of the Visual Studio Code extension, rename it with the .zip extension, extract it, and configure the path of the executable. This avoids the download that npx performs at every start:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "powerbi-modeling-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "C:\\MCPServers\\PowerBIModelingMCP\\extension\\server\\powerbi-modeling-mcp.exe",
      "args": ["--start"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

A note on the type value. GitHub Copilot CLI accepts both local and stdio, and they behave in the same way. stdio, which stands for standard input and output, is the name defined by the protocol, so a configuration written with stdio also works in Visual Studio Code and in the other MCP clients. Use stdio in a file you share, and local only if you follow the GitHub examples.

The server is a standard MCP server, so any client can run it with the same configuration. GitHub Copilot CLI is required only for the plugin and the skills.

Limitations

  • The MCP server operates on the semantic model, not on the report.
  • The report authoring skill operates on PBIP projects in PBIR format, not on a .pbix file.
  • Neither of them can do anything your permissions do not allow, because they operate with your identity.
  • Model metadata does not stay local: table names, column names, measure definitions, and query results are sent to the language model of your Copilot plan.
  • The MCP server, the report authoring skill, and the Power BI Desktop Bridge are all in preview. Behavior and tools can change before general availability.
  • The agent proposes and executes. The review is your responsibility.

Troubleshooting

The npm or the npx command is not found. Node.js is not installed, or the terminal was opened before the installation. Close the terminal, open it again, and run node --version. See step 1.

The copilot command is not found. Close and open the terminal again, so that it reads the updated path. With npm, verify that the global folder of npm is in the path.

The client closes immediately, or reports a missing DLL. The Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable x64 is not installed. Install it from https://aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x64.exe, as in step 2.

The MCP server does not appear in the list of tools. Run copilot mcp list in the terminal, or /mcp show in the client. Then verify, in this order: the entry exists, your Copilot plan includes MCP, your organization has enabled the MCP servers option in the Copilot policy.

The marketplace cannot be added, and the message mentions git. Git is not installed, or the command prompt was opened before the installation. Install Git for Windows as in step 11, then close the command prompt and open it again.

The server starts and provides no tools. Verify that Node.js is installed and that npx runs. The first start downloads the package, so it takes longer than the following ones.

Cannot connect to Power BI Desktop. The file must be open, and the name in the prompt must match the title bar: ContosoDemo10k, not ContosoDemo10k.pbix. After a restart of Power BI Desktop the port changes. Connect again.

The write operations are rejected. You need write permission on the model, and the server must not run with --readonly. See step 8.

The plugin is not found in the marketplace. Verify the exact specification, powerbi-authoring@fabric-collection, and add the marketplace first with /plugin marketplace add microsoft/skills-for-fabric.

The skills do not appear after the installation. Restart the client with /quit, start copilot again, and run /skills.

The agent reports that a command is not available when it validates the report. Install the two command-line tools of step 11, @microsoft/powerbi-report-authoring-cli and @microsoft/powerbi-desktop-bridge-cli, then restart the client.

The server accepts a write operation while you expect read-only mode. The plugin of step 11 registers its own definition of powerbi-modeling-mcp without --readonly. Run copilot mcp list and check the arguments in use.

The report authoring skill does not modify the report. It requires PBIP in PBIR format. Verify both preview features and save the project again, because enabling PBIR does not convert a project already saved.

The agent cannot read the report files. The folder must be trusted. Use /add-dir with the folder of the project, or start copilot from that folder.

The report changes do not appear in Power BI Desktop. Reload the project. Power BI Desktop shows the version loaded before. Verify the preview option of the Power BI Desktop Bridge, so that the agent reloads the project without your intervention.

The agent modifies objects you did not mention. Name the objects explicitly. For example, “add display folders to the measures in the Sales table” instead of “apply the best practices”.

Conclusions

Install Node.js and the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, install GitHub Copilot CLI, register the Power BI Modeling MCP server with one command, install the powerbi-authoring plugin, open a model in Power BI Desktop, connect with one prompt.

These are the rules we suggest applying:

  • Install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable before the client, so that a missing runtime is not mistaken for a failed installation.
  • Register the server by its package name, instead of asking the agent to find it.
  • Verify the connection with a read-only prompt before any change.
  • Keep a backup of the model, or work on a PBIP project under source control.
  • Read the tool approval prompts and the confirmation prompts.
  • Use --readonly for the first session on a model that matters.
  • Do not write the connection port in a script.
  • Start the client in the folder of the project, so that the model and the report are both visible to the agent.
  • For the report layer, use PBIP with PBIR, and save in Power BI Desktop before the agent iterates.

References

The content of this article was verified in September 2026, with the @microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp package installed from npm with the @latest tag, and with version 0.3.15 of the skills-for-fabric marketplace. Command names, preview settings, and plan boundaries change over time, so the linked documentation is the authority.

Last update: Sep 08, 2026
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