VPAX command line tool

Dax.Vpax.CLI is a command-line tool developed in .NET and distributed as a dotnet tool.

The tool is open-source; its source code is available in the VertiPaq-Analyzer repository.

The tool’s primary goal is to simplify the use of VPAX libraries directly from the command line and seamlessly integrate VertiPaq-Analyzer into DevOps pipelines for automated VPAX file extraction and management.

Install the VPAX command line tool

The tool is available on NuGet at Dax.Vpax.CLI and it is compatible with Windows and Linux.

It can be installed using the following command:

dotnet tool install Dax.Vpax.CLI --global

Once installed, the tool can be invoked by typing vpax in the command line. To get information about the available features and parameters, run vpax –-help.

Automation in DevOps pipelines

You can automate the extraction of VPAX files from a Tabular model using the VPAX command line tool in Azure DevOps pipelines

The following YAML script demonstrates how to install the VPAX tool and extract a VPAX file from a Tabular model:

trigger: none
pr: none

pool:
  vmImage: windows-latest

steps:
  #
  # Download and install the VertiPaq-Analyzer .NET tool from NuGet.
  # See https://www.nuget.org/packages/Dax.Vpax.CLI
  #

- script: dotnet tool install Dax.Vpax.CLI --global
  displayName: install vpax tool
  #
  # Extract and export model metadata to a VPAX file
  #
  # Arguments:
  #   <path>              Path to write the VPAX file
  #   <connection-string> Connection string to the tabular model
  #
  # Use `vpax export -?` to learn more about the available options.
  #

- script: vpax export "%VPAX_PATH%" "%TABULAR_CONNECTION_STRING%"
  displayName: export vpax
  env:
    # Secret variable that holds the connection string.
    # For more information on how enable Service Principal access to a Power BI workspace in dedicated capacity see the link below.
    # https://blog.tabulareditor.com/2020/06/02/service-principal-access-to-dedicated-capacity-xmla-endpoint
    # https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/enterprise/service-premium-service-principal
    TABULAR_CONNECTION_STRING: $(TabularConnectionString)		

    # Variable that holds path where the VPAX file will be extracted.
    # Using $(Build.BuildId) ensures a unique file name for each build.
    VPAX_PATH: $(Build.StagingDirectory)\contoso-$(Build.BuildId).vpax

For more information on how to enable Service Principal access to a Power BI workspace in a dedicated capacity: