Power Query Lint VS Code Extension

Visual Studio Code Extension for Power Query linting and analysis with Model Context Protocol (MCP) support and semantic model test creation and execution.

Features

• Power Query Linting — Lint .pq and .pqm files for best practice violations and potential issues
• Workspace Linting — Lint all Power Query files across the entire workspace in one command
• Language Support — Syntax highlighting and language configuration for Power Query M
• MCP Integration — Model Context Protocol support for AI agent workflows
• Copilot Agents — Built-in GitHub Copilot agents for linting (PQL - Linter) and semantic model testing (PQL - Tester)
• Copilot Skills — Agent skills for PQL.Assert documentation and DAX query guidelines

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

Install directly from the Visual Studio Marketplace:

code --install-extension ClientFirstTechnologies.power-query-lint

Claude Code

The same agents and skills are available in Claude Code as the power-query-lint plugin. It is opt-in: when this extension detects Claude Code it asks once whether to enable it, and you can choose Enable, Not now, or Don't ask again. Nothing in your Claude Code settings changes unless you choose Enable.

You can also run Power Query: Enable for Claude Code or Power Query: Remove from Claude Code from the Command Palette at any time, or turn the one-time prompt off with the powerQueryLint.claudeCode.promptOnStartup setting. After you enable it, the extension keeps the plugin pointed at the installed extension version when the extension updates. Start a new Claude Code session to pick up changes.

If Claude Code's command line isn't found, the extension shows the two commands to run yourself:

claude plugin marketplace add "<extension folder>" --scope user
claude plugin install power-query-lint@power-query-lint-extension --scope user

To try the plugin from a clone of this repository for a single session instead, run claude --plugin-dir . from the repository root.

The plugin provides the pql-linter and pql-tester agents, the pql-assert, pql-test, and semantic-model-authoring skills, and the powerbi-modeling-mcp and pqlint-mcp MCP servers. Before linting, set your Power Query Lint subscription key in the environment Claude Code runs in:

$env:OCP_APIM_SUBSCRIPTION_KEY = "<your key>"

Requires Node.js (for npx) and, for test execution, the pql-test CLI (see the pql-test skill). You can also install the CLI's own skill with pql-test skill --install claude.

Prerequisites (VS Code)

• Visual Studio Code 1.99.0 or higher
• GitHub Copilot Chat extension (required dependency)
• Power BI Model MCP extension — provides MCP tools for connecting to and querying Power BI Desktop, Analysis Services, and Fabric semantic models

Usage

Linting Commands

Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and run:

• Power Query: Lint Document — lint the active file
• Power Query: Lint Workspace — lint all Power Query files in the workspace

Copilot Agents

This extension contributes two GitHub Copilot agents:

MCP Configuration

MCP tools are defined remotely and configured via the mcp.json file in the extension root. No local MCP server setup is required. In Claude Code, the plugin ships its own MCP configuration.

Extension Settings

Contributing

For information about development, building, testing, and publishing this extension, please see CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

Released under the Business Source License 1.1. Non-production use is permitted, and the Additional Use Grant allows production use to test, validate, or monitor Power BI / Microsoft Fabric semantic models, provided the work is not offered to third parties as a competing hosted, managed, or embedded product or service. The license converts to GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 four years from the date each version is published.

Portions of this extension are derived from third-party works under their own licenses (for example, the semantic-model-authoring skill from microsoft/skills-for-fabric, MIT). See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Links

• Support — For questions or issues, email support@pqlint.com
• Terms of Service — Terms and conditions for using this extension
• Privacy Policy — How we handle your data and privacy