Power BI Explorer
A developer-focused VS Code explorer for Power BI semantic models and reports, by HariBI.
Getting started
Click the Power BI Explorer activity icon to open the editor. The Getting started page explains the workflow. Choose a storage folder there using Browse or enter an absolute path and select Save folder. New logs are written under logs, and service exports under downloads. You can also use the Power BI Explorer: Configure storage folder command or the pbiExplorer.storageFolder setting. Earlier files remain at their original location.
Select Get started to open Connect. Open a local project or sign in to download model and report definitions. Return to Getting started from the navigation at any time.
Connect
- Local: a PBIP folder (TMDL or
model.bim, PBIR or legacy report.json), a single .SemanticModel / .Report folder, a .pbip, .pbit (model + report) or .pbix (report layout only). You can also right-click a file or folder in the Explorer and choose Open in Power BI Explorer.
- Online: sign in with an Azure CLI device code (
az login --use-device-code). If the CLI isn't installed, the extension runs the same device-code flow itself with the Azure CLI client ID. Pick a workspace and a semantic model and/or reports, and Explorer downloads the definitions through the Fabric getDefinition API (TMDL + PBIR). It saves them as a PBIP project, rebinds the reports to the downloaded model, and analyses them like a local project. It also shows refresh history, the refresh schedule, data sources and bound reports. When you pick a semantic model, Explorer scans every workspace you can access for dependent reports bound to it; tick any of them to download them with the model. You can also add more dependent reports later from Report layout → Details.
Pages
| Page |
What you get |
| Overview |
Source→visual flow counts, health score, measures by DAX level, a "things you should know" panel (most critical object, deepest DAX chain, broken refs, unused objects, duplicated DAX, hidden filters, hard-coded connections, folding breaks), service refresh timeline |
| Lineage |
Interactive, draggable, filterable end-to-end graph: sources → parameters/queries → tables → columns → measures (L1…Ln) → visuals → pages → reports. Upstream / Both / Impact highlight, Focus mode, DAX level filter, relationship overlay, popup on click, full screen, export |
| Model diagram |
Tables with keys, cardinality, active/inactive and bi-directional relationships, filter propagation |
| Power Query |
Every applied step classified (source, navigation, filter, merge, append, type…) with highlighted M, native SQL, parameter-resolved sources, query dependency graph, step lineage graph (sources / referenced queries → each step → table), and a Query folding tab showing per-table folding status (fully / partially / not folding, break step, steps folded) plus Power Query checks rules (PQ001–PQ010) |
| DAX measures |
Grouped by dependency level / table / folder, per-measure lineage graph (click any node to show its details below), clickable DAX syntax, dependency trees |
| Calculation groups |
Every calculation group and item with precedence, ordinal and format strings, plus a lineage graph per group / item (items referenced by name in DAX are linked) |
| DAX functions (UDF) |
User-defined functions grouped by namespace, with parameters, callers and a lineage graph; measures calling UDFs get correct dependency levels |
| Report layout |
Details (pages, visual types, most-used items, dependent reports in the service), Lineage (report or page → visuals → fields → model → source), Item usage matrix, Page layout (pixel layout of each page, PBIR & legacy, visual inspector with trace to source), filters (including hidden ones), bookmarks, report measures, custom visuals |
| Impact analysis |
What breaks if you change any object: measures, visuals, pages, reports and roles affected, plus the exact DAX that references it |
| Unused |
Tables, columns and measures not used by DAX, relationships, sort-by columns, hierarchies, RLS/OLS, calculation groups, UDFs, Power Query or the visuals/filters of the selected report (all reports, one report, or model only). Optional cascade mode and CSV export |
| Security |
Role × table matrix with RLS propagation through relationships, OLS, filter expressions |
| Best practices |
40+ rules across modelling, DAX, Power Query, report and security |
| Catalog |
Columns, measures, hierarchies, calculation groups, expressions/parameters, perspectives, cultures, model properties, annotations, files |
Press Ctrl+K to search any object. Every object has a details popup with its syntax, properties, usage, dependency trees and Open source (jumps to the TMDL line).
Recovered project
This release was updated from a compiled VSIX. The downloadable project includes the compiled host, bundled webview, the new landing component, verification scripts, and a PowerShell packaging script. Original TypeScript, dependency lockfiles, and unbundled React source were unavailable. See RECOVERY.md in the project archive for packaging and verification instructions.
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