Create Pbi Report

Creating Power BI Reports

Create and scaffold Power BI reports using pbir CLI. Install with uv tool install pbir-cli or pip install pbir-cli. Load the pbir-cli and pbi-report-design skills alongside this one.

Vague or Underspecified Prompts

When the user's request lacks specific measures, audience context, structural preferences, or formatting direction (e.g., "make me a dashboard", "create something with KPIs"), consult references/vague-prompts.md before proceeding. Close the gap between intent and specification with targeted questions; then apply sensible defaults (sqlbi theme, executive dashboard pattern, model-driven KPI selection) for anything the user can't or won't specify.

Rules

• Visuals must not overlap one another
• Favor theme changes over visual overrides for static formatting
• Favor extension measures with theme colors (like "bad") for conditional formatting
• Always create reports inside a named project folder (e.g., sales-dashboard/Sales.Report)
• Run pbir validate after every mutation
• New reports already include the sqlbi theme -- do NOT run pbir theme apply-template unless the user explicitly asks for a different theme
• New reports already include a default Page 1 with a textbox visual for the page title at position (20,20) with height 90 -- do NOT add a new textbox; rename the existing page with pbir pages rename instead. Place all visuals at y:120 or below to avoid overlapping the title textbox.

Quick Reference

1. Get the workspace and semantic model from the user. If the user wants to connect to Power BI Desktop or create a report with source data, explain that a published semantic model in Fabric or Power BI is required first.

2. Analyze the user's requirements. Consider missing information -- charts, filters, formatting, analyses. Use AskUserQuestion if something is unclear.

3. Assemble a design brief (audience, purpose, decision questions, page list with per-page intent, committed design identity, delivery target); get user approval before building; see references/design-brief.md.

4. Consider missing semantic model objects -- not just what the user asks for, but targets (1 year prior), baselines (avg for period), or trend aggregations (14-day rolling) that enrich visuals.

5. Create a project folder and report (default format is PBIP):

   mkdir -p /path/to/report-name
   cd /path/to/report-name
   pbir new report "Name.Report" -c "Workspace/Model.SemanticModel"

6. Rename the default page (do NOT add a new page unless the report needs multiple pages): pbir pages rename "Name.Report/Page 1.Page" --to "Overview" -f

7. Only if the user requests a custom theme: pbir theme apply-template "Name.Report" template-name (the sqlbi theme is already included by default)

8. Discover model fields: pbir model "Name.Report" -d

9. Query field values for filters or formatting: pbir model "Name.Report" -q "EVALUATE VALUES('Table'[Column])"

10. Inspect field data types: pbir model "Name.Report" -d -t Table

11. Add visuals (the page already has a textbox for the title): pbir add visual kpi "Name.Report/Overview.Page" --title "Revenue"

12. Configure query reduction (slicers + heavy visuals): see references/interactivity.md

13. Wire cross-filter overrides and page navigation: see references/interactivity.md

14. Add filters and slicers; configure slicer sync and reset: see references/interactivity.md

15. Validate: pbir validate "Name.Report"

16. Publish: pbir publish "Name.Report" "Workspace.Workspace/Name.Report"

17. Open in Fabric after publish: pbir publish "Name.Report" "Workspace.Workspace/Name.Report" -o

18. Or open locally in Power BI Desktop: pbir open "Name.Report"

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Understand the Business Process

Before creating visuals, explore the semantic model to understand the domain. Use pbir model "Report.Report" -d to inspect tables, columns, measures, and hierarchies. Consider:

• What domain does this model cover? (sales, finance, operations, logistics, etc.)
• What KPIs and measures matter most?
• What dimensions and hierarchies exist for slicing data?
• What time granularity makes sense? (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly)

Present a concrete proposal via AskUserQuestion before building anything. The proposal should include:

• Which KPI cards to show and what measures they display
• What trend chart(s) to include and at what time granularity
• Which categorical breakdowns are most insightful
• What detail table/matrix to provide and with what hierarchies
• How filters should scope the data

Iterate on the design before executing -- revising a plan is cheaper than rebuilding visuals.

Step 1b: Assemble and Lock the Design Brief

Consolidate the Step 1 exploration and any vague-prompt findings into one design brief. This is not a second round of requirements gathering; it freezes what is already known into a single spec the build steps execute against. The brief names the audience, the purpose, the 2-5 decision questions a viewer must answer, a page list where each page carries one stated intent, the committed design identity (tone plus signature), and the delivery target. See references/design-brief.md for the copy-able template and how to fill each field.

Present the brief once via AskUserQuestion for explicit "yes" or "change X" approval. On approval, treat it as frozen: the build steps run against it without re-litigating scope, and any later scope change re-opens the brief rather than silently drifting the visuals.

The approved brief routes to the pbi-report-design skill (which owns the design canon: commit the identity there, and map each page intent to a concrete layout), then into the build steps below. Reference identity and page-intent-to-layout by concept; pbi-report-design is the home for that reasoning, so do not restate it here.

Step 2: Identify Location and Connection

Determine where to create the report and which model it connects to. Purpose, audience, and decision questions are already settled in the locked brief (Step 1b); do not re-elicit them here.

pbir model                                       # List all known reports/models
pbir connect MyWorkspace MyReport                # Set active connection

If the user provides a workspace location, create the report locally in a project folder, then publish.

Step 3: Create the Report

Create a project folder first, then the report inside it. Default format is PBIP.

mkdir -p sales-dashboard && cd sales-dashboard
pbir new report "Sales.Report" -c "MyWorkspace/Sales.SemanticModel"

The resulting structure:

sales-dashboard/
  Sales.Report/
    definition/
      pages/
      report.json
    StaticResources/
    definition.pbir
  Sales.pbip

Step 4: Rename Default Page and Add More Pages

The report comes with a default "Page 1" that already has a textbox for the page title. Rename it rather than creating a new page. Only add additional pages if needed.

pbir pages rename "Sales.Report/Page 1.Page" --to "Overview" -f  # Rename default page
pbir add page "Sales.Report/Detail.Page" -n "Detail"              # Add extra pages only if needed
pbir pages active-page "Sales.Report" "Overview"

Step 5: Configure Theme (only if user requests)

The sqlbi theme is already included by default. Only modify the theme if the user explicitly asks for a different theme or custom colors.

# Only if user wants a different theme:
pbir theme apply-template "Sales.Report" custom-theme

# Or to customize specific colors:
pbir theme set-colors "Sales.Report" --good "#00B050" --bad "#FF0000"
pbir theme set-text-classes "Sales.Report" title --font-size 16
pbir theme set-formatting "Sales.Report" "card.*.border.radius" --value 8