powerbi-mcp-server

pkduongsu/powerbi-mcp-server

3.2

If you are the rightful owner of powerbi-mcp-server and would like to certify it and/or have it hosted online, please leave a comment on the right or send an email to henry@mcphub.com.

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with Microsoft PowerBI REST API, providing tools for data cleaning, transformation, analysis, and visualization.

Tools
5
Resources
0
Prompts
0

PowerBI MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for interacting with Microsoft PowerBI REST API. This server provides comprehensive tools for data cleaning, transformation, analysis, and visualization within PowerBI.

Features

Resources

  • List PowerBI workspaces
  • Browse datasets and reports in workspaces
  • Access dataset schemas and metadata

Tools

  • Data Operations

    • Get workspaces, datasets, reports
    • Get detailed dataset information
    • Query datasets with DAX
    • Refresh datasets
    • Analyze data quality
    • Export data to CSV format

  • Visualization & Reporting

    • Create and clone reports
    • Get report pages and structure
    • Generate visualization suggestions
    • Create visualization-ready data
    • Generate DAX measures for specific chart types
    • Export chart data for external tools

  • Data Transformation

    • Create calculated columns
    • Create measures
    • Execute custom DAX expressions

  • Report Management

    • Create new reports
    • List existing reports
    • Get refresh history

  • Analysis

    • Analyze data quality across tables
    • Generate insights from datasets
    • Performance optimization suggestions

Prompts

  • Dataset analysis guidance
  • Dashboard creation assistance
  • Data cleaning workflows
  • DAX optimization help
  • Visualization design recommendations
  • Dashboard layout guidance
  • Chart-specific best practices

Prerequisites

  1. PowerBI Service Account: You need access to PowerBI Pro or Premium
  2. Azure App Registration: Register an application in Azure AD with PowerBI API permissions
  3. API Permissions: Grant the following permissions to your Azure app:
    • Dataset.Read.All
    • Dataset.ReadWrite.All
    • Report.Read.All
    • Report.ReadWrite.All
    • Workspace.Read.All

Setup

1. Azure App Registration

  1. Go to Azure Portal
  2. Navigate to "Azure Active Directory" > "App registrations"
  3. Click "New registration"
  4. Configure:
    • Name: PowerBI MCP Server
    • Supported account types: Accounts in this organizational directory only
    • Redirect URI: Not needed for this setup
  5. After creation, note down:
    • Application (client) ID
    • Directory (tenant) ID
  6. Go to "Certificates & secrets" and create a new client secret
  7. Go to "API permissions" and add PowerBI Service permissions

2. Environment Variables

Create a .env file or set these environment variables:

POWERBI_TENANT_ID=your-tenant-id
POWERBI_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
POWERBI_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret

3. Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd powerbi-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
pip install mcp[cli] httpx pandas openpyxl

# Or using uv
uv add "mcp[cli]" httpx pandas openpyxl

4. Running the Server

Development Mode
mcp dev powerbi_server.py
Claude Desktop Integration
mcp install powerbi_server.py --name "PowerBI Server"
Direct Execution
python powerbi_server.py

Usage Examples

Analyzing a Dataset

  1. Use the get_workspaces tool to find your workspace ID
  2. Use get_datasets to find the dataset you want to analyze
  3. Use get_dataset to get detailed information about the specific dataset
  4. Use get_dataset_schema to understand available tables and columns
  5. Use analyze_data_quality to get insights about data completeness
  6. Use the "analyze_dataset_prompt" for comprehensive analysis guidance

Creating Visualizations

  1. Use generate_visualization_suggestions to get chart recommendations
  2. Use create_dax_for_visualization to generate optimized measures
  3. Use create_visualization_ready_data to format data for charts
  4. Use create_report to create PowerBI reports
  5. Export data for external visualization tools if needed
  6. Use visualization prompts for design guidance

Data Transformation

  1. Use export_data_to_csv to extract raw data
  2. Use create_calculated_column to add derived fields
  3. Use create_measure for aggregations
  4. Use the "data_cleaning_prompt" for transformation guidance

API Reference

Authentication

The server uses OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow for authentication. Tokens are automatically refreshed as needed.

Error Handling

All tools return a standardized response format:

{
  "success": boolean,
  "data": object,  // Present on success
  "error": string  // Present on failure
}

Rate Limiting

The PowerBI API has rate limits. The server handles basic retry logic, but you may need to implement additional throttling for high-volume operations.

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

  • Verify your Azure app registration has the correct permissions
  • Ensure the client secret hasn't expired
  • Check that the tenant ID is correct

API Permissions

  • Make sure your app has admin consent for PowerBI API permissions
  • Verify the service principal has access to the required workspaces

Data Access

  • Ensure your Azure app has been granted access to PowerBI workspaces
  • Check if datasets require specific permissions for programmatic access

Security Considerations

  1. Secrets Management: Never commit credentials to version control
  2. Least Privilege: Only grant necessary PowerBI permissions
  3. Token Security: Tokens are stored in memory and automatically refreshed
  4. Network Security: Use HTTPS in production deployments

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please ensure you:

  1. Follow the existing code style
  2. Add appropriate error handling
  3. Update documentation for new features
  4. Test thoroughly with different PowerBI configurations

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.