dataflows-save-as-authoring-clivon microsoft
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npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/skills-for-fabric --skill dataflows-save-as-authoring-cliUpdate Check — ONCE PER SESSION (mandatory) The first time this skill is used in a session, run the check-updates skill before proceeding.
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check-updatesskill.- Claude Code / Cowork / Cursor / Windsurf / Codex: compare local vs remote package.json version.
- Skip if the check was already performed earlier in this session.
CRITICAL NOTES
- To find the workspace details (including its ID) from workspace name: list all workspaces and, then, use JMESPath filtering
- To find the item details (including its ID) from workspace ID, item type, and item name: list all items of that type in that workspace and, then, use JMESPath filtering
Dataflow Save-As — Gen1 → Gen2.1 CI/CD via CLI
A save-as companion for creating upgraded Gen2.1 copies from Power BI Gen1 dataflows using readiness assessment and guarded execution.
We currently cannot perform an in-place migration of your dataflow. We can use save-as to create an upgraded Gen2.1 copy while preserving the original Gen1 dataflow.
Table of Contents
| Task | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Finding Workspaces and Items in Fabric | COMMON-CLI.md § Finding Workspaces and Items | Mandatory — READ link first |
| Fabric Topology & Key Concepts | COMMON-CORE.md § Fabric Topology | |
| Environment URLs | COMMON-CORE.md § Environment URLs | |
| Authentication & Token Acquisition | COMMON-CORE.md § Authentication | Wrong audience = 401 |
| Core Control-Plane REST APIs | COMMON-CORE.md § Core REST APIs | Pagination, LRO polling, rate limits |
| Tool Selection Rationale | COMMON-CLI.md § Tool Selection | |
| Authentication Recipes | COMMON-CLI.md § Auth Recipes | az login flows and token acquisition |
Fabric Control-Plane API via az rest | COMMON-CLI.md § az rest | Always pass --resource |
| Gotchas & Troubleshooting (CLI) | COMMON-CLI.md § Gotchas | az rest audience, shell escaping |
| Quick Reference | COMMON-CLI.md § Quick Ref | Token audience / tool matrix |
| Dataflow Definition Structure | DATAFLOWS-AUTHORING-CORE.md § Definition | 3-part format for Gen2 CI/CD |
| Consumption Capability Matrix | DATAFLOWS-CONSUMPTION-CORE.md § Capabilities | Read-only discovery patterns |
| Upgrade CLI Quick Reference | upgrade-cli-quickref.md | All az rest one-liners for scanning & save-as |
| Risk Assessment Guide | risk-assessment-guide.md | Risk signal detection logic & API calls |
Tool Stack
| Tool | Role | Install |
|---|---|---|
az CLI | Primary: Auth (az login), REST API calls (az rest) against both Fabric and Power BI APIs. | Pre-installed in most dev environments |
jq | Parse and filter JSON responses (dataflow lists, risk signal extraction). | Pre-installed or trivial |
base64 | Decode dataflow definitions for inspection. | Built into bash / [Convert]::ToBase64String() in PowerShell |
Agent check — verify before first operation:
az --version 2>/dev/null || echo "INSTALL: https://aka.ms/install-azure-cli" jq --version 2>/dev/null || echo "INSTALL: apt-get install jq OR brew install jq"
Authentication & API Audiences
This skill uses two distinct API audiences. Using the wrong audience returns 401.
| API | Audience (--resource) | Use For |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric Items API | https://api.fabric.microsoft.com | List Gen2 dataflows (Fabric-native), workspace discovery |
| Power BI REST API | https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api | Gen1 dataflow discovery, saveAsNativeArtifact, data sources, upstream dataflows, Admin API scanning |
# Fabric Items API — list Gen2 dataflows in a workspace
az rest --method get \
--resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
--url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows"
# Power BI REST API — list all dataflows (Gen1 + Gen2) in a workspace
az rest --method get \
--resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$WS_ID/dataflows"
# Power BI Admin API — list all dataflows tenant-wide (requires admin role)
az rest --method get \
--resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/admin/dataflows"
Phase 1 — Awareness & Readiness
Goal: "Should I use save-as, and what will happen when I create a Gen2.1 copy?"
Agentic Workflow: Discover → Assess → Classify → Report
Follow this sequence for every save-as assessment:
- Discover — Scan workspace(s) to inventory all dataflows, identifying Gen1 vs Gen2
- Assess — For each Gen1 dataflow, check seven risk signals
- Classify — Assign a readiness category: ✅ Safe / ⚠️ Manual followups / ❌ Blocked
- Report — Output a Save-As Readiness Snapshot (markdown table + JSON)
Step 1: Discover — Identify Gen1 Dataflows
The Power BI REST API returns a generation property (value 1 or 2) on each dataflow. This is the preferred detection method — a single API call per workspace.
Non-Admin Path (per workspace)
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
RESOURCE_PBI="https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api"
# List all dataflows — the `generation` property distinguishes Gen1 from Gen2
ALL_DATAFLOWS=$(az rest --method get \
--resource "$RESOURCE_PBI" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$WS_ID/dataflows" \
--query "value[].{id:objectId, name:name, generation:generation, modelUrl:modelUrl, configuredBy:configuredBy}" -o json)
# Filter Gen1 dataflows
echo "$ALL_DATAFLOWS" | jq '[.[] | select(.generation == 1)]'
# Filter Gen2 dataflows
echo "$ALL_DATAFLOWS" | jq '[.[] | select(.generation == 2)]'
Tip: A
modelUrlpointing todfs.core.windows.netadditionally indicates BYOSA (customer-managed storage) — a save-as blocker.
Admin Path (tenant-wide)
Requires Fabric administrator role or service principal with Tenant.Read.All scope. Rate limited to 200 requests/hour.
RESOURCE_PBI="https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api"
# List ALL dataflows in the tenant
ADMIN_DATAFLOWS=$(az rest --method get \
--resource "$RESOURCE_PBI" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/admin/dataflows" \
--query "value[].{id:objectId, name:name, workspaceId:workspaceId, modelUrl:modelUrl, configuredBy:configuredBy}" \
-o json)
# Filter Gen1 dataflows — those with a modelUrl indicate CDM/Gen1 storage
# Note: Admin API may not expose the `generation` property; use modelUrl as fallback
echo "$ADMIN_DATAFLOWS" | jq '[.[] | select(.modelUrl != null and .modelUrl != "")]'
Note: The Admin API supports
$filter,$top, and$skipfor pagination on large tenants.
Step 2: Assess — Check Risk Signals
For each Gen1 dataflow found, evaluate seven risk signals. See risk-assessment-guide.md for detailed API calls.
| # | Risk Signal | Detection Method | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Incremental refresh | Check dataflow definition for incremental refresh policy configuration | ⚠️ Schedule migrates in disabled state; must re-enable and validate |
| 2 | BYOSA / Custom ADLS Gen2 storage | Check modelUrl — if points to customer storage account (not Power BI managed) | ❌ Data stays in old storage; Gen2 CI/CD uses Fabric-managed storage |
| 3 | Power Automate / API triggers | Check for external orchestration referencing the Gen1 dataflow ID | ⚠️ All integrations must update to new Gen2 artifact ID |
| 4 | Downstream pipeline dependencies | Check Fabric pipelines for dataflow activity references | ⚠️ Pipeline activities reference dataflow by ID; must re-bind |
| 5 | Linked / computed entities | Inspect dataflow definition for entity references to other dataflows | ⚠️/❌ Cross-dataflow references may break if source dataflows are not saved first |
| 6 | DirectQuery connections | Inspect data source types in definition | ❌ DirectQuery not supported in Gen2 CI/CD dataflows |
| 7 | Caller is not owner / insufficient role | Compare configuredBy against az account show --query user.name -o tsv — or attempt call and catch DataflowUnauthorizedError | ❌ saveAsNativeArtifact requires the caller to be the dataflow owner or have Contributor/Admin in the source workspace; Viewer/Member without ownership cannot execute save-as |
Step 3: Classify — Readiness Categories
| Category | Criteria | Action |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ Safe | No risk signals detected | Create a Gen2.1 save-as copy with saveAsNativeArtifact |
| ⚠️ Manual followups | Risk signals 1, 3, 4, or 5 (non-blocking) | Execute save-as, then remediate flagged issues |
| ❌ Blocked | Risk signals 2, 6, or 7 (blocking) | Cannot execute save-as until blocker is resolved |
Tip — detect ownership before save-as: The
configuredByfield in the dataflow list response contains the owner's email. Compare it against the currently logged-in user (az account show --query user.name -o tsv). If they don't match and your workspace role is below Contributor, flag the dataflow as ❌ Blocked (signal 7) and escalate to the owner.
Step 4: Report — Save-As Readiness Snapshot
Markdown Output (terminal)
## Save-As Readiness Snapshot
| Workspace | Dataflow | Type | Readiness | Risk Signals | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Analytics | SalesETL | Gen1 | ✅ Safe | None | Save as Gen2.1 copy now |
| Sales Analytics | CustomerLoad | Gen1 | ⚠️ Manual | Incremental refresh, Pipeline dep | Save as Gen2.1 copy, then re-enable schedule & update pipeline |
| Finance | FinanceDaily | Gen1 | ❌ Blocked | BYOSA storage | Resolve storage dependency first |
JSON Output (automation)
{
"snapshotDate": "2025-04-13T10:00:00Z",
"summary": { "total": 3, "safe": 1, "manual": 1, "blocked": 1 },
"dataflows": [
{
"workspaceName": "Sales Analytics",
"workspaceId": "...",
"dataflowName": "SalesETL",
"dataflowId": "...",
"type": "Gen1",
"readiness": "safe",
"riskSignals": [],
"recommendation": "Save as Gen2.1 copy now",
"saveAsPath": "saveAsNativeArtifact"
}
]
}
Save JSON to file: pipe to
jq '.' > readiness-snapshot.json
Execute with Guardrails
Goal: Invoke save-as and capture outcomes safely.
Gen1 → Gen2.1 CI/CD: saveAsNativeArtifact API
POST https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/{groupId}/dataflows/{gen1DataflowId}/saveAsNativeArtifact
This is a Preview API. It creates a new Gen2.1 CI/CD artifact copy while preserving the original Gen1 dataflow.
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
GEN1_ID="<gen1DataflowId>"
# Write body to a temp file — az rest wraps inline --body in an envelope
# on some platforms, causing "saveAsRequest is a required parameter" errors.
cat > /tmp/save-as-body.json <<'EOF'
{
"displayName": "MyDataflow_Gen2CICD",
"description": "Saved as Gen2.1 copy from Gen1",
"includeSchedule": true,
"targetWorkspaceId": "<targetWorkspaceId>"
}
EOF
az rest --method post \
--resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$WS_ID/dataflows/$GEN1_ID/saveAsNativeArtifact" \
--headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
--body @/tmp/save-as-body.json
Gotcha — inline body: Passing JSON inline via
--body '{...}'can causeaz restto wrap the payload in an extra envelope, resulting in"saveAsRequest is a required parameter"errors. Always use file-based body (--body @file.json) for this endpoint.
Gotcha — Windows
az.cmd: On Windows, omit-o jsonfromsaveAsNativeArtifactcalls — the flag produces"A value that is not valid (json) was specified for the outputFormat parameter"when routed throughaz.cmd. Capture output without-o jsonand parse withConvertFrom-Jsonin PowerShell, or pipe tojqin bash.
Gotcha — not idempotent (duplicate artifacts on retry):
saveAsNativeArtifactcreates a new artifact every time it is called. If a batch is interrupted and re-run, you will end up with multiple copies in the target workspace. To make retries safe: (1) check whether a Gen2 artifact with the intended name already exists before calling, or (2) include a timestamp indisplayNameand treat each run as a distinct artifact.
Gotcha — owner permissions: You must be the dataflow owner or have Contributor/Admin in the source workspace to call
saveAsNativeArtifact. If you are only a Viewer or Workspace Member who does not own the dataflow, the API returnsDataflowUnauthorizedError. Ask the dataflow owner or a workspace admin to run the save-as operation for those dataflows.
Request parameters:
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
displayName | string (max 200) | No | Name for new artifact. Auto-generated with _copy1 suffix if omitted |
description | string (max 4000) | No | Description. Copied from source if omitted |
includeSchedule | boolean | No | Copy refresh schedule in disabled state |
targetWorkspaceId | string (uuid) | No | Target workspace. Same workspace if omitted |
Response: 200 OK with SaveAsNativeDataflowResponse:
artifactMetadata— full metadata of the new Gen2 CI/CD artifact (includingobjectId,provisionState)errors[]— non-fatal warning codes (save-as succeeds even if these occur):FailedToCopySchedule— schedule could not be copiedSetDataflowOriginFailed— origin tracking not setConnectionsUpdateFailed— connection strings could not be updated to Fabric format
Gen2 → Gen2 CI/CD: In-Place Upgrade
NOT YET AVAILABLE — This API is not available in the current public surface. This skill will be updated when the endpoint is published. Do not attempt to call a non-existent endpoint.
Post-Save-As Validation Checklist
Run these checks after save-as before any Gen1 cleanup:
- Confirm
artifactMetadata.provisionStatereachesActive. - Review
errors[]inSaveAsNativeDataflowResponseand create follow-up tasks for each warning. - Confirm the new artifact exists in the target workspace and has expected name/description.
- Verify dependent orchestration (pipelines, flows, API callers) is updated to the new artifact ID.
- Only trigger refresh when the user explicitly approves.
Must/Prefer/Avoid
MUST DO
- Always pass
--resourcetoaz rest— use the correct audience per the API table above. Wrong audience = silent 401. - Always include
--headers "Content-Type=application/json"on POST calls to the Power BI REST API. - Use file-based body for
saveAsNativeArtifact— pass--body @file.jsoninstead of inline JSON. Inline--body '{...}'can causeaz restto wrap the payload in an extra envelope, producing"saveAsRequest is a required parameter"errors. - On Windows, omit
-o jsononsaveAsNativeArtifactcalls — useConvertFrom-Jsonin PowerShell or pipe tojqinstead. The-o jsonflag fails with"A value that is not valid (json)"error when routed throughaz.cmd. - Verify you are the dataflow owner or Contributor before save-as —
saveAsNativeArtifactreturnsDataflowUnauthorizedErrorfor non-owners who are only Workspace Members or Viewers. - Check for existing Gen2 artifacts before retrying —
saveAsNativeArtifactis not idempotent; interrupted batch runs create duplicate copies on retry. Either verify the target name is absent before calling, or use a unique timestampeddisplayNameper run. - Scan before save-as — always run the readiness scan before execution.
- Never refresh without explicit user consent — the Gen2 CI/CD artifact schedule is created in disabled state for safety.
- Check
errors[]in saveAsNativeArtifact response — save-as may succeed with non-fatal warnings. - Verify
provisionStateisActiveafter save-as — poll the artifact metadata until terminal state. - Preserve the original Gen1 dataflow —
saveAsNativeArtifactleaves the Gen1 intact. Do not delete it until post-save-as validation passes.
PREFER
- Admin API for tenant-wide scanning — more efficient than workspace-by-workspace for large tenants.
- JSON output for automation — markdown is for human review, JSON for scripting and CI/CD integration.
- Topological save-as order — save upstream dataflows (with linked entities) before downstream consumers.
- Readiness-first execution — do not skip readiness assessment before save-as.
generationproperty for Gen1 detection — the Power BI REST API returnsgeneration: 1orgeneration: 2on each dataflow. Use this single-API-call approach over cross-API comparison.modelUrlcheck as secondary signal — dataflows with amodelUrlpointing todfs.core.windows.netare Gen1 using customer storage (BYOSA blocker).
AVOID
- Saving blocked (❌) dataflows — resolve BYOSA storage and DirectQuery issues first.
- Batch save-as without review — always review the readiness snapshot before saving multiple dataflows.
- Hardcoded workspace/dataflow IDs — resolve dynamically via REST API.
- Ignoring non-fatal errors —
FailedToCopySchedule,ConnectionsUpdateFailed, etc. require manual follow-up. - Calling the Gen2→Gen2 CI/CD in-place save-as API — it does not exist yet. Do not fabricate endpoints.
- Deleting Gen1 artifacts without explicit user consent — never delete Gen1 dataflows unless the user explicitly approves deletion, even after post-save-as validation confirms data integrity.
- Using
-o jsonwithsaveAsNativeArtifacton Windows — omit the flag; capture raw output and parse it explicitly. - Re-running batch save-as scripts without idempotency checks — always verify the target artifact doesn't already exist to avoid duplicate copies in the workspace.
Examples
Example 1: Full Phase 1 — Readiness Scan for a Single Workspace
Prompt: "Scan my Sales workspace for Gen1 dataflows and show me a readiness snapshot"
Agent response:
# Step 1 — Resolve workspace ID
WS_ID=$(az rest --method get \
--resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
--url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces" \
--query "value[?displayName=='Sales'].id" -o tsv)
# Step 2 — List all dataflows with generation property
ALL_DFS=$(az rest --method get \
--resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$WS_ID/dataflows" -o json)
# Step 3 — Filter Gen1 dataflows by generation property
GEN1_DFS=$(echo "$ALL_DFS" | jq '[.value[] | select(.generation == 1) |
{id: .objectId, name: .name, generation: .generation, modelUrl: .modelUrl}]')
echo "Gen1 dataflows found: $(echo $GEN1_DFS | jq length)"
echo "$GEN1_DFS" | jq '.'
Example 2: Save-As a Gen1 Dataflow to Gen2.1
Prompt: "Migrate or upgrade the SalesETL Gen1 dataflow in my Sales workspace"
Agent response:
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
GEN1_ID="<gen1DataflowId>"
# Write body to file (avoids az rest envelope wrapping)
cat > /tmp/save-as-body.json <<'EOF'
{"displayName": "SalesETL_Gen2CICD", "includeSchedule": true}
EOF
# Execute save-as
RESPONSE=$(az rest --method post \
--resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$WS_ID/dataflows/$GEN1_ID/saveAsNativeArtifact" \
--headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
--body @/tmp/save-as-body.json)
# Check result
echo "$RESPONSE" | jq '{
newId: .artifactMetadata.objectId,
state: .artifactMetadata.provisionState,
errors: .errors
}'
Example 3: Tenant-Wide Admin Scan
Prompt: "Show me all Gen1 dataflows across the entire tenant"
Agent response:
# Requires Fabric administrator role
ALL_DFS=$(az rest --method get \
--resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" \
--url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/admin/dataflows" -o json)
# Gen1 dataflows have a modelUrl
echo "$ALL_DFS" | jq '[.value[] | select(.modelUrl != null and .modelUrl != "") |
{id: .objectId, name: .name, workspace: .workspaceId,
owner: .configuredBy, storage: .modelUrl}]'