microsoft/dataflows-authoring-cli

Update Check — ONCE PER SESSION (mandatory) The first time this skill is used in a session, run the check-updates skill before proceeding.

• GitHub Copilot CLI / VS Code: invoke the check-updates skill.
• 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

1. To find the workspace details (including its ID) from workspace name: list all workspaces and, then, use JMESPath filtering
2. 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

dataflows-authoring-cli — Dataflows Gen2 Authoring via CLI

Table of Contents

This skill (SKILL.md)

| Section | Notes | |---|---| | Tool Stack | az + jq + base64 + curl | | Connection | Workspace/dataflow ID discovery | | Agentic Workflows | Start here. A: create end-to-end; B: modify existing; C: preview loop | | MUST DO / AVOID / PREFER | Authoring rules | | Troubleshooting | Symptom → fix table | | Examples | Runnable bash + PowerShell recipes | | Output Expectations | Response conventions |

References (in references/)

| File | When to read | |---|---| | authoring-cli-quickref.md | One-liner recipes, status enums, base64 helpers, connection-binding quick patterns | | authoring-script-templates.md | Full bash + PowerShell templates; end-to-end smoke test; LRO polling pattern | | connection-management.md | List/create/inspect connections; supportedConnectionTypes; resolve ClusterId; ID format cheat sheet | | mashup-preview.md | executeQuery contract: bootstrap branch, auto-wrap rule, hard avoid for unbounded preview | | output-destinations.md | Output destination patterns: Lakehouse Table, Lakehouse Files, Warehouse, ADX, Azure SQL. DataDestinations annotation, hidden query, loadEnabled rules, connection limitations |

Common refs (in ../../common/)

| File | When to read | |---|---| | COMMON-CLI.md | az login, token acquisition, az rest, pagination, LRO polling, CLI gotchas. § Finding Workspaces and Items in Fabric is mandatory. | | COMMON-CORE.md | Fabric topology, environment URLs, authentication, core REST API surface | | ITEM-DEFINITIONS-CORE.md | Definition envelope; per-item-type payload contracts | | DATAFLOWS-AUTHORING-CORE.md | Authoring capability matrix; 3-part definition structure; M structure; connection model; ALM / Git integration |

Sister skills

| Skill | Use for | |---|---| | dataflows-consumption-cli | Execute persisted queries; ad-hoc read-only customMashupDocument with no intent to persist; Arrow → CSV/pandas conversion; refresh status/history. |

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Tool Stack

| Tool | Role | Install | |---|---|---| | az CLI | Primary: Auth (az login), REST API calls (az rest), token acquisition. | Pre-installed in most dev environments | | jq | Parse and manipulate JSON responses and definition payloads. | Pre-installed or trivial | | base64 | Encode/decode definition parts for the REST API. | Built into bash / [Convert]::ToBase64String() in PowerShell | | curl | Alternative to az rest when raw HTTP control is needed. | Pre-installed | | uuidgen | Generate per-query / per-platform GUIDs for queryId and logicalId when building a new dataflow definition (Workflow A). | Pre-installed on Linux/macOS; on Windows use PowerShell [guid]::NewGuid().Guid or run via WSL |

Agent check — verify az, jq, and curl are available before first operation. uuidgen is only needed for Workflow A (Create). For installation and auth setup see COMMON-CLI.md.

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Connection

Discover Workspace and Dataflow IDs

Per COMMON-CLI.md Finding Workspaces and Items in Fabric:

# List workspaces — find workspace ID by name
az rest --method get \
  --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
  --url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces" \
  --query "value[?displayName=='MyWorkspace'].id" --output tsv

# List dataflows in workspace — find dataflow ID by name
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
az rest --method get \
  --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" \
  --url "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows" \
  --query "value[?displayName=='MyDataflow'].id" --output tsv

Reusable Connection Variables

WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
DF_ID="<dataflowId>"
API="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1"
RESOURCE="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"

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Agentic Workflows

Three workflows cover the typical authoring tasks:

• A. Create a New Dataflow End-to-End — discover/create a connection, create the dataflow, save M + bindings, validate, optionally refresh.
• B. Modify an Existing Dataflow — read-modify-write the definition; the canonical Discover → Formulate → Execute → Verify loop.
• C. Preview-Driven Authoring Loop — iterate on candidate M via executeQuery before persisting via updateDefinition.
• D. Output Destination — write query results to Lakehouse (table/files), Warehouse, ADX, or Azure SQL via DataDestinations annotation. Full reference: output-destinations.md.

A. Create a New Dataflow End-to-End

Use this when the dataflow does not yet exist. Covers the full happy path: discover-or-create a connection, create the dataflow shell, save M + bindings in one updateDefinition, validate, optionally refresh.

Steps:

1. List existing connections and filter by connectionDetails.type and the target URL/host — reuse if a match exists (GET /v1/connections + JMESPath).
2. If no match, create the connection. First GET /v1/connections/supportedConnectionTypes to discover required parameters and supported credential types, then POST /v1/connections (sync 201). Body shape and credential schemas: connection-management.md.
3. Resolve ClusterId for the composite binding. GET https://api.powerbi.com/v2.0/myorg/me/gatewayClusterDatasources with --query "value[?id=='$CONN_ID'] | [0].clusterId", audience --resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" (no trailing slash). The per-id route returns PowerBIEntityNotFound for cloud connections. Newly-created connections may take a few seconds to surface — retry on empty. Detail: connection-management.md § Resolving ClusterId.
4. Create the dataflow shell. POST /v1/workspaces/{ws}/dataflows with {"displayName":"…"} returns sync 201. The definition field is optional at create time and can be set in the next step.
5. Save M + connection bindings in one call. POST /v1/workspaces/{ws}/dataflows/{df}/updateDefinition?updateMetadata=true with three parts: mashup.pq (real Web.Contents / Sql.Database / …), queryMetadata.json (with connections[] populated; each connectionId is the stringified composite {"ClusterId":"…","DatasourceId":"…"}), and .platform. Typically returns sync 200; may return 202 + LRO Location on large bodies — handle both.
6. Verify the binding persisted. Re-call getDefinition, decode queryMetadata.json, and confirm connections[] is intact. Do not use GET /items/{id}/connections for verification — that endpoint reflects refresh-materialized state, not the persisted definition, and returns 0 even after a successful bind. See AVOID.
7. (Optional) Validate via executeQuery before refresh. POST /v1/workspaces/{ws}/dataflows/{df}/executeQuery with body {"QueryName":"<shared-member>"} (top-level, PascalCase QueryName). See Workflow C.
8. (Optional) Trigger refresh to materialize. POST .../jobs/instances?jobType=Refresh with body {"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}. ApplyChangesIfNeeded is required on the first refresh after any definition change — without it, Fabric refreshes the previously-applied definition. Poll the LRO until status is Completed (refresh enum) or Failed/Cancelled.

# Concise skeleton — full runnable bash is Example 1 below.
# PowerShell + LRO-polled variants: references/authoring-script-templates.md

WS_ID="<workspaceId>"; URL="<source-url>"
RES="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"; API="$RES/v1"
PBI="https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api"

# 1. List existing & try reuse
CONN_ID=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RES" --url "$API/connections" \
  --query "value[?connectionDetails.type=='Web' && connectionDetails.path=='$URL'] | [0].id" -o tsv)

# 2. Create connection if missing — see connection-management.md for full body
# 3. List+filter for ClusterId
CLUSTER_ID=$(az rest --method get --resource "$PBI" \
  --url "https://api.powerbi.com/v2.0/myorg/me/gatewayClusterDatasources" \
  --query "value[?id=='$CONN_ID'] | [0].clusterId" -o tsv)

# 4. Empty dataflow shell — sync 201
SHELL_BODY=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp)
printf '{"displayName":"my-df"}' > "$SHELL_BODY"
DF_ID=$(az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
  --url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows" \
  --headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
  --body "@$SHELL_BODY" --query id -o tsv)
rm -f "$SHELL_BODY"

# 5. One-shot updateDefinition with real M + connections[] (sync 200 typical)
#    Body assembly (mashup.pq + queryMetadata.json + .platform, base64-encoded;
#    queryMetadata.json.connections[].connectionId = composite ClusterId/DatasourceId):
#    see Example 1 below.

# 6. Verify via getDefinition (NOT GET /items/{id}/connections — see AVOID)
# 7. (optional) executeQuery — Workflow C
# 8. (optional) Refresh with executeOption=ApplyChangesIfNeeded — Example 2

One-shot vs two-step bind+save. Steps 4-5 can be one call (default; saves an HTTP round trip) or split into a bootstrap-bind updateDefinition followed by a full-M updateDefinition. Both work — see PREFER.

B. Modify an Existing Dataflow

Use this when the dataflow already exists. Canonical Discover → Formulate → Execute → Verify loop. If the dataflow does not yet exist, see Workflow A instead.

1. Discover — list workspaces, list dataflows, getDefinition (decode mashup.pq and queryMetadata.json). Validate all connections[] entries via GET /v1/connections/{id}.
2. Formulate — modify M, re-encode parts, ensure every referenced connectionId exists in the caller's connection store.
3. Execute — POST .../updateDefinition?updateMetadata=true with all 3 parts (full replacement). Optionally trigger refresh.
4. Verify — re-call getDefinition to confirm changes; poll refresh LRO; for refresh failures, isolate M+source via executeQuery before re-triggering.

# Concise skeleton — full templates: references/authoring-script-templates.md
# Acquire $TOKEN per common/COMMON-CLI.md § Token-in-Variable Pattern (resource = $RESOURCE).
RESOURCE="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"; API="$RESOURCE/v1"

# 1. Discover — getDefinition (handles 200 sync and 202 + LRO via curl)
HDR=$(mktemp); BODY=$(mktemp)
CODE=$(curl -sS -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Length: 0" \
  "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/getDefinition" \
  -D "$HDR" -o "$BODY" -w "%{http_code}")
if [ "$CODE" = "202" ]; then
  LOC=$(tr -d '\r' < "$HDR" | grep -i "^location:" | awk '{print $2}')
  RETRY=$(tr -d '\r' < "$HDR" | grep -i "^retry-after:" | awk '{print $2}'); RETRY=${RETRY:-5}
  while :; do
    sleep "$RETRY"
    OP=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RESOURCE" --url "$LOC")
    case "$(echo "$OP" | jq -r '.status // empty')" in
      Succeeded) RESULT=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RESOURCE" --url "${LOC%/}/result"); break ;;
      Failed|Cancelled) echo "ERROR: getDefinition $(echo "$OP" | jq -r '.status')" >&2; exit 1 ;;
    esac
  done
else
  RESULT=$(cat "$BODY")
fi
rm -f "$HDR" "$BODY"

# Validate bound connections (connectionId is a composite JSON string — iterate safely)
QUERY_META=$(echo "$RESULT" | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path=="queryMetadata.json") | .payload' | base64 -d)
echo "$QUERY_META" | jq -c '.connections[]?' | while IFS= read -r conn; do
  RAW=$(echo "$conn" | jq -r '.connectionId')
  DATASOURCE_ID=$(echo "$RAW" | jq -r '.DatasourceId? // empty' 2>/dev/null)
  [ -z "$DATASOURCE_ID" ] && DATASOURCE_ID="$RAW"
  # GET /v1/connections/$DATASOURCE_ID to confirm access
done

# 2-3. Formulate & Execute — see Example 3
# 4. Verify — trigger refresh via curl (az rest cannot capture Location header).
#    Full LRO polling: references/authoring-script-templates.md.

C. Preview-Driven Authoring Loop (pre-save executeQuery — see mashup-preview.md)

When the change touches Power Query M (new query, edited mashup, new source, changed parameters), preview the candidate customMashupDocument against the dataflow's bound connections before persisting. Catches syntax, schema, and credential errors at authoring time. Full prerequisites, bootstrap branch, auto-wrap rule, hard-avoid for unbounded preview, and Apache Arrow handling: mashup-preview.md.

Intent split. This workflow is for the pre-save intent. To execute a saved query (QueryName only) or run an ad-hoc read-only customMashupDocument with no intent to persist, use dataflows-consumption-cli. mashup-preview.md is the shared API reference for both intents.

Minimal ordered steps:

1. Locate or create the dataflow shell — POST /v1/workspaces/{ws}/dataflows with {"displayName":"…"} (workflow A step 4).
2. Ensure connections are bound — for new credentialed sources, do a minimal updateDefinition with queryMetadata.json connections[] first (the "bootstrap save"). A connections[] array declared only in the initial create payload is not yet visible to executeQuery.
3. Compose the candidate customMashupDocument as a complete section Section1; ... document. The request's QueryName (top-level, PascalCase) must match a shared member in the document.
4. Preview — POST /v1/workspaces/{ws}/dataflows/{df}/executeQuery with body {"QueryName": "<name>", "customMashupDocument": "<section>"}. Pass --output-file results.arrow — az rest writes the raw Apache Arrow IPC stream to disk. Arrow → CSV/pandas: dataflows-consumption-cli § Query Evaluation.
5. Validate the preview (two-tier — both required before persisting):
   • a. Embedded-error check. HTTP 200 is not proof of success; engine errors are embedded inside the stream as {"Error":"..."}. Quick scan: grep -q '"Error":"' results.arrow. Canonical pyarrow detector inspects schema metadata — see mashup-preview.md § Error handling — A.
   • b. Render head(10) as a markdown table to the user. The embedded-error check only catches engine-level failures (column not found, cast errors, SEM0100, etc.). It does not catch silent-success bugs: filter dropped all rows, wrong column referenced, wrong join key, off-by-one filter, wrong cast producing epoch dates. The 10-row visual lets the human verify shape, row count, and value sanity in seconds. Snippet + suppression rules: dataflows-consumption-cli § Example 5b.
6. Persist via updateDefinition — strip any preview-only Table.FirstN / TOP N / test-mode parameters from the saved mashup. Verify queryMetadata.json connections[] survived the full-replacement write before triggering refresh.

Skip the preview only for metadata-only edits (display name, schedule, loadEnabled toggle) or when the agent records an explicit skip reason (bootstrap, prohibitive cost, side-effecting source).

D. Output Destination

Use this when the dataflow should write query results to an external store (Lakehouse table, Lakehouse files, Warehouse, ADX, Azure SQL). Extends Workflow A with DataDestinations annotations and a hidden destination query. Full reference with complete examples: output-destinations.md.

Key requirements:

1. Source query carries a [DataDestinations = {[...]}] annotation referencing the destination query by name.
2. Hidden destination query (suffixed _DataDestination) navigates to the target storage using null-safe ?[Data]? (tables) or ?[Content]? (files) operators.
3. queryMetadata.json must set "loadEnabled": false on the destination query — refresh fails without it.
4. Always use IsNewTarget = true for API-created dataflows, even for existing tables.
5. Bind the appropriate connection (Lakehouse: kind "Lakehouse"; Warehouse: kind "Warehouse"; ADX: kind "AzureDataExplorer"; Azure SQL: kind "Sql") with composite ClusterId/DatasourceId ID.
6. First refresh must use ApplyChangesIfNeeded to publish the draft and reconcile annotations.
7. All source columns must be typed — Any-type columns are rejected by all destination types.

Supported destinations:

| Destination | Connection Kind | Destination Query Function | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Lakehouse Table | Lakehouse | Lakehouse.Contents(...) | Path: "Lakehouse" | | Lakehouse Files | Lakehouse | Lakehouse.Contents(...) | TypeSettings = [Kind = "File"], ?[Content]? | | Warehouse | Warehouse | Fabric.Warehouse(...) | Path: "Warehouse", Schema/Item navigation | | Azure Data Explorer | AzureDataExplorer | AzureDataExplorer.Contents(...) | Path must match connection exactly (trailing slash!) | | Azure SQL | Sql | Sql.Database(...) | Path: "server;database" |

Minimal steps: Create dataflow → Find/create connection → Resolve ClusterId → Save definition with OD annotations → Verify → Refresh.

# Skeleton — full PowerShell recipe: references/output-destinations.md § Complete Example
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"; LH_ID="<lakehouseId>"; RES="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"

# M pattern (two queries):
# 1. Source with [DataDestinations] annotation
# 2. Hidden _DataDestination query with ?[Data]? null-safe navigation
# queryMetadata: source loadEnabled=true, destination loadEnabled=false + isHidden=true
# Refresh: {"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}

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Gotchas, Rules, Troubleshooting

For full authoring gotchas: DATAFLOWS-AUTHORING-CORE.md Gotchas and Troubleshooting. For CLI-specific issues: COMMON-CLI.md Gotchas & Troubleshooting (CLI-Specific). For connection discovery: authoring-cli-quickref.md § Connection Discovery and Validation.

MUST DO

• az login first — all az rest calls use the active session. No session → 401.
• Use --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" for Fabric APIs. For Power BI v2 (gatewayClusterDatasources), use --resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api" without a trailing slash — the slashed form fails AADSTS500011 invalid_resource.
• Base64-encode all 3 definition parts — mashup.pq + queryMetadata.json + .platform, each payloadType: "InlineBase64". updateDefinition is a full replacement; sending 1 or 2 parts silently drops queries.
• Handle sync AND async responses. POST /dataflows, updateDefinition, and getDefinition typically return sync (200/201) but may return 202 + LRO Location on large bodies — handle both. See authoring-script-templates.md § Fabric LRO Polling Pattern.
• Set formatVersion: "202502" in queryMetadata.json and include a top-level name matching displayName — omitting either causes save-time failures or stale display-name state.
• loadEnabled is opt-out, not opt-in. Fabric auto-loads every query to the staging Lakehouse by default; set loadEnabled: false only on helper queries you do not want written. Note: loadEnabled: true is also stripped from queryMetadata.json on round-trip via getDefinition (it's the default) — its absence on read-back is not a bug. Detail: DATAFLOWS-AUTHORING-CORE.md § loadEnabled semantics.
• Use the right ID format per context. REST /v1/connections operations take the plain GUID from connection.id; queryMetadata.json connections[].connectionId takes the stringified composite {"ClusterId":"…","DatasourceId":"…"}. See connection-management.md § Connection ID Format Cheat Sheet.
• Resolve ClusterId via list+filter. GET .../gatewayClusterDatasources filtered by value[?id=='$CONN_ID']. The per-id route returns PowerBIEntityNotFound for cloud connections; newly-created connections may need a 5-15 s retry. See connection-management.md § Resolving ClusterId.
• executeQuery body uses a top-level QueryName field (PascalCase canonical; the field name itself is case-insensitive on the wire — lowercase queryName also evaluates). Value must name a shared member from the persisted M or the supplied customMashupDocument. The {"queries":[…]} array shape always fails with DataflowExecuteQueryError: Invalid query name; a wrong query name returns QueryNotFound. Full contract: mashup-preview.md § Request body.
• First refresh after any updateDefinition MUST use executeOption: "ApplyChangesIfNeeded". Body: {"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}. Without it, Fabric refreshes the previously-applied definition.
• Call GET /v1/connections/supportedConnectionTypes before POST /v1/connections — never guess parameter names or credential types; they vary by connector, tenant, and time.
• Validate referenced connections before refresh. For each connectionId in queryMetadata.json, GET /v1/connections/{id} (plain GUID extracted from the composite). Cryptic EntityUserFailure at refresh time is often a missing/inaccessible connection. See connection-management.md.
• Bootstrap-bind connections before previewing credentialed M. A connections[] array in the initial create payload is not yet visible to executeQuery; persist it through at least one updateDefinition first. Detail: mashup-preview.md § Bootstrap branch.
• Send a full section Section1; ... document in customMashupDocument — executeQuery does not auto-wrap raw expressions. See mashup-preview.md § customMashupDocument format.
• Preview candidate M via executeQuery before updateDefinition — unless the change is metadata-only or the agent records an explicit skip reason. Treat preview success as "M evaluates"; treat the next refresh as the real go/no-go.
• Pass JSON bodies via --body "@<file>", not inline. Write to $env:TEMP\<name>.json (PowerShell, UTF-8 no-BOM via [IO.File]::WriteAllText) or /tmp/<name>.json (bash). Inline --body "<json>" is fragile in bash and broken on Windows because cmd.exe's argument parser mangles embedded quotes. See authoring-script-templates.md § PowerShell — Create Dataflow with Definition.
• Prefer WorkspaceIdentity / ServicePrincipal credentials for unattended refresh. OAuth2 + singleSignOnType: None works for interactive executeQuery but is fragile under tenant Conditional Access for service-context refresh. Check supported types via supportedConnectionTypes.

AVOID

• Adding a format property to definition — Items API uses parts[] only; "format": "json" returns 400 InvalidDefinitionFormat.
• Hardcoded workspace/dataflow GUIDs — discover via REST API (Connection section).
• Using GET /v1/workspaces/{ws}/items/{itemId}/connections to verify a freshly-bound dataflow. It reflects refresh-materialized state, not the persisted definition, and returns 0 after a successful bind. Verify via getDefinition + decode queryMetadata.json.connections[].
• Assuming updateDefinition / POST /dataflows is always LRO. Typical responses are sync (200/201); handle both shapes — see MUST DO above.
• Requesting the PBI v2 token with a trailing slash (--resource "https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/") — fails AADSTS500011 invalid_resource. Use the no-slash form.
• Per-id gatewayClusterDatasources/{id} for cloud connections — returns PowerBIEntityNotFound. Use list+filter (MUST DO above).
• {"queries":[…]} array body shape for executeQuery — always returns 400 DataflowExecuteQueryError: Invalid query name regardless of inner casing. Use a top-level QueryName (or queryName — the field is case-insensitive); pick exactly one query per call.
• Using GET for getDefinition — it's a POST endpoint; GET returns 405.
• Constructing operation URLs manually — always follow the Location header from a 202 response.
• Duplicate displayName values — not enforced but causes confusion.
• Binding connections by display name — connection IDs are the source of truth; names can change.
• Assuming all connections are accessible to all users. Visibility is per-caller: GET /v1/connections/{id} may return 403/404 for callers without access. An empty GET /v1/connections is not proof a connection is absent.
• Hand-crafting connection request bodies without supportedConnectionTypes — guessing produces 400 InvalidConnectionDetails / 400 InvalidCredentialDetails.
• Plaintext credentials in committed scripts — prefer Key-Vault-backed passwordReference / keyReference / tokenReference / servicePrincipalSecretReference.
• Templating on-prem gateway connection bodies as plaintext — OnPremisesGateway needs RSA-encrypted credentials per gateway member.
• Converting a published single-source dataflow to multi-source in place — bindings drift into inconsistent state; create fresh and retire the old.
• Persisting un-previewed candidate M via updateDefinition — executeQuery is significantly faster than the updateDefinition-then-debug-refresh loop. See mashup-preview.md.
• Unbounded preview against production-volume sources — executeQuery returns the full evaluated dataset. Inject Table.FirstN / TOP N / date predicate into the preview-only document; strip before saving. See mashup-preview.md § Hard avoid.
• Confusing executeQuery with EvaluateQuery. EvaluateQuery requires a prior successful refresh; executeQuery + customMashupDocument does not. Use executeQuery for the authoring preview loop.
• Inline --body on Windows/PowerShell — cmd.exe mangles quotes; always use --body "@$env:TEMP\<name>.json".

PREFER

• One-shot updateDefinition carrying real M + connections[] over a bootstrap-bind + save pair — saves an HTTP round trip; both are functionally equivalent. Use the two-step form for didactic walk-throughs or when the bootstrap M needs to differ from the production M (e.g., the bootstrap branch in mashup-preview.md).
• az rest over raw curl — handles token acquisition and refresh automatically. Fall back to curl only when you need to capture response headers (e.g., 202 LRO Location) — az rest cannot.
• getDefinition before updateDefinition — read-modify-write prevents accidental data loss; updateDefinition is a full replacement.
• ?updateMetadata=true on updateDefinition — ensures .platform changes (display name) are applied.
• jq for JSON manipulation — build definition payloads programmatically.
• "Automatic" for parameter type in job execution — lets the engine infer from definition.
• Env vars (WS_ID, DF_ID, API, RESOURCE) for script reuse.
• Batch connection validation — loop over queryMetadata.json connections[] and GET /v1/connections/{id} in one pass before refresh; optionally POST /v1/connections/{id}/testConnection to catch rotated credentials.

TROUBLESHOOTING

| Symptom | Fix | |---|---| | 401 Unauthorized | Verify az login is active; check --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" (or https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api no trailing slash for PBI v2). | | 405 Method Not Allowed on getDefinition | Use POST, not GET. | | updateDefinition silently drops queries | Send all 3 parts (mashup.pq, queryMetadata.json, .platform). | | executeQuery → 400 DataflowExecuteQueryError: Invalid query name | Body uses the {"queries":[…]} array shape — that always fails. Switch to a top-level {"QueryName":"<shared>"} (PascalCase canonical; the field is case-insensitive on the wire). | | executeQuery → 400 DataflowExecuteQueryError: ErrorCode: QueryNotFound | The value of QueryName doesn't match any shared member of the persisted M or supplied customMashupDocument. List queries via getDefinition → decode mashup.pq. | | GET /items/{id}/connections returns 0 after a successful bind | That endpoint reflects refresh-materialized state, not the definition. Verify via getDefinition → decode queryMetadata.json.connections[]. | | 404 / PowerBIEntityNotFound fetching ClusterId from gatewayClusterDatasources/{id} | Per-id route does not resolve cloud connections. Use list + filter: GET .../gatewayClusterDatasources --query "value[?id=='$CONN_ID'] \| [0].clusterId", audience https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api (no slash). Newly-created connections may need 5-15 s to surface — retry. See connection-management.md § Resolving ClusterId. | | Refresh fails on first run after updateDefinition (stale data, missing changes) | Body must include {"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}} on the first refresh after any definition change. | | Refresh fails with "Connection not found" | Extract connectionId (composite) from queryMetadata.json, parse DatasourceId, confirm via GET /v1/connections/{id}. | | connections[] missing after updateDefinition | Read-modify-write rebuilt queryMetadata.json from a snapshot without bindings. Re-bind and updateDefinition again before refresh. | | Refresh reports "connection not found" after create+bind | Wrong ID format in queryMetadata.json. REST id is plain GUID; connectionId is the stringified composite {"ClusterId":"…","DatasourceId":"…"}. | | formatVersion mismatch error | Set formatVersion: "202502" in queryMetadata.json. | | Fast copy not engaged | Add [StagingDefinition = [Kind = "FastCopy"]] before section in mashup.pq. | | LRO polling returns 404 | Use the Location header URL — don't construct operation URLs manually. | | 429 Too Many Requests | Respect Retry-After; exponential backoff. | | Base64 decode produces garbage | Strip trailing newlines; use base64 -w0 (Linux). | | Inline --body "<json>" returns 400 / empty body on Windows | cmd.exe arg parser mangles quotes when launching az.exe. Write to $env:TEMP\body.json (UTF-8, no BOM) and pass --body "@$env:TEMP\body.json". See authoring-script-templates.md § PowerShell — Create Dataflow with Definition. | | Refresh fails with EntityUserFailure / "Something went wrong" and no detail | (1) Confirm updateDefinition was called after create; (2) check credential type — OAuth2+singleSignOnType: None often fails under tenant Conditional Access for unattended refresh; prefer WorkspaceIdentity/ServicePrincipal; (3) executeQuery against the dataflow to isolate M+source; (4) GET https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/{ws}/dataflows/{df}/transactions (PBI v1.0) sometimes returns richer per-entity errors. |

---

Examples

Platform note — examples below are bash. On Windows / PowerShell the bash patterns (MASHUP='...' heredoc, echo -n | base64 -w0, tr -d '\r' | grep -i location | awk) cause real escaping pain and refresh-pattern flakes. PowerShell variants are linked from the two highest-friction examples (Create and Refresh) below. For full PowerShell templates (Create, Refresh, Validate Connections, Bind Connection, Create Cloud Connection): authoring-script-templates.md § PowerShell. On PowerShell, prefer --body "@$env:TEMP\body.json" and write the body via [IO.File]::WriteAllText($path, $body, [System.Text.UTF8Encoding]::new($false)) over Out-File (which writes a UTF-8 BOM on Windows PowerShell 5.1 and breaks az.exe body parsing) and over inline --body "{...}" (which cmd.exe mangles).

Example 1: Create a Dataflow Gen2 from Scratch

Prompt: "Create a new Dataflow Gen2 that reads a public CSV via the Web connector, and verify it."

Agent response — runnable bash implementation of Workflow A. PowerShell variant: authoring-script-templates.md § End-to-End Smoke Test.

# Prereqs: az login, jq, base64, uuidgen. Workspace must support Dataflow Gen2.
WS_ID="<workspaceId>"
DF_NAME="my-titanic-df"
CONN_NAME="my-titanic-web-conn"
URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/datasciencedojo/datasets/master/titanic.csv"
RES="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"; API="$RES/v1"
PBI="https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api"   # NO trailing slash

# Step 1: List existing connections, try to reuse by name.
CONN_ID=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RES" --url "$API/connections" \
  --query "value[?displayName=='$CONN_NAME'] | [0].id" -o tsv)

# Step 2: Create if missing (Web + Anonymous; see connection-management.md for other shapes).
if [ -z "$CONN_ID" ] || [ "$CONN_ID" = "null" ]; then
  BODY_FILE=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp)  # GNU + BSD/macOS compatible
  cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<EOF
{
  "displayName": "$CONN_NAME",
  "connectivityType": "ShareableCloud",
  "connectionDetails": {
    "type": "Web", "creationMethod": "Web",
    "parameters": [{"name": "url", "dataType": "Text", "value": "$URL"}]
  },
  "privacyLevel": "Organizational",
  "credentialDetails": {
    "singleSignOnType": "None", "connectionEncryption": "NotEncrypted",
    "skipTestConnection": false,
    "credentials": {"credentialType": "Anonymous"}
  }
}
EOF
  CONN_ID=$(az rest --method post --resource "$RES" --url "$API/connections" \
    --headers "Content-Type=application/json" --body "@$BODY_FILE" --query id -o tsv)
  rm -f "$BODY_FILE"
fi

# Step 3: Resolve ClusterId via list+filter; retry — PBI v2 lags by 5-15s on new conns.
for i in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8; do
  CLUSTER_ID=$(az rest --method get --resource "$PBI" \
    --url "https://api.powerbi.com/v2.0/myorg/me/gatewayClusterDatasources" \
    --query "value[?id=='$CONN_ID'] | [0].clusterId" -o tsv 2>/dev/null)
  [ -n "$CLUSTER_ID" ] && [ "$CLUSTER_ID" != "null" ] && break
  sleep $((i*3))
done
# Fail-fast: an empty ClusterId silently corrupts the composite connectionId and the
# resulting updateDefinition / refresh failures are hard to debug. Stop here instead.
if [ -z "$CLUSTER_ID" ] || [ "$CLUSTER_ID" = "null" ]; then
  echo "FAIL: ClusterId not resolved for $CONN_ID after retries. Verify the connection is visible at PBI v2 (api.powerbi.com/v2.0/myorg/me/gatewayClusterDatasources)." >&2
  exit 1
fi

# Step 4: Create empty dataflow shell (sync 201).
SHELL_BODY=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp)
printf '{"displayName":"%s"}' "$DF_NAME" > "$SHELL_BODY"
DF_ID=$(az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
  --url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows" \
  --headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
  --body "@$SHELL_BODY" --query id -o tsv)
rm -f "$SHELL_BODY"

# Step 5: One-shot updateDefinition — real M + composite-bound connections[] + .platform.
MASHUP='section Section1;
shared Titanic = let
    Source = Csv.Document(Web.Contents("'"$URL"'"), [Delimiter=",", Encoding=65001, QuoteStyle=QuoteStyle.Csv]),
    Headers = Table.PromoteHeaders(Source, [PromoteAllScalars=true])
in Headers;'

COMPOSITE_ID="{\"ClusterId\":\"$CLUSTER_ID\",\"DatasourceId\":\"$CONN_ID\"}"
QUERY_META=$(jq -n --arg name "$DF_NAME" --arg cid "$COMPOSITE_ID" --arg url "$URL" --arg qid "$(uuidgen)" '{
  formatVersion: "202502",
  name: $name,
  queriesMetadata: { Titanic: { queryId: $qid, queryName: "Titanic" } },
  connections: [ { connectionId: $cid, kind: "Web", path: $url } ]
}')
PLATFORM=$(jq -n --arg name "$DF_NAME" --arg lid "$(uuidgen)" '{
  "$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/fabric/gitIntegration/platformProperties/2.0.0/schema.json",
  metadata: { type: "Dataflow", displayName: $name },
  config: { version: "2.0", logicalId: $lid }
}')

MASHUP_B64=$(echo -n "$MASHUP" | base64 -w0)
META_B64=$(echo -n "$QUERY_META" | base64 -w0)
PLAT_B64=$(echo -n "$PLATFORM" | base64 -w0)

BODY_FILE=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp)  # GNU + BSD/macOS compatible
cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<EOF
{"definition":{"parts":[
  {"path":"mashup.pq",          "payload":"${MASHUP_B64}", "payloadType":"InlineBase64"},
  {"path":"queryMetadata.json", "payload":"${META_B64}",   "payloadType":"InlineBase64"},
  {"path":".platform",          "payload":"${PLAT_B64}",   "payloadType":"InlineBase64"}
]}}
EOF
az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
  --url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/updateDefinition?updateMetadata=true" \
  --headers "Content-Type=application/json" --body "@$BODY_FILE"
rm -f "$BODY_FILE"

# Step 6: Verify connections[] persisted via getDefinition (NOT /items/{id}/connections).
# Assumes the sync 200 fast-path (typical, ~1s). If the call ever returns 202 LRO,
# az rest can't expose the Location header — switch to the curl + poll pattern from
# Example 3 / authoring-script-templates.md and decode the polled 200 body instead.
PERSISTED=$(az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
  --url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/getDefinition" \
  --headers "Content-Length=0" \
  | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path=="queryMetadata.json") | .payload' | base64 -d \
  | jq -r '.connections | length')
[ "${PERSISTED:-0}" -gt 0 ] && echo "OK: connections[] persisted." || { echo "FAIL: bind missing (or getDefinition returned a 202 LRO body — see note above)." >&2; exit 1; }

# Step 7 (optional): Validate the M evaluates — top-level QueryName, PascalCase.
EQ_BODY=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp)
printf '{"QueryName":"Titanic"}' > "$EQ_BODY"
az rest --method post --resource "$RES" \
  --url "$API/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/executeQuery" \
  --headers "Content-Type=application/json" \
  --body "@$EQ_BODY" --output-file /tmp/titanic.arrow
rm -f "$EQ_BODY"
# Apache Arrow stream — embedded {"Error":"..."} means failure even on HTTP 200.
grep -q '"Error":"' /tmp/titanic.arrow && { echo "executeQuery surfaced an error." >&2; exit 1; }

# Step 8 (optional): Trigger refresh with ApplyChangesIfNeeded on first run — see Example 2.

Example 2: Trigger a Refresh Job

Prompt: "Trigger a refresh on this dataflow and poll until it completes."

Agent response:

# Trigger refresh (returns 202 + Location header for polling).
# jobType MUST be "Refresh"; "Pipeline" returns 400 InvalidJobType.
# On the first refresh after any updateDefinition, body MUST include executeOption=ApplyChangesIfNeeded
# (otherwise Fabric refreshes the previously-applied definition).
# Acquire $TOKEN per common/COMMON-CLI.md § Token-in-Variable Pattern (resource = https://api.fabric.microsoft.com).
LOCATION=$(curl -sS -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}' \
  "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/dataflows/${DF_ID}/jobs/instances?jobType=Refresh" \
  -o /dev/null -D - | tr -d '\r' | grep -i "^location:" | awk '{print $2}')

# Poll until terminal (Fabric refresh job status enum: NotStarted / InProgress / Completed / Failed / Cancelled).
while true; do
  STATUS=$(az rest --method get --url "$LOCATION" \
    --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" --query "status" -o tsv)
  echo "Status: $STATUS"
  [[ "$STATUS" == "Completed" || "$STATUS" == "Failed" || "$STATUS" == "Cancelled" ]] && break
  sleep 10
done

PowerShell variant (Invoke-WebRequest exposes response headers natively; avoids the tr | grep | awk pipe):

# Notes:
# - $Resp.Headers["Location"] returns string or string[] depending on PS version — never
#   use .Location[0] (returns first character on Windows PS 5.1 plain-string case).
# - Wrap Invoke-WebRequest in try/catch on 5.1 (-SkipHttpErrorCheck is PS 7+).
# - Fabric refresh job status enum: NotStarted / InProgress / Completed / Failed / Cancelled.
#   This is distinct from the LRO operation enum (Running / Succeeded / Failed / Cancelled).
#   Refresh "success" = "Completed", not "Succeeded".
# Acquire $Token per common/COMMON-CLI.md § Token-in-Variable Pattern (resource = https://api.fabric.microsoft.com).
try {
  $Resp = Invoke-WebRequest -Method POST -UseBasicParsing `
    -Uri "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/$WS_ID/dataflows/$DF_ID/jobs/instances?jobType=Refresh" `
    -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $Token"; "Content-Type" = "application/json" } `
    -Body '{"executionData":{"executeOption":"ApplyChangesIfNeeded"}}'
} catch {
  Write-Error "Refresh trigger failed: $($_.Exception.Message)"; exit 1
}
$Location = $Resp.Headers["Location"]
if ($Location -is [array]) { $Location = $Location[0] }

while ($true) {
  $Status = az rest --method get --url $Location `
    --resource "https://api.fabric.microsoft.com" --query "status" -o tsv
  Write-Host "Status: $Status"
  if ($Status -in 'Completed','Failed','Cancelled') { break }
  Start-Sleep -Seconds 10
}

Example 3: Modify an Existing Dataflow's Definition

Prompt: "Update the mashup of an existing dataflow with a modified query."

Agent response — read-modify-write loop. getDefinition returns sync 200 in the typical case; this template handles the 202 + LRO branch as well.

RESOURCE="https://api.fabric.microsoft.com"
# Acquire $TOKEN per common/COMMON-CLI.md § Token-in-Variable Pattern (resource = $RESOURCE).

# 1. Read current definition (sync 200 or 202 LRO — handle both).
HDR=$(mktemp); BODY=$(mktemp)
CODE=$(curl -sS -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Length: 0" \
  "$RESOURCE/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/dataflows/${DF_ID}/getDefinition" \
  -D "$HDR" -o "$BODY" -w "%{http_code}")
if [ "$CODE" = "202" ]; then
  LOC=$(tr -d '\r' < "$HDR" | grep -i "^location:" | awk '{print $2}')
  RETRY=$(tr -d '\r' < "$HDR" | grep -i "^retry-after:" | awk '{print $2}'); RETRY=${RETRY:-5}
  while :; do
    sleep "$RETRY"
    OP=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RESOURCE" --url "$LOC")
    case "$(echo "$OP" | jq -r '.status // empty')" in
      Succeeded) DEF=$(az rest --method get --resource "$RESOURCE" --url "${LOC%/}/result"); break ;;
      Failed|Cancelled) echo "ERROR: getDefinition $(echo "$OP" | jq -r '.status')" >&2; exit 1 ;;
    esac
  done
else
  DEF=$(cat "$BODY")
fi
rm -f "$HDR" "$BODY"

# 2. Decode each part, modify mashup.pq, re-encode all 3.
MASHUP=$(echo "$DEF" | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path=="mashup.pq")          | .payload' | base64 -d)
META=$(  echo "$DEF" | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path=="queryMetadata.json") | .payload' | base64 -d)
PLAT=$(  echo "$DEF" | jq -r '.definition.parts[] | select(.path==".platform")          | .payload' | base64 -d)

NEW_MASHUP=$(echo "$MASHUP" | sed 's/old-pattern/new-pattern/')   # edit M here

MASHUP_B64=$(echo -n "$NEW_MASHUP" | base64 -w0)
META_B64=$(echo -n "$META"        | base64 -w0)
PLAT_B64=$(echo -n "$PLAT"        | base64 -w0)

# 3. Build the updateDefinition body in a temp file (full replacement — all 3 parts).
BODY_FILE=$(mktemp --suffix=.json 2>/dev/null || mktemp)  # GNU + BSD/macOS compatible
cat > "$BODY_FILE" <<EOF
{"definition":{"parts":[
  {"path":"mashup.pq",          "payload":"${MASHUP_B64}", "payloadType":"InlineBase64"},
  {"path":"queryMetadata.json", "payload":"${META_B64}",   "payloadType":"InlineBase64"},
  {"path":".platform",          "payload":"${PLAT_B64}",   "payloadType":"InlineBase64"}
]}}
EOF
az rest --method post --resource "$RESOURCE" \
  --url "$RESOURCE/v1/workspaces/${WS_ID}/dataflows/${DF_ID}/updateDefinition?updateMetadata=true" \
  --headers "Content-Type=application/json" --body "@$BODY_FILE"
rm -f "$BODY_FILE"

Binding a new connection? Example 1 (steps 1-5) is the canonical bind+save flow. Bind-only walk-throughs live in authoring-cli-quickref.md § Connection Binding Quick Patterns and authoring-script-templates.md § Connection Binding Templates.

---

Output Expectations

When this skill completes a task, the agent should return:

| Field | Convention | |---|---| | Verbosity | Concise summary (3–10 lines) of what was created/modified. | | Default format | Markdown for status reports; fenced JSON code block for single-resource responses; markdown table for list responses. | | Side-effect disclosure | Explicitly report IDs created/modified/deleted and the target workspace ID. Never imply success without an ID. | | Verification | Re-GET the affected resource (dataflow, connection, job instance) and surface its state (e.g., provisionState, status, Completed) before declaring done. | | Error surfacing | If any step returned a non-2xx status, an LRO Failed/Cancelled, or an Arrow-stream {"Error":"..."}, propagate the raw error verbatim and stop. | | Preview rendering (Workflow C) | After executeQuery, render head(10) of the result as a markdown table in chat alongside the saved Arrow file — even when the embedded-error check passes. Catches silent-success bugs (filter dropped all rows, wrong column, off-by-one, wrong cast) that the embedded-error detector cannot see. Snippet + suppression rules: dataflows-consumption-cli § Example 5b. |