PowerBI metadata collector

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 4 minutes to read

    • The PowerBI metadata collector provides read-only access to metadata from a PowerBI account.

    Power BI is a collection of software services, apps, and connectors that work together to transform unrelated data sources into coherent, visually immersive, and interactive insights. Data sources can include Excel spreadsheets, cloud-based data warehouses, or on-premises hybrid data warehouses. Power BI enables you to connect to data sources, visualize and discover important information, and share insights across the organization.

    The Power BI collector harvests metadata from Power BI service workspaces. Use harvested metadata to discover reports and dashboards across workspaces and perform impact analysis to understand how changes to upstream data sources affect Power BI reports.

    Version supported

    The collector supports Power BI Cloud API v 1.0.

    Authentication supported

    Power BI supports two authentication methods:
    • Service principal
    • User and password
    The collector harvests metadata for all Power BI apps and workspaces the authenticated account has access to.

    Metadata cataloged

    The Power BI collector catalogs the following information:

    Table 1. Metadata harvested
    Object Information collected
    Workspaces Title, Description
    Apps Title, Description
    Power BI measures Title, Description, Is hidden, Expression
    Reports Title, Reports type, External URL, Embed URL, Preview Image (not supported for paginated report types), Created date, Last modified, Created by, Last modified by, Descriptions
    Report pages Title Note: Report pages within Apps can’t be cataloged when using Service Principal authentication due to restrictions in the Power BI APIs.
    Dashboards Title, External URL, Embed URL
    Dashboard tiles Title, Embed URL
    Data Sources Title, Data source type, Connection Details (kind and path)
    Semantic model Title, External URL, Description, Created date, Created by, Refresh Schedule
    Dataflows Title, Last modified, Description, Created by, Refresh Schedule
    Power BI tables (Semantic model and Dataflows) Title, Is hidden, Is Entered Data, Description, Source expression
    Power BI calculated table Title, Is hidden, Is Entered Data, Description, Source expression
    Power BI columns Title, Descriptions, Data type, Column type, Is hidden, Expression
    Tabular file File path, File name
    File directory Directory path
    Database Title, Type, Identifier, Server, Port
    Database schema Title
    Database table Title
    Database column Title
    Table Title, Description
    Column Title, Type
    Calculation group Title, Description
    Calculation item Title, Description, Expression

    Relationships between objects

    Catalog pages show relationships between the following data asset types:

    Table 2. Relationships between cataloged objects
    Data asset page Relationship
    App Report, Dashboard, Workspace
    Power BI Column Power BI Table
    Data source Semantic model, Dataflow, Tabular Data source (Database, Tabular File)
    Tile Dashboard, Report, Semantic model
    Dashboard Tile, Workspace
    Dashboard Tile Associated Semantic model
    Semantic model Dashboard Tile, Report
    Report Tile, Workspace, Report pages (not applicable for paginated report types), Semantic model (not applicable for paginated report types), Report
    Note:
    In Power BI, app reports and their associated workspace reports are two separate reports with unique report IDs. The collector catalogs the relationship between them.
    Report Pages Report (not applicable for paginated report types)
    Semantic model Tile, Workspace, Report, Table, Data source, Semantic model, Dataflow
    Workspace Report, Semantic model, Dataflow, Dashboard, App
    Dataflow Workspace, Table, Data source, Dataflow
    Power BI Table Semantic model, Dataflow, Power BI Column, Power BI Measure
    Power BI Measure Power BI Table
    Tabular Data source (Database, Tabular File) Data source
    Calculation Group Power BI Table
    Calculation Item Calculation Group

    Lineage for PowerBI

    The following lineage information is collected by the Power BI collector. The collector uses the Power BI Scanner APIs to establish lineage to source tables and columns. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the limitations to the scanner APIs

    Table 3. Lineage availability by object
    Object Lineage available
    Dashboard Tile Associated Semantic model
    Semantic model Associated Dataflow, Semantic model
    Dataflow Dataflow
    Power BI Column Associated columns that the column sources its data from or calculates its values from.
    Note:
    Lineage can be harvested from Power BI expressions that use parameters in place of server, schema, table, or database names. Table-level and column-level lineage and catalog relationships aren’t available between tables or columns and reports through the Power BI API.
    Power BI table Associated tables that the table sources its data from Note:
    Note:
    The collector uses Power BI expressions returned by the APIs to parse the lineage to the source columns/tables.
    Power BI calculated table Power BI tables and columns from which the calculated table derives its values.
    Power BI Measure Associated columns that the measure sources it data from

    The following table lists supported and unsupported table operations and transformations. This includes source expressions, calculated columns, and measure expressions used in lineage metadata harvesting. Unlisted operations are not harvested.

    Table 4. Supported transformations and expressions for harvesting lineage metadata
    Category Category
    Supported Parameterized Expressions The collector parses source expressions that use parameters in place of the following values: full source, server or host, warehouse, database name, schema name, table name, and SQL expressions.
    Supported data functions Csv.Document, Excel.Workbook, File.Contents, Folder.Contents, Folder.Files, Json.Document, Odbc.DataSource, Odbc.InferOptions, Odbc.Query, Xml.Document, Web.Contents, Web.Headers, Web.BrowserContents, AmazonRedshift.Database, Sql.Database, Sql.Databases, Snowflake.Databases, PostgreSQL.Database, Databricks.Catalogs, Oracle.Database, Denodo.Contents, Databricks.Query, DatabricksMultiCloud.Catalogs, AnalysisServices.Database, GoogleBigQuery.Database
    Supported table functions Table.AddColumn, Table.AddIndexColumn, Table.RenameColumns, Table.NestedJoin, Table.ExpandTableColumn, Table.SplitColumn, Table.DuplicateColumn, Table.CombineColumns
    Unsupported table operations Table.Pivot, Table.PromoteHeaders, Table.DemoteHeaders, Table.PrefixColumns, Table.TransformColumnNames, Table.Unpivot, Table.UnpivotOtherColumns, Table.AddFuzzyClusterColumn, Table.AddJoinColumn, Table.AggregateTableColumn, Table.Combine, Table.CombineColumnsToRecord, Table.ExpandRecordColumn, Table.Join, Table.Transpose
    Supported dataflow functions PowerPlatform.Dataflows, PowerBI.Dataflows
    Supported value functions Value.NativeQuery
    Supported calculated columns Lineage from calculated column expressions containing columns with and without table references, Columns or tables with alphanumeric characters, Spaces, Hyphens, and Underscore are supported
    Supported measures Lineage from measure expressions containing columns or tables with alphanumeric characters, Spaces, Hyphens, Underscore, Surrounding quotes are supported