Dataflows Gen1 Copy CLI

Copy Power BI Dataflow Gen1 Between Workspaces

Copy Dataflow Gen1 definitions from one Power BI workspace to another while retaining Dataflow Gen1. This is an export/import clone workflow, not saveAsNativeArtifact and not a Gen2.1 migration.

Scope and Boundaries

• Source dataflows must be confirmed with generation: 1.
• Create a new Gen1 dataflow in the target; the target has a new objectId.
• Leave source dataflows unchanged. Never delete a source as part of this workflow.
• Do not use saveAsNativeArtifact; it produces a Gen2.1 artifact.
• Do not refresh, alter credentials, configure gateways, or enable schedules unless the user separately and explicitly requests it.
• The copy does not transfer operational configuration reliably. Credentials, gateway mapping, privacy settings, schedules, downstream dependencies, and workspace-specific parameters need validation after the copy.

Prerequisites

Access

The signed-in delegated user must have access to both workspaces and enough Power BI permissions to read the source dataflow definition and create a dataflow in the target. Use delegated user authentication; do not attempt an unattended service-principal import.

Tools

• Azure CLI (az) installed and authenticated with the target tenant.
• PowerShell 5.1 or later. PowerShell 7 is optional; this workflow does not depend on Invoke-RestMethod -Form.
• curl.exe, included with supported current Windows versions, for the required multipart file upload.

Verify the tools and identity before any API request:

az --version
curl.exe --version
az account show --query "{user:user.name, tenant:tenantId, subscription:name}" -o json

If Azure CLI is absent on Windows, install it with:

winget install --exact --id Microsoft.AzureCLI

Sign in interactively if needed:

az login

Never request or capture passwords, access tokens, secrets, or connection credentials in chat.

API Setup

Use the Power BI REST API audience for every az rest call:

$sourceWorkspaceId = '<source-workspace-guid>'
$targetWorkspaceId = '<target-workspace-guid>'
$pbiResource = 'https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api'

A workspace URL such as https://app.powerbi.com/groups/<workspace-id>/list contains the required workspace GUID.

Phase 1: Inventory and Plan

List both workspaces before writing anything. This establishes which source artifacts are Gen1 and prevents target-name duplicates.

$sourceDataflows = az rest --method get `
  --resource $pbiResource `
  --url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$sourceWorkspaceId/dataflows" `
  -o json | ConvertFrom-Json

$targetDataflows = az rest --method get `
  --resource $pbiResource `
  --url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$targetWorkspaceId/dataflows" `
  -o json | ConvertFrom-Json

$sourceDataflows.value |
  Select-Object name, objectId, generation, configuredBy

$targetDataflows.value |
  Select-Object name, objectId, generation, configuredBy

Select only Gen1 candidates and apply user-requested exclusions exactly by name. For example, exclude AR Comments:

$candidates = $sourceDataflows.value |
  Where-Object {
    $_.generation -eq 1 -and
    $_.name -ne 'AR Comments'
  }

Decision Rules

• If a source item is not generation: 1, stop for that item. Do not substitute a Gen2 endpoint or convert it.
• If a target already contains the source name, do not upload it. Report it as skipped and ask the user to choose a conflict policy.
• If the user asked for a bulk copy, show the candidate plan and obtain approval before target writes unless approval was explicit in the request.
• Preserve source names. Unlike saveAsNativeArtifact, this import workflow supports names containing &.

Create a plan with conflict status:

$plan = foreach ($candidate in $candidates) {
  [PSCustomObject]@{
    Name = $candidate.name
    SourceId = $candidate.objectId
    Generation = $candidate.generation
    TargetExists = $candidate.name -in $targetDataflows.value.name
    Action = if ($candidate.name -in $targetDataflows.value.name) { 'Skip: target name exists' } else { 'Copy' }
  }
}

$plan | Format-Table -AutoSize

Phase 2: Copy One Gen1 Dataflow

1. Export the Gen1 definition

$sourceDataflowId = '<source-dataflow-guid>'
$definition = az rest --method get `
  --resource $pbiResource `
  --url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$sourceWorkspaceId/dataflows/$sourceDataflowId" `
  -o json | ConvertFrom-Json

2. Remove persisted partitions

Exports contain snapshot partitions metadata tied to the source storage. The import API can reject these with CdsaZeroPartitionsRequiredOnPut. Remove partitions from every exported entity while preserving the Power Query logic and all other properties:

$definition.entities | ForEach-Object {
  $_.PSObject.Properties.Remove('partitions')
}

Start with this minimal normalization. Only consider further changes in response to a specific import error, and report that error before changing the definition more broadly.

3. Upload model.json as multipart form data

Use az to obtain a Power BI delegated token, then use curl.exe for the API's multipart form-data upload. az rest is used for Azure-authenticated REST discovery but is not suitable for this multipart upload.

$tempFile = Join-Path $env:TEMP 'model.json'
$responseFile = Join-Path $env:TEMP 'dataflow-import-response.json'

$definition | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 100 -Compress |
  Set-Content -LiteralPath $tempFile -Encoding utf8 -NoNewline

$token = az account get-access-token `
  --resource $pbiResource `
  --query accessToken -o tsv

$importUrl = "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$targetWorkspaceId/imports?datasetDisplayName=model.json&nameConflict=Abort"

try {
  $httpStatus = curl.exe --silent --show-error `
    --output $responseFile `
    --write-out '%{http_code}' `
    -X POST `
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $token" `
    -F "file=@$tempFile;type=application/json" `
    $importUrl

  $importResponse = Get-Content -LiteralPath $responseFile -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json

  if ($httpStatus -ne '202' -or $null -eq $importResponse.id) {
    throw "Import submission failed (HTTP $httpStatus): $($importResponse | ConvertTo-Json -Compress)"
  }

  $importId = $importResponse.id
}
finally {
  Remove-Item -LiteralPath $tempFile, $responseFile -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}

Do not retry a failed or ambiguous submission automatically. First list the target and determine whether the named item was created.

Phase 3: Validate the Import

The Import API returns 202 Accepted; it is asynchronous. Poll the import operation until it reaches Succeeded or Failed.

$import = az rest --method get `
  --resource $pbiResource `
  --url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$targetWorkspaceId/imports/$importId" `
  -o json | ConvertFrom-Json

$import | Select-Object id, name, importState, error, dataflows

• If importState is Failed, report error.code and stop for that dataflow.
• If it is still pending, poll again with a bounded retry loop; do not submit another upload.
• If it is Succeeded, verify the target dataflow list. The final list is authoritative; the import response can report an internal generation value that differs from the user-facing dataflow listing.

$targetAfterImport = az rest --method get `
  --resource $pbiResource `
  --url "https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/groups/$targetWorkspaceId/dataflows" `
  -o json | ConvertFrom-Json

$targetAfterImport.value |
  Where-Object { $_.name -eq $definition.name } |
  Select-Object name, objectId, generation, configuredBy

A completed copy must appear in this listing with generation: 1.

Phase 4: Bulk Copy

1. Inventory source and target once, then build the planned name list.
2. Exclude non-Gen1 sources and user-specified names.
3. Skip existing target names. Do not overwrite or generate alternate names without explicit approval.
4. Process candidates sequentially: export, remove partitions, upload, poll, verify final generation: 1.
5. Before continuing after an interrupted run, refresh the target inventory and copy only still-missing names.
6. Produce a report containing source name and ID, target name and ID, import ID, final state, and any error.

Recommended result object:

[PSCustomObject]@{
  Name = $sourceItem.name
  SourceId = $sourceItem.objectId
  TargetId = $targetItem.objectId
  ImportId = $importId
  ImportState = $import.importState
  Generation = $targetItem.generation
  Result = 'Copied'
}

Troubleshooting

Completion Criteria

Report the following for every requested non-excluded source:

• Source name and ID.
• Whether it was copied, skipped, or failed.
• Target name and ID for copied items.
• The target list confirms generation: 1.
• AR Comments or other requested exclusions were not copied.
• No source was changed or deleted.
• No refresh was executed.
• Follow-up required: credentials, gateways, schedules, parameters, and dependencies must be validated before the first refresh.