How do I install the Power BI Documentation skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add minasaad1/power-bi-documentation in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Power BI Documentation safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Power BI Documentation?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Power BI Documentation free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Power BI Documentation?

minasaad1 (@minasaad1) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Power BI Documentation by minasaad1

Name: Power BI Documentation
Author: minasaad1

Power BI Documentation

Auto-document Power BI semantic models by extracting metadata, generating documentation, and cataloging all model objects using pbi-cli. Invoke this skill whenever the user says "document this model", "what's in this model", "list everything", "data dictionary", "model inventory", "audit contents", "catalog", "describe the model", or wants to understand what objects exist in a semantic model.

minasaad1 471c936 3.6 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Power BI Documentation Skill

Generate comprehensive documentation for Power BI semantic models.

Prerequisites

pipx install pbi-cli-tool
pbi-cli skills install
pbi connect

Quick Model Overview

pbi --json model get       # Model metadata
pbi --json model stats     # Table/measure/column counts

Catalog All Objects

# Tables and their structure
pbi --json table list
pbi --json table get Sales
pbi --json table schema Sales

# All measures
pbi --json measure list

# Individual measure details
pbi --json measure get "Total Revenue" --table Sales

# Columns per table
pbi --json column list --table Sales
pbi --json column list --table Products

# Relationships
pbi --json relationship list

# Security roles
pbi --json security-role list

# Hierarchies
pbi --json hierarchy list --table Date

# Calculation groups
pbi --json calc-group list

# Perspectives
pbi --json perspective list

# Named expressions (M queries)
pbi --json expression list

# Partitions
pbi --json partition list --table Sales

# Calendar/date tables
pbi --json calendar list

Export Full Model as TMDL

pbi database export-tmdl ./model-docs/

This creates a human-readable text representation of the entire model.

Workflow: Generate Model Documentation

Run these commands to gather all information needed for documentation:

# Step 1: Model overview
pbi --json model get > model-meta.json
pbi --json model stats > model-stats.json

# Step 2: All tables
pbi --json table list > tables.json

# Step 3: All measures
pbi --json measure list > measures.json

# Step 4: All relationships
pbi --json relationship list > relationships.json

# Step 5: Security roles
pbi --json security-role list > security-roles.json

# Step 6: Column details per table (loop through tables)
pbi --json column list --table Sales > columns-sales.json
pbi --json column list --table Products > columns-products.json

# Step 7: Full TMDL export
pbi database export-tmdl ./tmdl-export/

Then assemble these JSON files into markdown or HTML documentation.

Workflow: Data Dictionary

For each table, extract columns and their types:

# Get schema for key tables
pbi --json table schema Sales
pbi --json table schema Products
pbi --json table schema Calendar

Workflow: Measure Catalog

Create a complete measure inventory:

# List all measures with expressions
pbi --json measure list

# Export full model as TMDL (includes all measure definitions)
pbi database export-tmdl ./tmdl-export/

Culture Management

For multi-language models:

# List cultures (locales)
pbi --json advanced culture list

# Create a culture for localization
pbi advanced culture create "fr-FR"

# Delete a culture
pbi advanced culture delete "fr-FR"

Best Practices

Always use --json flag for machine-readable output
Export TMDL alongside JSON for complete documentation
Run documentation generation as part of CI/CD pipeline
Keep documentation in version control alongside TMDL exports
Include relationship diagrams (generate from pbi --json relationship list)
Document measure business logic, not just DAX expressions
Tag measures by business domain using display folders

---name: power-bi-documentationdescription: Auto-document Power BI semantic models by extracting metadata, generating documentation, and cataloging all model objects using pbi-cli. Invoke this skill whenever the user says "document this model", "what's in this model", "list everything", "data dictionary", "model inventory", "audit contents", "catalog", "describe the model", or wants to understand what objects exist in a semantic model.---# Power BI Documentation SkillGenerate comprehensive documentation for Power BI semantic models.## Prerequisites```bashpipx install pbi-cli-toolpbi-cli skills installpbi connect```## Quick Model Overview```bashpbi --json model get # Model metadatapbi --json model stats # Table/measure/column counts```## Catalog All Objects```bash# Tables and their structurepbi --json table listpbi --json table get Salespbi --json table schema Sales# All measurespbi --json measure list# Individual measure detailspbi --json measure get "Total Revenue" --table Sales# Columns per tablepbi --json column list --table Salespbi --json column list --table Products# Relationshipspbi --json relationship list# Security rolespbi --json security-role list# Hierarchiespbi --json hierarchy list --table Date# Calculation groupspbi --json calc-group list# Perspectivespbi --json perspective list# Named expressions (M queries)pbi --json expression list# Partitionspbi --json partition list --table Sales# Calendar/date tablespbi --json calendar list```## Export Full Model as TMDL```bashpbi database export-tmdl ./model-docs/```This creates a human-readable text representation of the entire model.## Workflow: Generate Model DocumentationRun these commands to gather all information needed for documentation:```bash# Step 1: Model overviewpbi --json model get > model-meta.jsonpbi --json model stats > model-stats.json# Step 2: All tablespbi --json table list > tables.json# Step 3: All measurespbi --json measure list > measures.json# Step 4: All relationshipspbi --json relationship list > relationships.json# Step 5: Security rolespbi --json security-role list > security-roles.json# Step 6: Column details per table (loop through tables)pbi --json column list --table Sales > columns-sales.jsonpbi --json column list --table Products > columns-products.json# Step 7: Full TMDL exportpbi database export-tmdl ./tmdl-export/```Then assemble these JSON files into markdown or HTML documentation.## Workflow: Data DictionaryFor each table, extract columns and their types:```bash# Get schema for key tablespbi --json table schema Salespbi --json table schema Productspbi --json table schema Calendar```## Workflow: Measure CatalogCreate a complete measure inventory:```bash# List all measures with expressionspbi --json measure list# Export full model as TMDL (includes all measure definitions)pbi database export-tmdl ./tmdl-export/```## Culture ManagementFor multi-language models:```bash# List cultures (locales)pbi --json advanced culture list# Create a culture for localizationpbi advanced culture create "fr-FR"# Delete a culturepbi advanced culture delete "fr-FR"```## Best Practices- Always use `--json` flag for machine-readable output- Export TMDL alongside JSON for complete documentation- Run documentation generation as part of CI/CD pipeline- Keep documentation in version control alongside TMDL exports- Include relationship diagrams (generate from `pbi --json relationship list`)- Document measure business logic, not just DAX expressions- Tag measures by business domain using display folders

Frequently asked questions