Power BI API Basics with PowerShell

This article will cover using the PowerShell MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt module to run a report, it calls the underlying APIs without rest calls. I will cover using direct REST API calls in another article.

Let's start with a simple sample that will get workspaces and the underlying PBI reports.

Prerequisites:

1. Windows PC with PowerShell Version 7.4.6 or above
2. Power BI Pro license
3. Workspaces in Powerbi.com with viewer or greater permission.
4. Basic knowledge of PowerShell

Goals:

Create a PowerShell script that will retrieve workspaces you have access to and list out the reports contained.

# DISCLAIMER:
# PowerShell code is provided for educational purposes only.
# It is not intended for production use.
# There is no warranty or liability for any issues or damages that may arise from using this script.
# Use at your own risk.

# Tested on PowerShell 7.4.6 x64        

#1 Save module with version to your local machine with PowerShell, you only do this step once.

# If you want to keep modules local separated by versions
Save-Module MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt -Path 'C:\PSModules\'
# If you want easy global install, is you use this disregard the imports below, just use Import-Module MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt
# Install-Module -Name MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt -AllowClobber -Force        

#2 Load the module

# First two modules must load in order
Import-Module C:\PSModules\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Profile\1.2.1111\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Profile.psd1
Import-Module C:\PSModules\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Admin\1.2.1111\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Admin.psd1

Import-Module C:\PSModules\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Workspaces\1.2.1111\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Workspaces.psd1
Import-Module C:\PSModules\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Capacities\1.2.1111\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Capacities.psd1
Import-Module C:\PSModules\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Data\1.2.1111\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Data.psd1
Import-Module C:\PSModules\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Reports\1.2.1111\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.Reports.psd1

Import-Module 'C:\PSModules\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt\1.2.1111\MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt.psd1'        

#3 Connect with your credentials, you may be prompted to log in with a pop-up.

Connect-PowerBIServiceAccount        

#4 Create a collection to hold our list of reports

$reportCollection = New-Object System.Collections.ArrayList        

#5 Get all PBI workspaces that you have at least Read permission within

$allOwnedWorkspaces = Get-PowerBIWorkspace -All        

#6 Loop the workspaces and pull the reports and add them to your collection

foreach ($workspace in $allOwnedWorkspaces) {
    $reports = Get-PowerBIReport -WorkspaceId $workspace.Id
 
    foreach ($report in $reports) {
        Write-Host $report.Name -ForegroundColor Yellow 

        $null = $reportCollection.Add([PSCustomObject]@{
            WorkspaceName = $workspace.Name
            ReportName    = $report.Name
            ReportId      = $report.Id
            ReportWebUrl  = $report.WebUrl
        })

    }
}        

#7 Export the collection to a .CSV file on your local machine.

$reportCollection | Export-Csv -Path 'C:\Reports\PowerBIReports.csv' -NoTypeInformation        

I will make an article about using REST to access the API next. It will be a bit more involved since it will need an application principle.