Get started with the Fabric IQ MCP server

Fabric IQ MCP is a remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI agents, applications, and MCP-compatible clients to Power BI reports and semantic models in Microsoft Fabric.

The server exposes a read-only toolset that helps an agent find Power BI content, inspect report and semantic model metadata, locate relevant values, and run DAX queries against data the signed-in user can access. You can connect any compatible MCP client without building a separate Fabric integration for each client.

Fabric IQ MCP doesn't expose a natural-language answering tool. The calling AI agent selects and combines the tools, composes DAX queries, and explains the results.

Fabric IQ MCP is generally available.

The server applies the caller's existing Microsoft Fabric permissions. Connecting through MCP doesn't grant access to reports, semantic models, or data that the caller can't otherwise access. Power BI row-level security (RLS) and object-level security (OLS) continue to restrict returned data.

This article shows you how to:

• Review the prerequisites.
• Add Fabric IQ MCP to GitHub Copilot CLI.
• Use the Fabric IQ skill for the recommended agent experience.
• Sign in with Microsoft Entra ID.
• Verify the MCP connection and Fabric access.
• Understand the available Power BI tools.
• Pin the current Fabric IQ tool-contract version.

Prerequisites

Before you connect, ensure you have:

• A tenant whose home region supports all Fabric workloads.
• A Microsoft Entra work or school account.
• Access to at least one supported Power BI report or semantic model.
• GitHub Copilot CLI installed and authenticated.

Fabric IQ MCP respects your existing Fabric permissions. You don't need a workspace role or Build permission on the semantic model. You also don't need a workspace ID, report ID, or semantic model ID for the first test. You only need the name of a report or semantic model that you can access. You can also copy a report or semantic model URL from your browser's address bar and paste it into your MCP client.

Client compatibility

• The client must support Streamable HTTP and the required OAuth 2.0 flow.
• Some clients require a single-tenant Microsoft Entra app registration.
• Clients should call tools/list instead of hard-coding an assumed schema and should tolerate additive tools and fields.

Fabric IQ MCP endpoint

Use the following endpoint:

https://fabriciq.svc.cloud.microsoft/v1/mcp/fabriciq

Use the Fabric IQ skill (recommended)

Skills and MCP servers serve complementary roles. The skill teaches the AI agent how to identify Power BI content, interpret report and semantic model context, and coordinate the Fabric IQ tools to answer business questions. The MCP server provides authenticated access to your live Power BI content and executes the tool calls.

You can connect to Fabric IQ MCP without installing the skill. Without it, the client must determine the Fabric-specific orchestration and guardrails.

For GitHub Copilot CLI, follow Install Skills for Fabric to install Skills for Fabric through the plugin marketplace. Then configure the Fabric IQ MCP endpoint as described in the next section.

Set up GitHub Copilot CLI

Fabric IQ MCP uses MCP over Streamable HTTP. For protocol concepts and client guidance, see the Model Context Protocol documentation. On Windows, open or create %USERPROFILE%\.copilot\mcp-config.json. On macOS or Linux, open or create ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json.

Add the following server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "FabricIQ": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://fabriciq.svc.cloud.microsoft/v1/mcp/fabriciq",
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

Don't add an Authorization bearer token to the recommended configuration. A configured Authorization header overrides interactive OAuth and automatic token management. If the token is invalid or expired, remove the header to restore the interactive sign-in flow.

Authenticate

Fabric IQ MCP uses delegated OAuth 2.0 authentication through Microsoft Entra ID.

All clients require the delegated Item.Read.All, Item.Execute.All, and Dataset.Read.All permissions from the Power BI Service API. Service-principal and application-only authentication aren't supported.

GitHub Copilot CLI

GitHub Copilot CLI uses a preregistered Microsoft Entra application. You don't need to create your own app registration:

1. Start GitHub Copilot CLI after you save the MCP configuration.
2. Run /mcp show FabricIQ.
3. When prompted, sign in with your Microsoft Entra work or school account.
4. Accept the requested permissions if prompted.
5. Return to GitHub Copilot CLI after sign-in completes.

The browser prompts you to select a Microsoft Entra account:

After authorization succeeds, return to GitHub Copilot CLI:

The client acquires, stores, refreshes, and sends the bearer token at runtime.

Clients that require an app registration

If your MCP client doesn't provide a preregistered Microsoft Entra application with OAuth support, create your own app registration:

1. In the Microsoft Entra admin center, go to App registrations and select New registration.
2. Enter a name and select Accounts in this organizational directory only to create a single-tenant application.
3. Under Authentication, add the redirect URI required by your MCP client.
4. Under API permissions, select Add a permission > APIs my organization uses > Power BI Service.
5. Select Delegated permissions, add Item.Read.All, Item.Execute.All, and Dataset.Read.All, and then select Add permissions.
6. Provide the application (client) ID and tenant ID to the MCP client if it requests them.
7. Start the Fabric IQ MCP connection and complete the browser sign-in flow.

Test your connection

Use two checks to validate the setup.

Check the MCP connection

After you save the configuration:

1. Start GitHub Copilot CLI.
2. Run /mcp show FabricIQ.
3. Complete the browser sign-in when prompted.
4. Confirm that the server is connected and that Fabric IQ tools are available.

This check verifies the endpoint, authentication, and MCP handshake.

Enter /mcp show FabricIQ in GitHub Copilot CLI:

The command displays the connection status and available Fabric IQ tools:

Check Fabric access and tool execution

Ask the client to find a report or semantic model that you can access. For example:

Find the Sales Analytics report in Microsoft Fabric.

The client calls DiscoverArtifacts to search by name. A successful result verifies:

• Authentication.
• Your Fabric permissions.
• Tool discovery and execution.
• Access to the target report or semantic model.

You don't need to provide internal identifiers. Fabric IQ MCP obtains the identifiers needed for later schema and query operations.

Alternatively, copy the report or semantic model URL from your browser's address bar and paste it into the client. Don't use a Power BI share link for either type. Fabric IQ MCP resolves the browser URL and obtains the identifiers that later tools need.

Run an end-to-end data test

After discovery succeeds, ask a question that requires data from the item. For example:

Using the Sales Analytics report, show total sales by region for the latest quarter.

Depending on the request, the client can:

1. Call DiscoverArtifacts or ResolveFabricItem.
2. Call GetReportMetadata and GetSemanticModelSchema.
3. Call ValueSearch, when available, to locate an exact stored value.
4. Generate a DAX query.
5. Call ExecuteQuery.
6. Explain the returned result.

Available tools

Fabric IQ provides tools for working with Power BI reports and semantic models.

An agent typically combines several tools to answer one question.

Tool contract

The Fabric IQ tool contract exposed through tools/list and tools/call includes:

• Available tool names.
• Tool input schemas.
• Tool output contracts.
• Tool behavior.
• Error behavior.

Call tools/list at runtime instead of hard-coding an assumed tool schema.

Select a toolset version

Fabric IQ uses the X-Variants header to select a version of its tool contract. The v1 in the endpoint URL is part of the endpoint address and isn't the tool-contract version.

The current public version is Fabric.Routing.FabricIQ.V1. To pin this version, send the following header on every MCP request:

X-Variants: Fabric.Routing.FabricIQ.V1

Use the same value for initialize, tools/list, and tools/call. When a newer version becomes the default, this article will be updated with its selector.

Limitations and considerations

• Fabric IQ MCP is available when the tenant home region supports all Fabric workloads. It isn't available in Power BI-only regions or sovereign clouds. Reports and semantic models don't need to be hosted on Fabric or Premium capacity.
• Fabric IQ MCP supports Power BI reports and semantic models. It doesn't support Power BI dashboards, paginated (RDL) reports, or Power BI apps. It doesn't currently support Fabric ontologies or data agents.
• Fabric IQ MCP supports read-only consumption scenarios. It doesn't provide workspace administration, development, or item-creation functionality. For these operations, use Skills for Fabric with the broader Fabric MCP servers.
• Each ExecuteQuery call targets one semantic model. The toolset doesn't join or query multiple semantic models in a single execution. Depending on the agent and prompt, the agent can combine results from separate executions across semantic models.
• When you don't specify maxRows, ExecuteQuery returns up to 250 rows by default. Set maxRows to request a larger result set. For large responses, Fabric IQ MCP automatically returns an embedded CSV resource. Clients typically show a small inline preview and provide access to the complete returned dataset through the CSV resource, but support for embedded resources varies. Use aggregation, filters, and focused queries to reduce result size. CSV delivery remains subject to Power BI query limits, so results might be truncated.
• Service-principal authentication isn't supported.
• Application-only authentication isn't supported.
• Query results reflect the data available in the semantic model and are only as current as its latest successful refresh.
• RLS and OLS can cause different users to receive different results for the same query.
• The server can't query a report or semantic model that the authenticated identity can't access.
• Discovery, metadata, value-search, and query operations run under the signed-in user's Power BI permissions. There is no administrator-impersonation path.
• A tool result can be incomplete or fail if the model doesn't expose the fields, measures, relationships, or values needed for the question.
• Power BI service-side throttling applies to metadata and DAX operations. Rate-limit errors are retryable; clients should back off before retrying.

Troubleshooting

Related content

• Skills for Fabric overview
• Install Skills for Fabric
• Fabric IQ skill
• Fabric MCP Servers overview
• Fabric IQ in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
• Use ontology MCP server
• Model Context Protocol specification