Features
From exploration to governance - natural language tools for every stage.
HOW IT WORKS
All features are exposed as MCP tools that your AI assistant can call. Authoring features support bulk execution, dry-run preview, and transactions.
Feature availability depends on mode (read-only / browse-only) and license tier.
01 — CORE TOOLS
Core Tools
Essential tools for connecting, browsing, querying, and refreshing Power BI models.
Model Connection
Connect to Power BI Desktop (local) or Power BI Service (XMLA) and manage session context.
- Discover available models - Find running Power BI Desktop instances
- Browse Service workspaces - List workspaces you have access to
- Connect to a model - Establish connection to work with a model
- Check connection status - See which model is currently connected
- Sign in/out of Service - Authenticate with Power BI Service
Model Explorer
Model browsing and search across tables, measures, columns, relationships, and more.
- Browse model objects - List tables, measures, columns, relationships
- Search by name or expression - Find objects matching your criteria
- Analyze object details - Get descriptions, previews, column stats
- View model metadata - Schema info, data sources, compatibility
- PII maskingPro - Redact sensitive text fields in previews
- Numeric maskingPro - Mask sensitive numeric values in previews
DAX Query Runner
DAX execution and diagnostics with row-capped results and performance metrics.
- Execute DAX queries - Run queries and get tabular results
- Basic query timing - Execution time and row counts
- Query plans & detailed timingsPro - Engine breakdown and optimization hints
- Query tracingPro - Capture detailed execution trace
- View VertiPaq statistics - Storage engine compression and memory
Data Refresh
Refresh at Partition, Table, or Model scope with type control.
- Full refresh - Complete data reload from source
- Data-only refresh - Reload data without recalculating
- Calculate refresh - Recalculate without reloading data
- Check refresh status - Query current refresh state
03 — GOVERNANCE TOOLS
Governance Tools
Tools for preferences, policies, and license management.
Preferences Memory
Portable preferences memory for naming rules, guardrails, aliases, and default behaviors.
- Store naming conventions - Remember your preferred patterns (5 max in Free)
- Define guardrails - Set constraints the AI should follow
- Create aliases - Shortcuts for common operations
- Unlimited preferencesPro - No quota on stored preferences
- Model-specific preferencesPro - Different settings per model
- Export/import preferences - Share settings across projects
Policy Engine
Policy guardrails for tool execution with allow/deny/confirm rules.
- Define allow/deny rules - Control which operations are permitted
- Require confirmations - Add approval steps for risky actions
- Use policy recipes - Pre-built policy templates
- Validate before apply - Check policies without committing
- Policy enforcement - Actively enforce rules during execution
License Manager
License lifecycle management for activation and status checking.
- Check license status - Current tier, expiry, features
- Activate license - Apply a new license key
- Refresh license - Renew online lease tokens
- Deactivate license - Release for use on another machine
04 — PRO & ENTERPRISE TOOLS
Pro & Enterprise Tools
Advanced tools for change management, testing, and compliance.
Impact Analyzer
One change can break everything. See exactly what depends on any measure or column before you touch it.
- Direct dependency lookup - Find what immediately references an object
- Transitive traversal - Trace cascading impacts 1-4 levels deep
- Export to Mermaid - Generate visual flowcharts and mindmaps
- Export to DOT/CSV - Graph format and tabular exports
Version Control
AI models make mistakes. Version control lets you undo them instantly with history, diffs, and one-click rollback.
- View change history - See all modifications to the model
- Compare versions - Diff between any two points in time
- Rollback changes - Undo to a previous state
- Create checkpoints - Named snapshots you can restore
- Build changesets - Group related changes together
- Preview before apply - See exactly what will change
Test Runner
Validate your model before deployment. Define expected values, run test suites, and export results for CI/CD pipelines.
- Define test cases - Expected values for measures and queries
- Run test suites - Execute all tests and get results
- Set baselines - Capture known-good values
- Export test reports - Share results with stakeholders
- Package test packs - Bundle tests for CI/CD pipelines
Audit Log
Tamper-evident audit log management. Tool visibility can be disabled unless explicitly enabled.
- View audit log - All operations with timestamps and users
- Export for compliance - Generate reports for auditors
- Verify log integrity - Cryptographic tamper detection
- Rotate audit keys - Refresh signing keys periodically
05 — SEMANTIC MODEL COVERAGE
Semantic Model Coverage
Query and manage all Power BI object types with full semantic model support.
15 Queryable Object Types
Full semantic model coverageReady to get started?
Install MCP Engine in seconds and start using natural language to work with your Power BI models.