Introducing new Git developer experiences in Microsoft Fabric (Preview)

If you haven’t already, check out Arun Ulag’s hero blog “FabCon and SQLCon 2026: Unifying databases and Fabric on a single, complete platform” for a complete look at all of our FabCon and SQLCon announcements across both Fabric and our database offerings.

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Development teams use Git to work together and deliver reliably. In Microsoft Fabric, Git integration is a core pillar of CI/CD —until now, working with feature branches, isolated development, and change review inside Fabric often required extra work, additional tooling, or careful coordination between teammates.

We’re announcing three new Git integration capabilities in (Preview)that significantly improve the developer experience in Fabric:

• Branched Workspaces
• Selective Branching
• Compare Code Changes

Together, these features make it easier to work in isolation, focus only on what matters, and confidently review changes before syncing with Git — all without leaving the Fabric experience.

The challenge: Git workflows meet shared workspaces

A Fabric workspace is a shared runtime environment connected to a single Git branch. This works well for collaboration, but it introduces friction when developers want to:

• Work on a feature without affecting others.
• Avoid copying entire workspaces just to change one or two items.
• Understand exactly what will change before committing or updating from Git.
• Resolve conflicts with confidence.

The new Git experiences are the first steps to addressing these challenges end‑to‑end.

Branched Workspaces: Clear relationships for feature development

Branched Workspaces introduce a formal relationship between a source workspace and the workspaces created from it during a branch‑out operation.

When a developer performs a branch-out within Fabric:

• A relationship is created between the source workspace and the target workspace.
• The relationship is visible directly in the Fabric UI, including workspace navigation and source control.
• Developers gain clearer context about where a workspace came from and how it fits into the overall development flow.

This relationship lays the foundation for future enhancements, but even today it delivers immediate value: better discoverability, less confusion, and a more intuitive mental model for working with feature workspaces.

Selective Branching: Focus exclusively on relevant tasks

With Selective Branching, developers can branch out with only the items they need, instead of copying an entire workspace.

When branching out, you can now:

• Select items individually instead of the default “all items” experience.
• Pick a set of items for your feature workspace.
• Automatically include required related items to maintain consistency.

This results in:

• Faster branch‑out operations.
• Smaller, purpose‑built workspaces.
• Reduced risk of unintended changes.
• Faster time‑to‑code.

Selective Branching is especially valuable for large workspaces, where copying everything can be slow and unnecessary.

Review code changes before acting

Using Git shouldn’t require you to blindly trust the process. Compare Code Changes introduces a rich, familiar diff experience directly into Fabric’s Git Integration.

With this new experience, developers can:

• Review workspace changes before committing to Git.
• Review incoming Git updates before updating the workspace.
• Inspect conflicts side‑by‑side before resolving them.

The compare experience is consistent with what developers already know from other Git tools and from Fabric deployment pipelines, making it immediately intuitive.

Integration of features

These capabilities are designed to complement each other as part of a single CI workflow:

1. Start in a shared development workspace connected to Git.
2. Branch out using Selective Branching to create a focused feature workspace.
3. Work in isolation within a Branched Workspace.
4. Use Compare Code Changes to review your changes before committing.
5. Merge via pull request with your Git provider.
6. Review incoming updates with Compare Code Changes before syncing back.

Figure_1_-_The_enhanced_developer_experience_with_the_new_releases

Figure 1: The enhanced developer experience with the new releases.

The result is a smoother, safer, and more productive Git experience inside Fabric.

Now in preview

• Selective Branching (Preview)
• Compare Code Changes (Preview)
• Branched Workspaces (Preview), which will be available by the end of March 2026

These features are available as part of Fabric Git Integration and work with supported Git providers.

As always, we look forward to seeing how you use them and would love your feedback in the comments as we continue to evolve the Fabric CI/CD experience.