Forum Discussion
Power BI MCP Server not connecting to Power service
Hi team,
I have set-up the Power BI MCP server(https://github.com/microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp) in my local (In both ways Using the extension as well as the local install) I use GitHub copilot and GitHub copilot chat extensions to run the commands.
The issue am facing is when i try to connect to Power BI service, i get the following error:
The MCP server is failing to generate the MWC (Microsoft Web Credentials) token, even though Tabular Editor works. This suggests the MCP server may need to use cached credentials or authenticate differently.
This is an authentication/credential caching issue with the MCP server. The server needs access to your Power BI credentials but isn't able to retrieve them.
The error consistently shows it's failing at the "Generating MWC token" step, which is a Power BI authentication component that Tabular Editor handles differently than this MCP server.
Note: Although I am able to connect to local Power BI desktop ( But if the desktop uses live connection to fabric workspace i get the same above error)
These are the things that we have setup:
1) Connected to GitHub account in vs code for copilot (With Email:A****)
2) Connected to Microsoft account in vs code (With Email:B****)
3) Using Email:B**** to connect to apps,powerbi.com
3) Have Enabled Fabric trail for my user and made sure my workspace is using it.
4) I am the Admin of workspace , and have all the permission on the dataset in side the workspace
5) Enabled MCP protocal at the tenant level
6) I am able to connect to the same workspace using XMLA endpoint via tabular editor
Am i missing any configiration for connecting to power bi workspace?
Hi Robbief,
Thank you for the update.
Based on my understanding, there is no configuration or workaround that enables the Power BI Modeling MCP Server to authenticate directly to Power BI Service or Fabric workspaces. The MCP server does not support the interactive WAM/MWC authentication flow required by the Service. This limitation persists regardless of permissions, tenant settings, or account alignment.
If you need to work with service hosted semantic models or metadata, the available option is XMLA based tooling such as Tabular Editor, which is designed to authenticate to Power BI Service or Fabric. MCP is currently intended for local model scenarios and code generation.
If this capability is important to your workflow, please raise a request in the Fabric Ideas forum at: https://ideas.fabric.microsoft.com.
We hope this information helps resolve the issue. Should you have any further queries, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric community.
Thank you.
9 Replies
v-pnaroju-msftCommunity Support
Hi Robbief,
Thank you for the update.
Based on my understanding, there is no configuration or workaround that enables the Power BI Modeling MCP Server to authenticate directly to Power BI Service or Fabric workspaces. The MCP server does not support the interactive WAM/MWC authentication flow required by the Service. This limitation persists regardless of permissions, tenant settings, or account alignment.
If you need to work with service hosted semantic models or metadata, the available option is XMLA based tooling such as Tabular Editor, which is designed to authenticate to Power BI Service or Fabric. MCP is currently intended for local model scenarios and code generation.
If this capability is important to your workflow, please raise a request in the Fabric Ideas forum at: https://ideas.fabric.microsoft.com.
We hope this information helps resolve the issue. Should you have any further queries, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric community.
Thank you.
Sorry, but this response is a bit confusion as based on this article https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/developer/mcp/remote-mcp-server-get-started MCP server can be used to connect to a hosted semantic model.
I agree with SergeyZaytsev , i had followed the Power BI Update - November 2025 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRFeQWzUhn0
this says that we can connect to service
- v-pnaroju-msft
Hi ChetanK004,
Thank you for your inquiry via the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.
Based on my understanding, this issue is unlikely to be related to permissions, Fabric enablement, tenant settings, or workspace configuration, since all required prerequisites including Workspace Admin role, dataset permissions, a Fabric trial, tenant level MCP enablement, and XMLA connectivity via Tabular Editor have been correctly configured. The root cause may instead lie in a limitation of the Power BI Modeling MCP server. It is unable to authenticate to Power BI Service or Fabric workspaces because token generation via Microsoft Web Credentials (MWC) fails.
Power BI Service authentication depends on interactive Windows Account Manager (WAM) credential brokering, which is supported by Power BI Desktop and Tabular Editor but not by the headless MCP server. Consequently, authentication fails before permissions are evaluated. This explains why local PBIX models work and why Tabular Editor can successfully connect via XMLA, while the MCP server consistently fails when targeting Power BI Service or Fabric datasets.
One approach is to use MCP for local models only, and to use Tabular Editor for Power BI Service or Fabric models via XMLA.
Additionally, please refer the links below:
Semantic model connectivity and management with the XMLA endpoint in Power BI - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn
Security in Microsoft Fabric - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft LearnWe hope the information provided helps to resolve the issue. Should you have any further queries, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric community.
Thank you.
RobbiefHelper II
I have the same issue..... Would love to know if there's a solution out there (Besides the advise to just use the desktop..... - Not Helpful!)
- v-pnaroju-msft
Hi ChetanK004,
We would like to follow up and see whether the details we shared have resolved your problem. If you need any more assistance, please feel free to connect with the Microsoft Fabric community.
Thank you.Thank you for the confirmation on its limitation v-pnaroju-msft
- v-pnaroju-msft
Hi ChetanK004,
Thank you for the update and for raising this point.
The following document:
GitHub - microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp: The Power BI Modeling MCP Server, brings Power BI semantic modeling capabilities to your AI agents.
states that it is possible to connect to a Power BI semantic model, which may reside in Power BI Desktop, a Fabric workspace, or in Power BI Project (PBIP) files.However, under the "Considerations and limitations" section of the same document there is a statement: "Connecting to a Semantic Model in a Fabric workspace may not work in your tenant due to the ongoing rollout of the client ID used for authentication." This is likely the reason we are unable to establish the connection.
Please also find below the issues already raised regarding this matter:
[Bug]: when I try to connect fabric semantic model , Can not login · Issue #20 · microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp
[Bug]: Error AADSTS500113: No reply address is registered for the application (Connecting to Fabric workspace semantic model) · Issue #25 · microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcp
AADSTS500113: No reply address is registered for the application - Fabric connection fails · Issue #29 · microsoft/powerbi-modeling-mcpWe hope the information provided helps to resolve the issue. Should you have any further queries, please feel free to contact the Microsoft Fabric community.
Thank you.
RicardoTraNaResponsive Resident
Hey! at the moment, you can use Power BI modeling MCP server on your local PBI file, doesnt work correctly if you try to run it on Service.. Try locally and let me know if that works!
Hope that help!
