Forum Discussion
Unknown Error when calling the initializeConnection Fabric Git API endpoint with a service principal
Hi there,
I am experiencing an issue when following the documentation here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/cicd/git-integration/git-automation?tabs=service-principal%2CADO
I copied the exact powershell script from the example repo and locally it works just using my own personal user account. However, when I try to run the script with a service principal it fails. It's able to disconnect and connect the workspace from Git but when it gets to the initializeConnection call it fails with ErrorCode: UnknownError and Message: "The request could not be processed due to an error".
I should note that I am connecting the workspace to GitHub which according to that page should support service principals. Additionally I have tried running this in a GitHub actions workflow with the same error. Any help would be appreciated.
With some great help from Microsoft we finally figured out the solution. It was a combination of three items that we had to solve. The first item was in the Fabric Admin Portal. We had to enable the following setttings:
- Service principals can access read-only admin APIs
- Service principals can access admin APIs used for updates
In addition these settings the second item that is required is that you put your service principal into an Entra AD group:
The second thing we had to do was reconfigure our service principal setup in the app registration. In my own troubleshooting I had added several Fabric/PowerBI related API permissions. As mentioned in this document: Embed Power BI content with service principal and an application secret
These permissions are no longer needed once you enable the Fabric API setting and in fact can cause issues. See this callout:
The solution was to remove all of the permissions besides the default one you get when you create an app registration:
After doing these 3 steps we are now able to sync our workspaces with GIT via a service principal inside of GitHub Actions workflow. As a bonus it also supports using federated credentials instead of having to rely on a client secret!
18 Replies
With some great help from Microsoft we finally figured out the solution. It was a combination of three items that we had to solve. The first item was in the Fabric Admin Portal. We had to enable the following setttings:
- Service principals can access read-only admin APIs
- Service principals can access admin APIs used for updates
In addition these settings the second item that is required is that you put your service principal into an Entra AD group:
The second thing we had to do was reconfigure our service principal setup in the app registration. In my own troubleshooting I had added several Fabric/PowerBI related API permissions. As mentioned in this document: Embed Power BI content with service principal and an application secret
These permissions are no longer needed once you enable the Fabric API setting and in fact can cause issues. See this callout:
The solution was to remove all of the permissions besides the default one you get when you create an app registration:
After doing these 3 steps we are now able to sync our workspaces with GIT via a service principal inside of GitHub Actions workflow. As a bonus it also supports using federated credentials instead of having to rely on a client secret!
Try adding the SPN as a contributor or admin in the required workspaces
Yes I did make sure that the SPN is an admin in the workspace. I know that permission is good since I am able to call the connect/disconnect endpoints which require admin permissions in the workspace.
Hi ckingdon_bee,
Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community.
Deku, Thank you for the prompt response. Adding to what Deku, mentioned, you can also try below steps.
- The service principal needs the same permissions as a user. Make sure it has at least "Contributor" access in Fabric and the correct permissions in GitHub.
- If you’re using an Azure AD app, confirm that it has the right API permissions for Microsoft Fabric (Power BI API) and GitHub.
- Run the script with -Verbose or -Debug in PowerShell to get more details on what is failing.
- you can also try making a direct API request (using Invoke-RestMethod in PowerShell or Postman) to see if initializeConnection works at all.
If this post helps, then please consider Accepting as solution to help the other members find it more quickly, don't forget to give a "Kudos" – I’d truly appreciate it!
Hi there,
1. Yes the service principal has admin permissions on the workspace. I know that permission is good since I am able to call the connect/disconnect endpoints which require admin permissions in the workspace.
2. It is an Azure Entra App Registration. Currently it has the the following delegated permissions:
- Workspace.GitCommit.All
- Workspace.GitUpdate.All
- Workspace.ReadWrite.All
Additionally in the GitHub action I have the following:
permissions:
id-token: write
contents: write
Are there additional permissions I need here?
3. Running with verbose/debug doesn't give any more info around the specific error.
4. initializeConnection works just fine as long as I use my personal user via az login instead of using the service principal.
Here is the response that I get:
Hi ckingdon_bee ,
Please try the below additional steps
- Add additional permissions as well in Azure Entra App Registration Workspace.GitAdmin.All, Workspace.ManageAll, and Workspace.GitRead.All, then make sure to grant admin consent.
- Update your GitHub Actions permissions to include below actions
actions: read
contents: write
id-token: write
pull-requests: write- Please check Microsoft Fabric to see if the workspace is already connected, as that might be causing conflicts.
If this post helps, then please consider Accepting as solution to help the other members find it more quickly, don't forget to give a "Kudos" – I’d truly appreciate it!
Thanks,
Rekha!!
Hi ckingdon_bee ,
Have you had a chance to raise a support ticket and resolve this issue? If so, please consider sharing the solution in the forum and marking it as accepted, this will help other members find the answer more easily.
Thank you!
Hey there,
Yes I have raised a support ticket. Currently it has not been resolved yet and has been escalated as there was no immediate solution I could apply that they could see. I'll update here once I know more.
Hi ckingdon_bee ,
Were you able to resolve the issue? If yes, please consider sharing your solution and marking it as accepted, it could be a great help to others facing a similar challenge
Thank you!!
