topic Re: Semantic Model Refresh pipeline task shows no tables in Data Engineering

Semantic Model Refresh pipeline task shows no tables

ToddChitt — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 19:40:40 GMT

I have a simple Fabric Pipeline task that loads data into warehouse tables. The last step is a Semantic Model Refresh task. I have had this Semantic Model for months now and have refreshed it numerous times manually. It has dozens of tables. But in thepipeline task, it shows this:

It used to show a list of tables, now it cannot find any tables. This seems like a BUG to me. Anyone seeing the same?

Also, every time I get into this pipeline I have to refresh the list of tables if I have added one during development. I put in an Idea that this task should NOT require one to explicitly list the tables, but should simply refresh the ENTIRE MODEL, like you do manually from the list of objects. ( Remove Table List from Pipeline Task for Semantic ... - Microsoft Fabric Community )

Ideas? Suggestions? Comments? (Bad jokes?)

Thanks in advance.

Re: Semantic Model Refresh pipeline task shows no tables

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 10:34:09 GMT

Hi @ToddChitt,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum.

This does sound like a regression in how the task fetches table metadata from the semantic model. We've seen a few similar reports come in, and it's currently under internal review. As you have already raised the issue in the Idea Forums, in the meantime, here are a few steps that have helped others work around it:

* Try disconnecting and reconnecting the semantic model in the task click the pencil icon next to the Semantic model field and re-select the model manually. Then click Refresh again in the table section to force metadata reload.

* Ensure the model is fully published and not in a pending or draft state in Power BI especially if it's recently been modified.

* As a temporary workaround, if you're not relying on selective table refresh, you can disable the table selection and let the refresh task operate at the full model level (by skipping table selection altogether). This is functionally equivalent to a full manual refresh.

If I misunderstand your needs or you still have problems on it, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,
Hammad.

Re: Semantic Model Refresh pipeline task shows no tables

thedietplan — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 03:27:19 GMT

Same problem I had- manually type the tables by adding "objects": [{"table": "your table name"},{"table": "table name 2"}]

example for folks who will experience the same thing:

1. Go to view and clicked on edit json code

2. look for your semantic model refresh activity

Sample:

"name": "Semantic model refresh2",
"type": "PBISemanticModelRefresh",
"dependsOn": [],
"policy": {
"timeout": "0.12:00:00",
"retry": 0,
"retryIntervalInSeconds": 30,
"secureOutput": false,
"secureInput": false
},
"typeProperties": {
"method": "post",
"waitOnCompletion": true,
"commitMode": "Transactional",
"operationType": "SemanticModelRefresh",
"groupId": "your actual info",
"datasetId": "your actual info",
"objects": [
{
"table": "name of table as it appears in powerbi"
},
{
"table": "name of table as it appears in powerbi2"
},
{
"table": "name of table as it appears in powerbi3"
},
{
"table": "name of table as it appears in powerbi4"
}
]

Hopefully that fixes it 🙂

Manny - PS

Re: Semantic Model Refresh pipeline task shows no tables

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 06:10:19 GMT

Hi @ToddChitt,

As we haven’t heard back from you, so just following up to our previous message. I'd like to confirm if you've successfully resolved this issue or if you need further help.

If yes, you are welcome to share your workaround and mark it as a solution so that other users can benefit as well.

And if you're still looking for guidance, feel free to give us an update, we’re here for you.

Best Regards,

Hammad.

Re: Semantic Model Refresh pipeline task shows no tables

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Jul 2025 06:27:25 GMT

Hi @thedietplan,

Thanks for raising this and for sharing a solid workaround. You are absolutely right that this behavior feels like a regression. When the UI inside the Semantic Model Refresh task fails to list tables even though they exist and refresh works manually, it can break automation workflows and is definitely frustrating especially since it previously worked as expected.

You also mentioned a great point of having to manually refresh the table list every time you add new tables during development. Your idea to allow full model refresh without listing tables explicitly makes total sense and aligns with how most users expect this to work.

Best Regards,

Hammad.

Re: Semantic Model Refresh pipeline task shows no tables

sandeep_raturi — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 14:32:45 GMT

For me also the tables are not showing, and because of this the model is not refreshing. I’m getting this error: “Operation on target Semantic model refresh1 failed: Fabric activity failed. Value cannot be null. Parameter name: source.”

Re: Semantic Model Refresh pipeline task shows no tables

michelmetran — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 14:46:40 GMT

I'm having the same problem. It's very frustrating to build an entire pipeline to organize the data and, in the end, to "deliver" the updated data, the task simply fails!

I tried all the solutions suggested here and none succeeded.

To work around this, I abandoned the "Semantic Model Refresh" task and created a notebook that performs the same task using Sempy.

I suggest watching the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucQcdPhUjdo which shows several additional possibilities of Sempy...

Below is the code I used to update my Semantic Model...

import sempy.fabric as fabric # Nome do modelo semântico e do workspace # Se o notebook já estiver no mesmo workspace, o parâmetro workspace é opcional workspace_name = 'Dominio' dataset_name = "Domínio (gold)" try: print(f'Iniciando atualização do modelo: {dataset_name}...') # Executa o refresh fabric.refresh_dataset(dataset=dataset_name, workspace=workspace_name) print('Solicitação de atualização enviada com sucesso!') except Exception as e: print(f'Erro ao atualizar: {e}')