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[NTolani]

Trying to establish connection from power bi to mongo cosmos azure db. I have below inputs

Host: accountname.mongo.cosmos.azure.com

Account name: accountname

Key: Key

We are using power bi gateway server to connect to cloud. 

On power bi service able to create mongodb connector and Azure cosmos db for mongo connector they r successfully established.

These r not available in desktop tool, how to consume data or create model from these gateway connection.

If this can't be used, how to establish this connectivity.

Any feedback appreciated.

[deborshi_nag]

Hello @NTolani 

Power BI Desktop does not support direct connectivity to Azure Cosmos DB (Mongo API) via the on-premises gateway in the same way the Power BI Service does.

Why the Gateway Connections Don’t Show in Desktop

• The gateway is designed for Power BI Service to access on-premises or hybrid data sources.
• Power BI Desktop cannot consume gateway connections directly; it needs a connector or a direct connection string.

Use the following workarounds -

1. Use the Native Azure Cosmos DB Connector

• Power BI Desktop has a built-in Azure Cosmos DB connector, but it works with the SQL API, not Mongo API.
• If your Cosmos DB is using the Mongo API, this connector won’t work.

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2. Use the MongoDB Connector

• Power BI Desktop supports MongoDB via the ODBC driver or BI Connector.
• Steps:
  1. Install a MongoDB BI Connector or ODBC driver on your machine.
  2. Configure the connection string using:

     mongodb://<accountname>.mongo.cosmos.azure.com:10255/?ssl=true&replicaSet=globaldb&authSource=admin

     • Use your account name and key as credentials.
  3. In Power BI Desktop, go to Get Data > ODBC or Get Data > MongoDB (if available).
  4. Authenticate using username = accountname, password = Key.

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3. Use an Intermediate Layer

• If direct Mongo connectivity is problematic, you can:
  • Create an Azure Function or Data Factory pipeline to pull data from Cosmos DB and store it in:
    • Azure SQL Database
    • Azure Data Lake
  • Then connect Power BI Desktop to that source.

Hope this helps - please appreciate by leaving a Kudos or accepting as a Solution to help others!