Forum Discussion
Programatically Refresh Power Bi Desktop file and save it
- 5 months ago
Hi PunitPrabhu89 ,
Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum.I see you're looking to automate data updates for various clients by refreshing and saving a Power BI Desktop file locally using PowerShell or Python, without relying on Power BI Service, APIs, Power Automate, or licensing.
However, this isn't supported by Power BI Desktop, as it lacks a command line interface, SDK, PowerShell module, or Python functionality to programmatically open, refresh, and save PBIX files. Refreshing is only possible at the dataset level within the Desktop engine, and Microsoft supports automation through the Service, XMLA, or REST APIs not directly with PBIX files.
That's why PowerShell or Python attempts don't work, and mouse click automation isn't reliable for production. For license free local automation, the recommended method is to use a parameterized PBIT template to create client-specific PBIX files, rather than refreshing an existing PBIX.
Best Regards,
Tejaswi.
Community Support
Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HSK_-1ULro . I think he is using mouse clicks to refresh a PBIX file locally. Maybe this is an old video and the current version has changed, so I’m not sure how valid it is, but you should be able to write your own Python code for mouse clicks and movements, for example : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZQDO0ktnrw