Update Power BI App via CI/CD / REST API?

[mvdwenv]

Hi,

I am evaluating possiblities to automate the deployment of either PIBX or PBIP files from Azure Devops GIT to Power BI Workspaces. I am able to deploy PBIX files to workspaces but I can't programmatically update the app which can be done manually via the browser in Power BI Service (see screenshot)

Does anyone know how I can programmatically update the App after deploying a new version of either PBIX or PBIP to a workspace?

[charandeept]

Hi,

I'm currently using CI/CD pipelines to deploy PBIX files to Power BI workspaces, which is working well. However, after deploying the updated report, I still have to manually update the corresponding Power BI App via the browser in the Power BI Service.

Is there a way to programmatically update or publish the Power BI App after new content (like an updated PBIX) has been deployed to the workspace? Ideally, I’d like to integrate this step into my CI/CD process.

I’ve looked into the Power BI REST API (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/power-bi/apps), but I haven’t found a clear way to do this. Any help, workarounds, or documentation links would be appreciated!

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi @mvdwenv ,

Base on my research, there is no direct method to update the app by REST API. Please review the following thread, check if it can be used an workaround.

Solved: Automatically update app - Microsoft Fabric Community

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that is unfortunately not an option. You have to explicitly update the App to reflect your changes.
Another way could be to give users Viewer access to the workspace, that's like read-only access. But in that way they do see all the items in the workspace, not only the items published with the App. Is that an option?

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In addition, the following one is a similar idea shared on Power BI Ideas, you can vote it up and add your comments there to improve Power BI on this feature. 

Automatically update App when new reports and dashboards are published to the workspace

Best Regards

[mvdwenv]

Thanks for the reply, I just wonder why this is not possible, exposing PBI content via an App is the recommended approach by Microsoft as this decouples the stage where changes are deployed and when changes are actually visibile to the end user. 

Not being able to update the App in an automated / programmatic way would still require manual step when deploying new versions of Power BI content to a workspace. It would be a great addition if this feature becomes avaialbe in such deployment of Power BI content can be fully automated.