Semantic Model not reading Warehouse schema changes right away

[ToddChitt]

I have a Semantic Model built on top of a Fabric Warehouse. This is NOT the Default Semantic Model. I make a change in the Warehouse by creating a VIEW (for some security testing purposes not relevent to this discussion). I open the Semantic Model in Editing mode, Eidt Tables, then Refresh Schema, then go looking for my new view. It takes like 5 minutes of constantly refreshing the schema before that view shows up in the list of available items. And then for the first couple of minutes, I am getting this error:

So I drop the view and create it as a table in the Warehouse and shove in some test data.

When I go to add that new table to the Semantic model, it does NOT show up right away after refreshing the schema.

Question: Why does it take so long for new objects to show up for a Semantic Model? The note about "Get the latest table information from the data source" seems absolutely rediculous as it is NOT the latest. 

Is there any way to FORCE a refresh of the schema other than the Refresh button above (which doesn't really work all that fast)?

When doing testing and development, you are constantly moving back and forth from warehouse to semantic model to reporting making changes. If a single small change means I have to wait 10 to 15 minutes for it to show up, it's a productivity killer.

[v-tejrama · Accepted solution]

Hi @ToddChitt,

Thanks for reaching out to the Microsoft fabric community forum.

I encountered this issue as well and, after a thorough investigation, identified a reliable solution.

When you create a new table or view in your Fabric Warehouse, it often doesn’t appear in your custom semantic model right away, even after selecting "Refresh Schema." This delay, which can last several minutes or longer, is due to Fabric caching metadata between the Warehouse and Semantic Model for performance reasons. As a result, schema changes may not show up immediately.

To resolve this and have new objects appear instantly, follow these steps:

1. Create your table or view in the Warehouse.
2. Run a simple query against the new object, such as:

SELECT TOP 1 * FROM sys.tables;

3. Use the Fabric REST API to trigger a manual metadata refresh. For example, in Python:

import sempy.fabric as fabric
client = fabric.FabricRestClient()
uri = f"/v1.0/myorg/lhdatamarts/{SQL_ENDPOINT_ID}"
payload = {"commands": [{"$type": "MetadataRefreshCommand"}]}
resp = client.post(uri, json=payload)

Be sure to replace {SQL_ENDPOINT_ID} with your Warehouse SQL endpoint ID.

4. Return to your Semantic Model, select Edit Tables > Refresh Schema, and your new table or view should appear immediately.

If the response has addressed your query, please  "Accept it as a solution" and give a "Kudos"  so other members can easily find it.

Best Regards,
Tejaswi.
Community Support

[v-tejrama]

Hi @ToddChitt ,

Just checking in have you been able to resolve this issue? If so, it would be greatly appreciated if you could mark the most helpful reply accordingly. This helps other community members quickly find relevant solutions.

Thank You.

[v-tejrama]

Hi @ToddChitt,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.

Thank you.

[v-tejrama]

Hi @ToddChitt ,

I hope the information provided has been useful. Please let me know if you need further clarification.

Thank you.

[lbendlin]

Welcome to the club.

Solved: Re: SQL Endpoint error: Failed to complete the com... - Microsoft Fabric Community