Binding a report with a semantic model in a different workspace

[T91]

Hello,

As part of my deployment workflow, I need to rebind a Power BI report to a different semantic model located in another workspace. I’ve looked into the Reports - Rebind Report In Group, but it doesn’t seem to meet my specific needs.

Here’s what my current process looks like:

1. I create a report in the destination workspace (Workspace A) using the Fabric API -This report is live-connected to a semantic model located in Workspace B.

2. After creation, I want to rebind this report to a different semantic model that resides in Workspace C.

Is it a good idea to alter the report definition?

For context, all workspaces involved are in Pro capacity.

Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[rohit1991 · Accepted solution]

Hi @T91 

You should not manually alter the report definition (PBIX or JSON) to rebind a report to a different semantic model. The recommended and supported way is to use the Power BI REST API, specifically, the Rebind Report In Group endpoint.

Although Rebind Report In Group API does allow you to rebind a report to a dataset (semantic model) in a different workspace, as long as you have permissions on both workspaces and both are in the same tenant, but directly editing the report file (PBIX/JSON) is not supported and can cause corruption or future compatibility issues.

So do not alter the report definition manually. Use the official Rebind API as it supports cross-workspace rebinding for semantic models. Just ensure you have the necessary permissions in both source and target workspaces.

Reference links: Power BI REST API - Rebind Report In Group, Power BI REST API - Rebind Report

[T91]

Eventhough the API documentation says, 'If the specified dataset resides in a different workspace than the report or inMy workspace, then a shared dataset will be created in the report's workspace.' , looks like I can rebind. 

[Deku]

Why don't you update the connection during deployment rather than rebinding after? If you deploy the semantic model you can grab the guid and use that to update the report connection defination before deploying it. That's what Microsoft does in their example script https://github.com/microsoft/Analysis-Services/tree/master/pbidevmode/fabricps-pbip