Block access to power query

You cannot block access to Power Query in Power BI Desktop. Power BI Desktop is an authoring tool. Anyone who opens a PBIX in Desktop can access Transform data.

1) Use Power BI Service 
Publish the report and share it (App or Viewer access).
Users can use the report but cannot see Power Query, DAX, or the model.

2) Use a thin report (Live connection)
Build the dataset separately and connect the report via Live connection.
The PBIX will contain no Power Query queries (editor opens empty).

Hi RP,

This is a common requirement, but unfortunately it’s not possible to fully hide or block access to Power Query if you share a Power BI Desktop (.pbix) file.

Any user who opens a PBIX in Power BI Desktop will always be able to access Transform data and view the Power Query (M) code. Power BI Desktop is a development tool, and there is no supported setting to disable or secure the Power Query editor within a PBIX.

Recommended approaches:

• Publish the report to Power BI Service and give users Viewer access or share it via a Power BI App. In this case, users can interact with the report but cannot see Power Query or the underlying transformations.

• If users need to build visuals but not see queries, use a thin report connected to a published semantic model. This allows report creation without exposing Power Query logic.

In short, if protecting Power Query logic is required, the PBIX should not be distributed. The Power BI Service is the correct and supported way to achieve this.

Regards,
Mohit

Hi RP,

If you share a Power BI Desktop (.pbix) file, it’s not possible to hide or restrict access to Power Query. Any user opening the PBIX in Desktop can view the queries by design.

To prevent users from seeing Power Query, the recommended approach is to publish the report to Power BI Service and give users Viewer/App access, or use a thin report connected to a published dataset.

Hi RP,

If you share a Power BI Desktop (.pbix) file, it’s not possible to hide or restrict access to Power Query. Any user opening the PBIX in Desktop can view the queries by design.

To prevent users from seeing Power Query, the recommended approach is to publish the report to Power BI Service and give users Viewer/App access, or use a thin report connected to a published dataset.

HI New_User_777 ,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community Forum.

Hi mohit_sakhare  and cengizhanarslan , Thank you for your prompt responses.

Hi New_User_777 ,  Could you please try the proposed solutions shared by  mohit_sakhare  and cengizhanarslan   ? Let us know if you’re still facing the same issue we’ll be happy to assist you further.

Regards,

Dinesh