Clarification on Using definition.pbir File After Git Clone

[uzuntasgokberk]

Hello everyone,

I’ve set up a CI/CD pipeline for one of my projects (limited to Power BI reports and semantic models, since Fabric components aren’t available in the tenant yet) using GitHub, and it’s working quite well.

However, I cloned the GitHub repository to my local and noticed that the .pbip file was missing. I understand that behavior, but I found a definition.pbir file in the repo instead. It seems that by using this definition.pbir file, the report can still function properly local and app.powerbi.com but I feel like I might be missing something.

Could someone please confirm whether using the definition.pbir file in this way is the correct and recommended approach?

Kind regards,

Gökberk Uzuntaş

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[GilbertQ · Accepted solution]

Hi @uzuntasgokberk 

You can most certainly use the pbir file to open the report. It will function exactly as required.

[v-veshwara-msft]

Hi @uzuntasgokberk ,
Just wanted to check if the responses provided were helpful. If further assistance is needed, please reach out.
Thank you.

[v-veshwara-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @uzuntasgokberk ,

Thanks for posting in Microsoft Fabric Community.

You're correct in your observation. When you clone a Power BI project repository, the .pbip file is typically not included, as it contains user-specific configurations. Instead, the repository includes the definition.pbir file, which serves as the report definition in a source-controlled environment.

One of the key benefits of the PBIR format is that it allows granular tracking of every report change when your PBIP files are stored in a Git repository. This makes it easier to resolve merge conflicts and clearly understand the modifications made by Power BI Desktop. It also enhances source control and co-development experiences and can improve overall report development efficiency.

For more details on this workflow, you can refer to the official Microsoft documentation on Power BI Projects:

Power BI Desktop projects (PBIP) - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Power BI Desktop project report folder - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Blog: Power BI enhanced report format (PBIR) in Power BI Desktop developer mode (Preview) | Microsoft Powe...

Hope this helps. Please reach out for further assistance.

Thank you.

Also thanks to @GilbertQ for confirmation.

[GilbertQ · Accepted solution]

Hi @uzuntasgokberk 

You can most certainly use the pbir file to open the report. It will function exactly as required.