An introduction to Fabric Apps
One of the shiny new items in Microsoft Fabric is Fabric Apps, and these open up a bunch of possibilities for what is possible in Fabric. Fabric Apps enabled functionality that previously would have needed to be custom workloads, which are a lot more complex to get up and running than Fabric Apps. What is a Fabric App? A Fabric app (built on the Rayfin SDK) is a Fabric item with two components, a backend service for data access and authentication, and a front end web app. When a Fabric App is created, Fabric automatically creates a SQL Database, an authentication server, and static content hosting for the front end web app. You provide data models for your application in TypeScript and Fabric Apps automatically creates a database schema and type-safe GraphQL API. Before you can create one, a tenant admin has to enable it. It's still in preview, so it needs to be explicitly enabled, and Fabric Apps are not available in all regions. Fabric Apps are currently available in the following regions (As of August 18th, 2026): US - Central US US - North Central US US - West US US - West US 2 Europe - West Europe France Central Italy North Norway East Switzerland North UAE North South Africa North Asia - East Asia Asia - Southeast Asia Australia East India - Central India Japan East Korea Central To enable the preview in your tenant: 1. Sign in to the Fabric admin portal (https://app.fabric.microsoft.com/admin-portal). 2. Go to Tenant settings. 3. Under Enable Fabric App Items (preview), toggle it to Enabled, scoped to your whole org or specific security groups. 4. Select Apply. Give it a few minutes to propagate. If you don't see App (preview) in your New item list, either this is why or your capacity is in an unsupported region. Part 1: Create and Deploy the Sample App Create the item in Fabric Creating the item itself is the same as any other Fabric item: 1. Open a workspace where you have contributor or higher access. 2. Select New item. 3. Search for App (preview), select it, give it a name, and select Create. This creates the item, and all the backend services I mentioned before. From here, you can select a blank app, or start with a sample To-Do App, or a sample Data App. For the sake of this post, I am going to select the To-Do App. Once selected, Fabric will start to deploy your app and present you with some instructions for getting the Rayfin CLI up and running. Create the project with npm From a terminal, run the command shown in the Fabric App: npm create Microsoft/rayfin@latest -- "<appitemname>" --template todoapp --workspace <workspacename> That one command creates a full project from the `todoapp` template and wires it to the workspace and item you just created, using the Rayfin CLI. Then change your working directory to the project directory that was just created cd <your project directory> Run it locally npm run dev This spins up the frontend and backend together against your Fabric backend, so you can test changes before anything goes live. By default it runs at `http://localhost:5173`. Deploy with npx npx rayfin up Under the hood, `rayfin up` does six things in order: 1. It creates (or reuses) the Fabric App item 2. It retrieves the publishable key 3. It syncs your `rayfin.yml` settings 4. It applies the database schema from your TypeScript models 5. It builds and deploys static content, 6. Finally, it writes the deployment details back to `rayfin.yml` and a `.env.fabric-<workspacename>` file. When it finishes, you get a live hosting URL, a Fabric portal link, and a deployment ID. Tip: Want to check what a deploy will do without actually running it? Use `npx rayfin up --dry-run`. To check current deployment state at any time, use `npx rayfin up status`. Part 2: The Database Objects Here's the part that surprised me the most coming from a data background: there's no SQL to write, and no separate database designer to open. Your data models are TypeScript classes, and Fabric Apps turns them directly into database tables. Defining an entity Entities or tables live in `rayfin/data/` and use the `@entity()` decorator from `@microsoft/rayfin-core`, as well as field decorators for each column: Each table needs to be defined in it's own typescript file. import { entity, uuid, text, boolean, date } from '@microsoft/rayfin-core'; @entity() export class Todo { @uuid() id!: string; text() title!: string; text({ optional: true }) description?: string; @boolean({ default: false }) isComplete!: boolean; date() createdAt!: Date; date() updatedAt!: Date; } Every entity gets a UUID `id` primary key. If you don't include it in your entity definition, Fabric will automatically add it. When records are inserted into your table, Fabric will generated a UUID server-side unless you supply your own. Composite keys and custom key names aren't supported. The full set of field decorators: `@uuid()`, `@text()`, `@int()`, `@decimal()`, `@boolean()`, `@date()`, `@email()`, and `@set()` for enumerated strings. Modifiers like `{ optional: true }`, `{ unique: true }`, `{ default: value }`, and `{ min, max }` add constraints to the columns. Note: The TypeScript `?` optional marker only affects the compile-time type. To actually make a database column nullable, you need `{ optional: true }` in the decorator itself. Relationships If your app has more than one table, use `@one()` and `@many()` to define relationships, and Fabric auto-generates the foreign key column for you following a `{property}_id` convention. One-to-many and many-to-one are supported; many-to-many is not, so model it with an explicit join table instead. Registering the schema Once every entity has been created, they then need to be added to `rayfin/data/schema.ts`: import { Todo } from './Todo.js'; export type TodoAppSchema = { Todo: Todo; }; export const schema = [Todo]; Applying schema changes Whenever you add or edit an entity: npx rayfin up db apply If a change would drop a column or rename a table, the CLI blocks it and warns you first. You can override with `--force`, but know that as soon as you add --force, you will be making a destructive change that cannot be undone. Warning: Using `--force` on a schema apply can cause data loss and cannot be undone. After being deployed, you are able to see the database in your workspace under the Fabric App. The SQL Database child item will allow you to access the Fabric SQL query editor where you can run SQL queries to read data. Don't change things in SQL here, as anything you change will be overwritten the next time you deploy the schema. Wrapping Up This post covers creating the sample app, deploying it, and how the database objects work. The full version, including how authentication (local email/password vs. Fabric SSO) and the front end (the RayfinClient data calls) work, is on the blog, linked below. Microsoft Learn references: Create your first Fabric app (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/apps/create-app) | Fabric Apps project structure (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/apps/project-structure) | Define data models for Fabric Apps (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/apps/data-models) | Deploy a Fabric app to Fabric (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fabric/apps/deploy-app) Read more: Read the full post, including the Authentication and Front End sections, on the Fabric Field Notes blog: https://www.fabricfieldnotes.ca/blog/2026/08/18/an-introduction-to-fabric-appsThe Fabric community is upgrading!
We're excited to announce that the Microsoft Fabric Community will move to an upgraded platform experience beginning August 14, 2026. This upgrade is a major milestone that gives us a more modern, scalable foundation while enabling faster innovation and a better overall community experience. Most importantly, it positions us to respond quicker to feedback and continue improving the community over time. Why We're Upgrading The current platform has served us well, but it's built on an older architecture that makes it difficult to take advantage of modern technologies and deliver improvements at the pace we'd like. By upgrading to the latest platform, we're creating a more flexible, future-ready foundation that will allow us to: Deliver updates and enhancements faster Improve reliability and maintainability Respond more quickly to community needs Continue evolving the experience based on feedback What Members Can Expect The majority of the community experiences you use today will continue to be available after the upgrade, along with several improvements, including: A more modern and intuitive user experience Improved navigation and accessibility Enhanced filtering and content discovery Continued investments in performance and usability Updated Ideas statuses that provide clearer visibility into suggestion progress While a small number of enhancements will follow shortly after launch, this upgrade establishes the foundation for ongoing innovation and future improvements. RSS Feeds RSS feeds will continue to be available after the upgrade. As part of the upgrade, RSS feed URLs will change. RSS feed URLs are configured to automatically redirect to the new RSS feed URLs, so subscribers should continue to receive updates without interruption. Will my existing RSS subscriptions stop working? No. Exisitng RSS feed URLs will automatically redirect to the new URLs. Most users should not need to take any action. If you maintain custom automations or integrations that reference RSS feed URLs directly. Upgrade Timeline August 13, 2026 In preparation for the upgrade, any new support requests that the community managers need to process, such as username changes, email mappings, etc, will be paused started August 13th until after August 16th. August 14, 2026 | 7:00 PM PST Upgrade Begins The community will enter read-only mode while the upgrade is performed. During this time: Existing content will remain viewable New posts, replies, and content creation will be temporarily unavailable A maintenance page may be displayed during portions of the upgrade August 15, 2026 Validation & Stabilization Our team will validate key experiences, monitor platform health, and address any necessary stabilization work before reopening the community. August 16, 2026 Community Returns to Full Operation The upgraded Microsoft Fabric Community will be fully available to all members. Looking Ahead This upgrade is about more than technology. It's about creating a stronger foundation that allows us to move faster, deliver improvements more consistently, and build a better community experience for everyone. Thank you for your patience, support, and contributions to the Microsoft Fabric Community. We're excited for the future of Fabric and Power BI and look forward to building the next generation of the community together. Known Issues Post Upgrade We are aware there are a few minor issues after the upgrade. The team is actively investigating and working on fixes.Beyond the Basics: Deep Dive into Microsoft Fabric Row-Level Security (RLS) & Purview Labelling
“Securing your data isn’t about locking it away – it’s about ensuring the right people see the right insights without compromising the rest.” In our previous beginner’s guide, we explored how to establish baseline governance, structure your workspaces and set up your core Admin Portal guardrails. If you fancy reading the previous beginner blog, you can refer it here. But once your data estate is up and running, you inevitably run into a critical next challenge: How do you handle data when different people are allowed to see different subsets of information within the very same table? Moving from basic visibility to active, granular protection is the hallmark of Stage 2 on the Governance Maturity Curve. In this deep dive, we’ll explore how to implement Row-Level Security (RLS) and enforce Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels through a visual journey.
Microsoft Fabric Reservations: Understanding What They Are and How to Create Them
Overview Over the past year, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to help Microsoft customers unlock the potential of Microsoft Fabric Capacities (FSKUs) by transitioning from Power BI Premium Capacities (PSKUs) or as they embark on their Fabric journey. During these engagements, we’ve tackled not just technical features, architecture design, deployment patterns, capacity planning, but also business considerations such as reservation purchasing strategies and scoping options to demystify how reservations work. Common questions I’ve frequently encountered are how to confidently navigate the reservation purchasing process, understand the scoping flexibility, and calculate consumption units effectively to maximize both value and efficiency. My hope is that this article will make your voyage smoother, offer clarity on these decisions, and empower you to make the most of your reservations when stepping into the world of Microsoft Fabric capacity planning!Governing the Flow: A Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Fabric
“Governance is not about restricting access; it’s about providing the right access to the right people at the right time, while ensuring the data remains accurate and secure.” In the world of data, speed is often the enemy of stability. Microsoft Fabric is a powerhouse that allows data to move seamlessly from ingestion to AI, but without structure, that speed can quickly turn into “data sprawl.” Governance is the safety net that allows your team to innovate faster without fearing a security breach or a broken pipeline.The Auditor’s Toolkit: Reporting on Your Tenant
Your boss walks by your desk on a Friday afternoon with the dreaded question: “Can you give me a full audit of who has access to what in our tenant? I need to know every workspace and exactly who is in it.” You look at the clock. It’s 4:30 PM. Your weekend plans are already set and spending the next 48 hours manually clicking through the Admin Portal, taking screenshots and copying data into Excel is not on the agenda. The good news? You don’t have to.Fabric Cost Analysis - Shine a light on your platform costs
Want to make sense of your Microsoft Fabric spending? Discover how the Fabric Cost Analysis (FCA) solution empowers you to monitor, optimize, and clearly understand your platform costs. Developed by FinOps and Data experts, FCA offers a community-driven approach for deep financial and operational insights, robust architecture, and flexible analytics all powered by the latest Fabric capabilities. Get the clarity you need and join a growing community focused on smarter data platform management!Tenant Management with SemPy: Settings, Audit Events, and Governance Patterns
Walkthrough of the new sempy.fabric.admin module: retrieving the configuration settings for tenants, auditing the activities performed on those settings, capturing everything into the lakehouse, and creating governance use cases such as config drift and activity dashboards.
OneLake Security in Microsoft Fabric
Tired of managing security three different ways for SQL, Spark, and Power BI? Microsoft Fabric's OneLake Security changes the game with a single unified layer that enforces table, row, column, and folder-level access control across every engine. Define your security policies once in the portal, and they're automatically enforced whether users query through notebooks, SQL endpoints, or DirectLake reports. This blog walks you through setting up real-world demos with sample data, creating granular roles via UI clicks, and validating enforcement across engines. Ready to simplify your data security? Let's build it step-by-step.Fabric at Scale - Part 1: Automating Table Discovery with SemPy and the Fabric API
How do you keep track of hundreds of tables scattered across 50–200 lakehouses? Manually, you can't — not reliably. This post walks through two practical approaches to automating a Fabric table audit: SemPy for simplicity, and the direct Fabric API when you need more control. Either way, your governance game just got an upgrade.
