Issue with Client Credentials Grant Type for Power BI REST API Authentication

[Lingaraj-Mishra]

Hello Power BI Community,

I am experiencing difficulty with authenticating API requests using the OAuth 2.0 client credentials grant type for the Power BI REST API. I am attempting to access the API at https://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/datasets, which requires authentication tokens that I am trying to retrieve via Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).

Here is a breakdown of the steps I've followed:

1. Application Registration: I registered my application in Azure AD, ensuring it has the necessary API permissions for Power BI (e.g., Dataset.Read.All).

2. Token Request: I am using the endpoint https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenant_id}/oauth2/v2.0/token for token generation. Here’s the curl command I use (with sensitive data omitted):curl -X POST https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenant_id}/oauth2/v2.0/token \
   -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
   -d "client_id={client_id}" \
   -d "client_secret={client_secret}" \
   -d "grant_type=client_credentials" \
   -d "scope=https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/.default"

3. 401 Unauthorized Error: Despite following all documented steps and verifying that the client ID, secret, and tenant ID are correct, I receive a 401 Unauthorized error when I attempt to use the generated token to make API requests.

Here are some additional details:

1. The application permissions in Azure AD include all necessary Power BI related permissions and have been granted admin consent.

There are no alerts or incidents reported on the Azure status page that indicate an ongoing issue with Azure AD or Power BI services.

Questions:

1. Has there been any recent change to the authentication mechanisms for Power BI that might affect the client credentials flow?
2. Are there known issues or maintenance activities affecting the OAuth 2.0 client credentials grant type for Power BI APIs?
3. Could there be specific tenant configurations in Azure AD that might restrict or alter the expected behavior of the client credentials grant?
4. Any suggestions on troubleshooting steps or alternative configurations that could resolve or work around this issue?

[v-xiaoyan-msft]

Hi @Lingaraj-Mishra ,

Certain tenant configurations in Azure AD could potentially restrict or alter the behavior of the client credentials grant. It's important to ensure that:

1.The application registration in Azure AD is correctly configured with the necessary API permissions for Power BI.

2.Admin consent has been granted for the permissions required by your application.

You may verify API Permissions,double-check that the API permissions assigned to your application in Azure AD include and that these permissions have been granted admin consent.Dataset.Read.All
Also ensure that the scope parameter in your token request is correctly set to . This scope is necessary for accessing Power BI REST APIs.https://analysis.windows.net/powerbi/api/.default
When making API requests with the obtained token, ensure that the header is correctly formatted as .AuthorizationBearer {token}
Look closely at the response from the token request. It may contain additional details or error codes that can help pinpoint the issue.Although you've mentioned verifying these, it's worth double-checking the application ID, secret, and tenant ID for any possible typos or mismatches.

For more information on authenticating with Power BI REST API, you might find the following documentation helpful: Authenticate with Power BI REST API

Best regards.
Community Support Team_Caitlyn

[Lingaraj-Mishra]

@v-xiaoyan-msft  Thank you for valuable input.

Somehow with current setup works well with grant_type = password. I belive this has somthing to do with grant_type = client_credentials.

Apprciate if you share any knownissue with respect to this .