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How to use Microsoft Power BI with VS Code

You want Microsoft Power BI inside VS Code so it can diagnose failed dataset refreshes, answer business questions with governed DAX, audit Power BI workspace access, and refresh a semantic model safely — without you copy-pasting between tabs. Here is the whole setup, once.

Create your Microsoft Power BI gateway

The gateway is the thing VS Code connects to, and it is where you decide which Microsoft Power BI tools an agent may use. You create it once and every client reuses it.

  1. Create an Arcade account

    Sign up and open the dashboard. The free tier is enough to follow this through.

  2. Create an MCP Gateway and select your Microsoft Power BI tools

    In the dashboard, create a gateway and pick the Microsoft Power BI tools you want to expose. The gateway is what your client connects to, and it is where tool access is decided.

  3. Copy your gateway URL

    Every client below needs it.

    https://api.arcade.dev/mcp/<YOUR-GATEWAY-SLUG>

Create a Microsoft Power BI gateway Opens the gateway builder in your Arcade dashboard.

Connect the gateway to VS Code

  1. Add the server

    VS Code 1.107.0 or higher. Command Palette → MCP: Add Server… → choose HTTP, paste your gateway URL, and name it something like mcp-arcade.

  2. Start it and authenticate

    Click Start next to the server in mcp.json or under Extensions → MCP Servers - Installed, then approve the Arcade sign-in and consent screens.

  3. Try it out

    Open the chat pane, switch to Agent mode, and ask it to use one of your Microsoft Power BI tools.

Full VS Code guide in the docs steps verified 2026-08-13

Get started with these Power BI prompts

VS Code can now act on your Microsoft Power BI account. Click a prompt to copy it.

Limit an agent to reading models and reports, and require approval before it changes dataset settings or starts a refresh. Pair it with Contextual Access policies to keep consequential Power BI actions behind a human check.

Ready to actually ship your agent?

Free to start. Ready for enterprise when you are.

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