PBIXRay MCP Server V2.3 - Professional Edition

Version: 2.3 Professional Status: Production Ready Last Updated: 2025-01-06 Tools: 50+ professional Power BI development tools

What is This?

The PBIXRay MCP Server V2 is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables Claude AI to analyze Power BI Desktop models with advanced performance analysis capabilities including Storage Engine (SE) and Formula Engine (FE) breakdown.

Key Features

Core Capabilities

• Auto-detect Power BI Desktop instances

• Full Model Exploration - Tables, columns, measures, relationships

• DAX Analysis - Measures, calculated columns, with expressions

• Power Query (M) - View data source configurations

• Performance Analysis - Advanced SE/FE timing with SessionTrace

• VertiPaq Stats - Storage and compression metrics

• Search Capabilities - Find objects and text across the model

NEW: Advanced Features (v2.3)

• Dependency Analysis - Analyze measure dependencies and find unused objects

• Version Control - Export TMSL/TMDL for Git integration

• Calculation Groups - Create and manage calculation groups (not possible in Desktop!)

• Performance Optimization - Cardinality and encoding analysis with recommendations

• Partition Management - View and refresh partitions for incremental refresh

• Bulk Operations - Create/update/delete multiple measures at once

• Model Validation - Comprehensive integrity checks and data quality validation

• RLS Management - List roles, test filters, validate coverage

• Documentation - Auto-generate markdown documentation

System Requirements

• OS: Windows 10/11 (64-bit)

• .NET Framework: 4.7.2+ (usually pre-installed)

• Power BI Desktop: Latest version recommended

• Claude Desktop: Latest version

• Disk Space: ~200 MB

Quick Start

1. Extract the Package

Extract the entire folder to your preferred location, for example:

2. Verify Installation (Optional)

3. Configure Claude Desktop

This will automatically configure Claude Desktop for you.

4. Restart Claude Desktop

• Fully close Claude Desktop (check Task Manager)

• Reopen Claude Desktop

5. Test It!

1. Open Power BI Desktop with a .pbix file

2. In Claude, say: "Detect my Power BI Desktop instances"

3. Say: "Connect to instance 0"

4. Say: "What tables are in this model?"

You are now analyzing Power BI with Claude AI!

Documentation

• Quick Reference - docs/QUICK_REFERENCE.md - Command cheat sheet

• FAQ - docs/FAQ.md - Frequently asked questions

• Troubleshooting - docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Common issues

• Deployment Guide - docs/DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md - Team deployment

Available Tools (50+ Tools)

Connection & Discovery

• detect_powerbi_desktop, connect_to_powerbi

Model Exploration

• list_tables, list_measures, list_columns, list_relationships

• describe_table, get_measure_details, search_objects

DAX & Data

• run_dax_query, preview_table_data, get_column_values

• get_column_summary, validate_dax_query

Measure Management

• upsert_measure, delete_measure

• NEW: bulk_create_measures, bulk_delete_measures

Dependency Analysis (NEW)

• analyze_measure_dependencies - See what uses what

• find_unused_objects - Cleanup opportunities

• analyze_column_usage - Impact analysis

Export & Version Control (NEW)

• export_tmsl - TMSL JSON format for Git

• export_tmdl - TMDL folder structure (modern)

• generate_documentation - Auto-generate markdown docs

• compare_models - Diff between versions

Calculation Groups (NEW)

• list_calculation_groups

• create_calculation_group - Create time intelligence patterns

• delete_calculation_group

Performance & Optimization (NEW)

• analyze_query_performance - SE/FE breakdown

• analyze_relationship_cardinality - Find duplicates in one-side

• analyze_column_cardinality - High cardinality detection

• analyze_encoding_efficiency - VertiPaq compression analysis

• get_vertipaq_stats - Storage metrics

Partition Management (NEW)

• list_partitions - View partition details

• refresh_partition - Refresh specific partition

• refresh_table - Refresh entire table

Model Validation (NEW)

• validate_model_integrity - Comprehensive checks

• analyze_data_freshness - Last refresh times

• analyze_model_bpa - Best Practice Analyzer

RLS Security (NEW)

• list_roles - List all security roles

• test_role_filter - Test RLS with queries

• validate_rls_coverage - Check which tables have RLS

Folder Structure

Example Usage

Performance Analysis

Dependency Analysis (NEW)

Version Control (NEW)

Bulk Operations (NEW)

Calculation Groups (NEW)

Maintenance

Update Python Packages

Verify Health

For Team Distribution

To package for colleagues:

This creates a ready-to-share ZIP file on your Desktop.

Troubleshooting

No instances detected?

• Ensure Power BI Desktop is running

• Open a .pbix file (not just Power BI)

• Wait 10-15 seconds after opening

Connection fails?

• Verify instance index (usually 0)

• Restart Power BI Desktop

• Check docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

Claude does not see the server?

• Run: .\scripts\install_to_claude.ps1

• Restart Claude Desktop completely

• Check JSON syntax in config

Credits

Built with:

• MCP SDK - Model Context Protocol

• Python.NET - CLR integration

• Analysis Services Client Libraries - Microsoft

• Power BI Desktop - Microsoft

Version History

• V2.3 (Jan 2025) - 28 new tools! Dependency analysis, TMSL/TMDL export, calculation groups, cardinality analysis, partition management, bulk operations, model validation, RLS management

• V2.0 Enhanced (Oct 2025) - SessionTrace integration, improved SE/FE analysis

• V2.0 (Oct 2025) - WMI-based detection, stability improvements

• V1.0 (Sep 2025) - Initial release

Privacy and Security

• All processing is local - No data sent to external servers

• Localhost only - Binds to 127.0.0.1

• No network exposure - Completely offline capable

• Claude conversations - May be stored by Anthropic (review their policy)

Happy Analyzing!

For questions or issues, see the FAQ or Troubleshooting Guide in the docs folder.