Intro

PBITracer.exe is a cmdline tool for a quick trace of Power BI Datasets using the XMLA Endpoint.

How to start a trace?

PBITracer.exe -s "XMLA Endpoint" -d "Dataset Name" -u "Username or Service Principal Id (app:id@tenantid)" -p "Password or Service Principal Secret" --events [Events to trace]

Example of trace to monitor queries:

PBITracer.exe -s "powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/WorkspaceToTrace" -d "Dataset1" --events QueryEnd

Example of trace to profile a Dataset Refresh

PBITracer.exe -s "powerbi://api.powerbi.com/v1.0/myorg/WorkspaceToTrace" -d "Dataset1" --events ProgressReportEnd JobGraph Error ProgressReportError ProgressReportCurrent

Output

All the traces are saved as JSON files in the output path (configurable using the -ouput parameter):

Authentication

If you execute PBITracer.exe without username (-u) and password (-p) a popup authentication will appear:

For non-interactive scenarios you can use a Service Principal, the parameters should have the following notation:

-u app:[Service Principal Id]@[Tenant Id]
-p [Service Principal Secret]

Ensure the service principal is authorized on the following Power BI Tenant Settings:

Allow service principals to user Power BI APIs
Allow XMLA endpoints and Analyze in Excel with on-premises datasets

Parameters

Sample Power BI Templates

PBI Dataset Refresh Analysis

This template is an adaptation from Phil Seamark PBIX solution.

Download the PBI Dataset Refresh Analysis.pbit template and setup the location parameter to the output folder of PBITracer.exe and you should be able to analyze your dataset refresh operations: