MCP Engine for Power BI

Model Context Protocol Server for Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service

Compatible with: Claude Desktop • Claude Code • VS Code (GitHub Copilot) • Other MCP-compatible AI tools

Developed by Maxim Anatsko | mcpengine.dev

This is an independent, community-developed tool and is not affiliated with Microsoft Corporation.

Installation

# Global installation (recommended)
npm install -g mcp-engine

# Verify installation
mcp-engine --version

Platform Support

| Platform | Architecture | Support | |----------|--------------|---------| | Windows | x64, ARM64 | Full (Desktop + XMLA) | | macOS | x64, ARM64 | XMLA only (Power BI Service) |

Note: Power BI Desktop only runs on Windows. macOS users can connect to Power BI Service workspaces via XMLA endpoints.

Configuration

Claude Desktop / Claude Code

Add to your MCP configuration (claude_desktop_config.json or .mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-engine": {
      "command": "mcp-engine"
    }
  }
}

Or use npx (no global install required):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-engine": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-engine"]
    }
  }
}

VS Code with GitHub Copilot

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "mcp-engine": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "mcp-engine"
    }
  }
}

Quick Start

1. Start Power BI Desktop with a .pbix file open (Windows) or connect to Power BI Service (any platform)
2. Launch your AI assistant (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or VS Code)
3. Ask naturally:
   • "List my available Power BI models"
   • "Connect to model 1"
   • "Show me all tables in the model"
   • "Create a measure for total sales"

Features

• 26 Tools for comprehensive Power BI model management
• Auto-discovery of running Power BI Desktop instances
• DAX execution with performance analysis
• Measure/table/relationship management
• Security roles (RLS/OLS)
• Multi-language support (cultures and translations)
• VertiPaq statistics for performance optimization

Documentation

For full documentation, visit:

• Website: mcpengine.dev
• Getting Started: https://www.mcpengine.dev/getting-started

Troubleshooting

Binary not found

npm rebuild mcp-engine
# or reinstall
npm uninstall -g mcp-engine && npm install -g mcp-engine

No Power BI instances found

• Ensure Power BI Desktop is running with a .pbix file open
• The file must be fully loaded (not showing "Loading...")

macOS: "Unsupported platform"

macOS only supports Power BI Service connections via XMLA endpoints. Power BI Desktop is Windows-only.

License

Proprietary software. See the bundled LICENSE file (or https://www.mcpengine.dev/license) for terms.

Copyright © 2025 Maxim Anatsko. All rights reserved.