DISCLAIMER: the .yaml files I'm using to run the pipelines were generated using Claude Code, corrected by me and thoroughly tested to make sure they work in different scenarios. However, there might be more efficient ways to do what they are doing. If you notice some possible improvements, let me know and I'll be happy to integrate them.

These instructions are not meant to be exhaustive, as I haven't explained how to create an azure repo, what is a .pbip file for Power BI, and many other things. This is intended for people that have followed the session and want to experiment on their own.

Also, I do not own anything related to Tabular Editor and PBI Inspector. I have linked the repositories of the owners of these tools at the end of this file. Feel free to contact me for any issue you find while implementing this.

DevOps for Power BI: Ensuring Best Practices Compliance

Automated validation for Power BI Semantic Models and Reports using Tabular Editor BPA and PBI Inspector v2

Code and configuration from the session "DevOps for Power BI: ensuring best practices compliance with Tabular Editor and PBI Inspector" presented at Cloud Tech Tallinn 2026.

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📋 What's Included

Rule Files:

• bpa_rules.json - Standard Tabular Editor BPA rules for semantic models
• bpa_rules_custom.json - A few examples of custom BPA rules (naming conventions, TODO checks, duplicates)
• pbi_insp_v2_standard_rules.json - PBI Inspector rules for report validation

Pipeline Files:

• run_tebpa_on_modified_pbi_models_standard_rules.yaml - Validates changed models in PRs using standard rules file
• run_pbiinsp_v2_on_modified_pbi_reports.yaml - Validates changed reports in PRs
• run_tebpa_on_all_pbi_models_standard_rules.yaml* - Validates all models using standard rules file
• run_tebpa_on_all_pbi_models_custom_rules.yaml - Validates all models using custom rules file
• run_pbiinsp_v2_on_all_pbi_reports.yaml - Validates all reports

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🚀 Quick Setup

N.B. this part replicates exactly the way it is built in my personal repo. Obviously, you can organize the files in the folder structure you prefer, just make sure to update the variables in the devops library

Prerequisites

• Azure DevOps project
• Power BI files in .pbip format (with .pbir version for report files)

Step 1: Copy Rule Files

Place these in your repository following this structure:

your-repo/
├── pbi_devops/
│   ├── te_bpa_rules/
│   │   ├── bpa_rules.json
│   │   └── bpa_rules_custom.json
│   └── pbi_insp_v2_rules/
│       └── pbi_insp_v2_standard_rules.json

Step 2: Create Variable Group

1. Go to Pipelines → Library in Azure DevOps
2. Create variable group named PowerBI-Rules-Paths
3. Add variables:
   • te_bpa_standard_rules = pbi_devops/pbi_insp_v2_rules/pbi_insp_v2_standard_rules.json
   • te_bpa_custom_rules = pbi_devops/te_bpa_rules/bpa_rules_custom.json
   • pbi_insp_v2_standard_rules = pbi_devops/pbi_insp_v2_rules/pbi_insp_v2_standard_rules.json

Step 3: Create Pipelines

1. Pipelines → New pipeline → Existing Azure Pipelines YAML file
2. Start with these two for PR validation:
   • run_tebpa_on_modified_pbi_models_standard_rules.yaml
   • run_pbiinsp_v2_on_modified_pbi_reports.yaml

Step 4: (Optional) Make Mandatory

1. Repos → Branches → main → Branch policies
2. Add Build Validation for your pipelines
3. Set as Required

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⚙️ Customizing Rules

BPA Rules

Edit bpa_rules.json or bpa_rules_custom.json:

• Set "disabled": true to skip a rule
• Change "Severity": 1=Info, 2=Warning, 3=Error

PBI Inspector Rules

Edit pbi_insp_v2_standard_rules.json:

• Set "disabled": true to skip a rule
• Modify thresholds in the test section

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📚 Resources

• 📖 Tabular Editor BPA Docs
• 🔧 PBI Inspector V2 GitHub
• 💡 Rui Romano's DevOps Resources
• 🎥 BPA Video - Daniel Otykier
• 🎥 PBI Inspector Video - Nat Van Gulck

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📧 Contact

Alessandro Gherardi | BI Freelancer
📧 agherardi@agbi.it | 💼 LinkedIn

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⭐ Star this repo if you found it helpful! ⭐

Cloud Tech Tallinn 2026