How to Clone and Rebind Power BI Semantic Models

While it may not be considered best practice, I have occasionally needed to clone semantic models during my time working with Power BI for various reasons. There are valid use cases where this approach can be beneficial. For instance, I was using it to duplicate FUAM reports for the Semantic Model Analyser.

In this post, I’ll walk through how to:

• Clone a semantic model

• Clone a report if in PBIR format or else make a copy

• Rebind the cloned report to the new model

  
  

Step 1: Clone the Semantic Model

Start by copying the dataset URL from Power BI Service. Then extract the workspace and dataset IDs.

!pip install semantic-link-labs --quiet
import sempy_labs as labs
import re

def extract_dataset_ids(url):
    match = re.search(r"groups/([a-f0-9-]+)/datasets/([a-f0-9-]+)", url)
    if not match:
        raise ValueError("Invalid dataset URL.")
    return match.group(1), match.group(2)

try:
    dataset_url = "<https://app.powerbi.com/groups/{workspaceId}/datasets/{datasetId}/details>"
    source_workspace, source_dataset = extract_dataset_ids(dataset_url)
    target_dataset = "Semantic_Model_Meta_Data_Analyzer_SM"

    labs.deploy_semantic_model(
        source_dataset=source_dataset,
        source_workspace=source_workspace,
        target_dataset=target_dataset,
        target_workspace=source_workspace,
        refresh_target_dataset=True,
        overwrite=False
    )
    print("Semantic model cloned successfully.")

except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error during semantic model deployment: {e}")

Step 2: Clone the Report

Next, extract the report ID from the report URL and clone it with a new name. This work siwth PBIR only . Otherwise. I would just copy existing report and then rebind it.

def extract_report_ids(url):
    match = re.search(r"groups/([a-f0-9-]+)/reports/([a-f0-9-]+)", url)
    if not match:
        raise ValueError("Invalid report URL.")
    return match.group(1), match.group(2)

try:
    report_url = "<https://app.powerbi.com/groups/{workspaceId}/reports/{reportId}>"
    report_workspace, report_id = extract_report_ids(report_url)
    cloned_report_name = "Cloned Report - Dev"

    labs.report.clone_report(
        report=report_id,
        cloned_report=cloned_report_name,
        workspace=report_workspace,
        target_workspace=report_workspace
    )
    print("Report cloned successfully.")

except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error during report cloning: {e}")

Step 3: Rebind the Cloned Report

Finally, rebind the cloned report to the new semantic model.

try:
    labs.report.report_rebind(
        report=cloned_report_name,
        dataset=target_dataset,
        report_workspace=report_workspace,
        dataset_workspace=source_workspace
    )
    print("Report rebound to the new dataset successfully.")

except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error during report rebinding: {e}")

And here is the link on Git - https://github.com/prathyusha-kamasani/Blog-Posts/blob/main/clone_and_rebind_powerbi.py

Keep Smiling,

Prathy 😊