Building & Advanced · Reviewed 2026-10

How do I connect Claude Desktop to Power BI?

Overview

This advanced setup is for Power BI users on a Windows computer. You add Microsoft's Power BI extension (an add-on) to VS Code, a code editor, and point the Claude desktop app to it. Claude can then connect to the Power BI report you have open and work with it.

Before you start

You need a Windows computer with these three apps:

VS Code: get it at code.visualstudio.com (opens in a new tab). If you ran the setup script from How do I start using Claude Code?, you already have it.
Power BI Desktop: see Microsoft's Get Power BI Desktop (opens in a new tab).
The Claude desktop app: see How do I get Claude?

On an SU-owned Windows computer, you can install VS Code and Power BI Desktop yourself from Company Portal in the Start menu.

Claude can change your Power BI model, not just read it, and some changes can't be undone. Save a copy of your Power BI file before you start. When Claude asks to use a tool, choose Allow once (open the arrow next to Always allow if you don't see it), so you approve each change yourself.

Steps

Install the extension

In VS Code, open Extensions, search for Power BI Authoring MCP Server (formerly Power BI Modeling MCP Server) and install the one published by Microsoft.
In File Explorer, open the extension's folder. Its location (path) looks like C:\Users\<YourUsername>\.vscode\extensions\analysis-services.powerbi-modeling-mcp-...\server. If it isn't there, look in your Apps-SU folder. Hold Shift, right-click powerbi-modeling-mcp.exe, choose Copy as path and paste the path into a note for later.

Connect it to Claude

In the Claude desktop app, go to Settings > Developer and click Edit Config. A folder opens with claude_desktop_config.json selected. Open that file in VS Code. Don't use config.json in the same folder, which is the app's own file.

If the file is empty or only has {}, replace everything in it with this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "powerbi-modeling-mcp": {
      "command": "paste the path you copied before here",
      "args": ["--start"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Or, if it already lists other servers under "mcpServers", keep them and add only this entry inside that section, with a comma after the entry before it:
```
"powerbi-modeling-mcp": {
  "command": "paste the path you copied before here",
  "args": ["--start"],
  "env": {}
}
```
Replace paste the path you copied before here with the path from your note, and delete the quote marks at each end of the path (Copy as path adds them). Change each backslash in it to two (C:\Users becomes C:\\Users), then save the file.
Restart your computer, then open the Claude desktop app and check that powerbi-modeling-mcp appears under Settings > Developer.
Open your report in Power BI Desktop, start a chat in the Claude desktop app and ask: "Connect to the open Power BI desktop file".

Additional information

Claude asks before it uses a Power BI tool. Choose Deny for anything you don't want it to do.

Official links

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