TROUBLESHOOTING.md

Troubleshooting

This guide helps you diagnose and resolve common issues with the Power BI Modeling MCP Server.

MCP Server Logging

Check the MCP server output log for detailed information on any issues. These logs are essential for troubleshooting MCP Server problems.

1. Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
2. Search for MCP: List Servers
3. Select powerbi-modeling-mcp
4. Select Show Output
5. Examine the Output window in VS Code
6. Select MCP: powerbi-modeling-mcp from the dropdown menu

Collect logs from EventSource

The Power BI Modeling MCP Server also uses the .NET EventSource to emit detailed information. You can capture these logs with tools such as dotnet-trace.

Capturing the MCP logs with dotnet-trace:

1. Install dotnet-trace
2. Find the process ID for the server powerbi-modeling-mcp.exe
3. Run: dotnet-trace collect -p {your-process-id} --providers 'Microsoft-Extensions-Logging:4:5'
4. Collect the trace
5. A .nettrace file will be output

Monitor MCP Activity in Fabric

All commands and queries issued by the MCP server are logged under the application name MCP-PBIModeling. You can track this activity using the Fabric Workspace Monitor by filtering events with ApplicationName == "MCP-PBIModeling".

Restart MCP Server

1. Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
2. Search for MCP: List Servers
3. Select powerbi-modeling-mcp Server
4. Select Restart Server
5. Examine the Output window in VS Code

Locating MCP Server Binaries

The Power BI Modeling MCP Server extension installs its platform-specific binaries in the user profile directory under:

%USERPROFILE%/.vscode/extensions/microsoft.powerbi-modeling-mcp-<version>-<platform>/server

This can be useful for:

• Verifying the exact version installed
• Checking platform-specific binaries
• Finding the MCP binary to use from other MCP client tools
• Troubleshooting and replacing binaries in development builds

Forcing Re-Authentication When Connecting to a Semantic Model in the Service

When you connect to a semantic model in a Fabric workspace, you are prompted to authenticate. That authentication is reused for the duration of the current session.

If you need to trigger the authentication prompt again (for example, to switch accounts), you must restart the MCP server. To do this, run: MCP: List Servers → Restart Server

This will reset the session and prompt you to authenticate again on the next connection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: I’m unable to install the new version of the MCP server in Visual Studio Code. The installation hangs and never completes.

Answer: Restart the MCP Server and try again. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, restart Visual Studio Code.