Any "proper" version control for PBIX projects?

[EricM]

I have read about various options to "version control" entire PBIX files...

If it is what I fear, making copies of 100Mbs files is not really what I call "version Control".

It's more like "let's make more backups of the data and, as a side effect, copy the code as well within that backup"

I am looking for proper version control of the code, not the data. Like version control of an Analysis services project within Visual Studio.

Is there any way to do that sort of version control (without data) for PBIX projects/Files?

Many Thanks

Eric

[messerjc]

Old necropost here 🙂  But I'm curious if you came up with a solution? We are very much embedded in the SSRS/SSDT pipeline and using Team Foundation Server for source control. I've been searching around for a good, similar solution with PBIX files now that we're moving to Power BI Report Server, but didn't consider the problems with the data being stored WITH the report until now. I've been reading up on PBIX templates, and thinking source control of those templates might be the best route to go?

[EricM]

Sorry for the LONGGGG delay in answering but: No!

First I did not use Power BI since/yet.

However, the basic issue IMHO is that a PBIX file is a "blob" and blobs don't work well with source control of any shape or form (making a diff between two blobs is pointless).

Therefore I think that a proper Source COntrol solution could only come from Microsoft themselves...

It took Microsoft so long (15 years? or was it 20?) to bring a proper source control solution to SQL Server but they eventually delivered a top notch solution with Visual Studio / SSDT that I am not losing hope.

[messerjc]

No worries, thanks for the response either way. We're finding ourselves using the actual PBIX reports less than we thought we would. The paginated "old school" reports are just more flexible for our needs in comparison, and we've run into scenarios where the PBIX features need some more time in the oven. We're actually moving over to GitHub Enterprise internally and we're just checking in the base PBIX files (minus any pulled data) and so far...it's been good enough. Otherwise I wholeheartedly agree, the ole Reporting Services Visual Studio plug-ins need to be expanded in some way to work a little more cleanly. I still don't get how people are dealing with this in the PBI Service, it seems like it'd be a nightmare. Anyhow, thanks, here's to future updates making life easier!

[Greg_Deckler]

Most people that I know save their PBIX to a PBIT file (template file). They then put that in something like GitHub. That way, you don't have to keep 100MB files around.

[Greg_Deckler]

Not really anything official that I am aware of.