Many Power BI protection constraints originate from Microsoft API limitations. When Microsoft does not expose an object type for backup, Druva cannot back it up, and that object cannot be restored later. See Microsoft Documentation for more information.
Use the matrix below to set expectations before backup and restore testing. For restore procedures, see Downloading and Restoring Power BI Data.
Power BI Backup and Restore Support Matrix
Entity | Backup support | Restore support |
Workspace metadata | Supported | Supported |
Workspace RBAC | Supported | Supported |
Report | Supported — subject to Microsoft report download limitations | Supported |
Dataset / semantic model | Supported | Supported |
Dashboard | Supported | Partial. See Dashboards. |
Dataflow (Gen 1) | Supported | Supported |
Dataflow (Gen 2) | Not supported — Microsoft API not available | Not supported |
App | Supported for workspace apps only | Not supported — Microsoft restore API not available |
💡Tip: If an item appears as Report (metadata) or shows 0 bytes in the recovery point listing, only its metadata was captured during backup because Microsoft blocked the content export. The item cannot be fully restored until a subsequent backup captures its full content.
Report Backup Limitations (Microsoft)
For details on the limitations Microsoft imposes when downloading a report's .pbix file, see Microsoft documentation. Key limitations include:
Reports that rely on Direct Lake semantic models are not supported.
Reports published before November 23, 2016 and never updated are blocked by Microsoft APIs
Report copies saved in a different workspace than the original report cannot be fully backed up.
Power BI Backup Limitations for Web-Based Reports
Reports created directly via the Power BI web interface have backup limitations due to Microsoft API restrictions.
Scenario: User connects to data (SharePoint, OneDrive, or local drives) via the web browser interface.
Result: Metadata Only. The full report data cannot be backed up.
Cause: Microsoft APIs do not allow the capture of full data streams through web-browser connections for these sources.
Recommended Workflow: Power BI Desktop App
To ensure a complete backup of reports and semantic models, users must use the Power BI Desktop application to embed data.
Procedure for Successful Backup:
Open the Power BI Desktop application.
Connect to your data source (e.g., an Excel file or SQL database).
Build the semantic model within the desktop app to embed the data.
Save the file locally.
Publish the report to the Power BI workspace.
Why this works: When published from the Desktop App, the data becomes an embedded part of the report package, allowing Druva to capture the entire dataset rather than just the metadata.
Dataflows
Backup is supported only for Dataflows Gen1. Dataflows Gen2 is currently not supported because Microsoft has not yet provided backup or restore APIs for Dataflow Gen2. Gen2 objects are skipped during backup and do not appear in recovery point listings.
Apps
Backup is supported for Workspace apps only. Org apps are currently not supported.
Restore is not supported for apps. Microsoft has not yet provided restore APIs for Power BI apps. Apps may appear in backups for reference, but they are not recreated during workspace restore.
Dashboards
During automated restore, Druva creates empty dashboard shells and clones supported report tiles. Dashboard restore has the following limitations:
During automated restore, Druva creates empty dashboard shells and clones supported report tiles. Dashboard restore has the following limitations:
Deleted source tiles: Tile restore fails if the source tiles have been deleted from the original dashboard. Tiles are cloned from the source environment at restore time.
Standalone dashboard tiles: Tiles belonging to standalone dashboards are not supported for restore.
Restore limitations
The following limitations apply to automated workspace restore:
New workspace only: Restoring to an existing workspace is not supported.
Full workspace scope: Restore applies to the entire workspace backed up contents. Restoring individual items within a snapshot is not supported.
Subscriptions: Report and dashboard subscriptions cannot be restored through the API. Recreate subscriptions manually in the Power BI UI
Apps: Power BI Apps cannot be restored.
Workspaces
Due to Microsoft API limitations, backing up personal workspaces is not supported.
Workspaces associated with service principals may not be visible in Power BI
Some Microsoft APIs may return entries that look like personal workspaces for service principals (SPNs) where the workspace owner is shown as “Admin” and the principal type is “App.” These objects do not correspond to actual user or shared workspaces in the Power BI service UI and are exposed only to satisfy legacy
GetGroupsAsAdminAPI behaviors and backward compatibility requirements.
Druva does not discover or back up these SPN “personal” workspaces, because they are not real Power BI workspaces and are not surfaced in the Power BI service or APIs.