pql-test — DAX Test Runner for PBIP Models
Run Your Semantic Model Tests from the Command Line
pql-test is a command-line tool that discovers and executes the DAX tests
stored inside your Power BI Project (PBIP) semantic models, connecting to
Analysis Services over XMLA. Tests live as .dax files alongside your model
and are written with the PQL.Assert
function family.
Where PQL.Assert gives you the assertions that live inside the model,
pql-test is the automation half: it runs those assertions against a local
Power BI Desktop session or a deployed Power BI Premium or Microsoft Fabric
workspace, and reports the results in a form your terminal and your pipeline
can both read.
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
The only thing you install manually is Python 3.10+ (python.org — check "Add python.exe to PATH" on Windows). Everything else is handled automatically:
| Requirement | How it's installed |
|---|
| Python 3.10+ | Manual — install from python.org and ensure it's on PATH |
| pythonnet, msal, azure-identity, keyring, click, python-dotenv, psutil | Automatic via pip — pulled in as Python dependencies when you pip install pql-test |
| ADOMD.NET assemblies (the .NET XMLA client) | Automatic on first use — when no ADOMD.NET install is detected, pql-test downloads the official Microsoft.AnalysisServices.AdomdClient NuGet package (~5 MB) from nuget.org to %USERPROFILE%\.pql-test\adomd\ and uses it for every subsequent run. No admin rights, no manual MSI. Set PQL_TEST_NO_AUTO_INSTALL_ADOMD=1 if you'd rather provide ADOMD yourself. |
| Power BI Desktop (optional) | Only needed for local/<model_name> mode against a locally-open model. Skip if you only target the service. |
Windows or Linux. Commands that query a model over XMLA (run-tests, code-coverage, contract run, and doctor's live checks) need ADOMD.NET, which runs on Windows only; elsewhere they stop with one message saying so. The file-based commands also run on Linux, for example in a CI pipeline: retrieve-tests and retrieve-test with a PBIP folder, and contract lint|coverage|generate|trace.
Run the built-in check to verify your environment (this is also when the one-time ADOMD download will fire, if needed):
pql-test check-prereqs
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
