docs-mintlify/docs/integrations/power-bi/index.mdx
Microsoft Power BI is a popular business intelligence tool.
Cube Cloud works with both Power BI Desktop and Power BI Service. If you're using Power BI Service, you need to set up an on-premises data gateway.
<iframe width="100%" height="400" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vgrFPOMuJJs" title="YouTube video" frameBorder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowFullScreen />Cube Cloud provides the DAX API for the native Power BI connectivity.
In Power BI Desktop, choose the SQL Server Analysis Services database option when connecting to a data source. Then, enter the DAX API credentials and choose Windows authentication. It accommodates both Kerberos and NTLM methods.
To find your DAX API credentials, go to the Integrations page,
click API credentials, and choose the DAX API tab. Use the full DAX API URL,
including the /cubejs-api/v2/dax path, as the server name — with a bare hostname, the
client tries to reach an Analysis Services instance on TCP port 2383 and fails to
connect.
Authentication for the DAX API — the XMLA service account, NTLM credentials, and Kerberos assets — is configured on the Settings → Power BI page of your deployment.
Cube Cloud supports the following authentication methods for Power BI:
| Application | Authentication | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Power BI Desktop | NTLM | 🟡 Works well for testing purposes |
| Power BI Desktop | Kerberos | 🟢 Recommended for production |
| Power BI Service | NTLM + Kerberos | 🟢 Recommended for production. |
| Requires on-premises data gateway |
Cube uses Power BI's live connection mode. You compose queries using the Power BI UI, and they run against your Cube semantic model in real time, so you always work with up-to-date data and an up-to-date model.
<Warning>Power BI's other connection methods, DirectQuery and import mode, are not supported. Because writing your own DAX queries requires DirectQuery, custom DAX queries are not supported either.
</Warning>You can connect a Cube deployment to Power BI using the SQL API as if Cube is a Postgres database. It would provide much more limited functionality than the DAX API. However, this is the only option when using Cube Core.