Power BI Desktop can't open a PBIP

Start with the file the message names

A change made outside Power BI Desktop can stop it opening a project. Where it can, Power BI Desktop shows the file and the place of the error. Fix that file, then open the project again.

For report files, Microsoft splits errors in two. Blocking errors, such as an invalid schema or a missing required property, stop the report loading. Non-blocking errors, such as an invalid activePageName, are fixed by Power BI Desktop on its own.

Source: Power BI Desktop projects (PBIP), Power BI Desktop project report folder.

The .pbip file

The .pbip file is only a shortcut to the report folder. If it is the problem, you can open the definition.pbir in the report folder instead.

• Expected '$schema' property in the .pbip file to follow patternsThe .pbip file is the one Power BI Desktop opens.

Source: Power BI Desktop projects (PBIP).

TMDL files in the semantic model

If a TMDL edit is invalid, Power BI Desktop shows an error when you open the project or apply external changes, and names the place to fix.

• TMDL Format ErrorPower BI Desktop read a .tmdl file in the project and found something it does not accept.
• TMDL Format Error: Invalid indentation was detected!TMDL reads the lines under an object declaration as that object's properties.

Source: Power BI Desktop project semantic model folder.

Loading the semantic model

The .pbi/cache.abf file holds a local copy of the model and its data. Power BI Desktop can open a project without it: the report opens with the whole model definition and no data.

• Multiple SaveChanges without transactionPower BI Desktop stopped while it loaded the semantic model of a PBIP project and showed no file or line.
• Tabular databases do not support CompatibilityLevel downgradePower BI Desktop compared the compatibility level in the project with the level of a model it already holds locally, and the project asked for a lower one.

Source: Power BI Desktop project semantic model folder.

JSON files in the report definition

To find these, open the file in VS Code and read its schema validation messages. A PBIR file or folder name may contain only letters, digits, underscores and hyphens. After you rename one, restart Power BI Desktop.

• Required properties are missing from objectA file in the report's definition folder has an object without a property its schema requires.
• The /$schema property in report.json must be provided as a constEvery PBIR file names the schema version it follows in $schema.
• Values for the 'pageBinding.name' property must be uniqueA page's page.json can carry a pageBinding, which drillthrough and page tooltips use.
• Property has not been defined and the schema does not allow additional propertiesPower BI Desktop, or a Fabric import, read a project file and found a property its schema for that file does not have.

Source: Power BI Desktop project report folder.

A visual that opens broken

• Something's wrong with one or more fieldsA visual refers to a field, and the model has no field by that name and of that kind.

Before you try again

• Save any file you edited by hand as UTF-8 without a byte order mark.
• Keep the folder path short. Windows limits project file paths to 260 characters by default, and a longer path can make saves fail.
• Do not save the project straight to OneDrive or SharePoint. A locally synced OneDrive folder works, but can cause failed saves.

Source: Power BI Desktop projects (PBIP).

Check a project in your browser

Other guides

• What is a PBIP project, and what is TMDL?A Power BI project (PBIP) saves a report and its semantic model as plain text files in folders, instead of one .pbix file.
• PBIR vs PBIR-LegacyPBIR saves a report as a folder with a file for each page, visual and bookmark.
• PBIP and Git: what to commit and what to ignoreA PBIP project is plain text, so Git can track it.

Sources

• Microsoft Learn: Power BI Desktop projects (PBIP). "Save as a project", "Changes outside Power BI Desktop", "Considerations and limitations" and the FAQ. Page dated 2026-09-23. Read 2026-10-04.
• Microsoft Learn: Power BI Desktop project report folder. The file list, "PBIR format", "External changes to PBIR files", "Convert existing report to PBIR" and "PBIR considerations and limitations". Page dated 2026-09-29. Read 2026-10-04.
• Microsoft Learn: Power BI Desktop project semantic model folder. The file list, "TMDL format" and "TMDL errors". Page dated 2026-09-29. Read 2026-10-04.