Deleting an Unused Power BI Workspace Using PowerShell

PowerShell provides an efficient way to delete unused Power BI workspaces and manage workspace lifecycles. This guide will walk you through the step-by-step process of identifying and deleting an unused Power BI workspace using the MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt module.

Step 1: Prerequisites

1. Install and Import the Power BI PowerShell Module

Ensure that the Power BI PowerShell module is installed:

# Install the Power BI module (if not installed)
Install-Module -Name MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt -Scope CurrentUser -Force

# Import the module
Import-Module MicrosoftPowerBIMgmt

2. Authenticate to Power BI

Before deleting a workspace, connect to the Power BI service:

# Connect interactively
Connect-PowerBIServiceAccount

For automation, use a Service Principal:

# Define credentials
$clientId = "your-client-id"
$clientSecret = "your-client-secret"
$tenantId = "your-tenant-id"

# Convert secret to secure string
$secureSecret = ConvertTo-SecureString $clientSecret -AsPlainText -Force
$credential = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($clientId, $secureSecret)

# Connect using Service Principal
Connect-PowerBIServiceAccount -ServicePrincipal -TenantId $tenantId -ClientId $clientId -Credential $credential

Now you’re connected to Power BI!

Step 2: Identify Unused Workspaces

To find workspaces that haven’t been used recently, use the following command:

# Get all workspaces
$workspaces = Get-PowerBIWorkspace -All

# Filter unused workspaces (modify the condition as per your needs)
$unusedWorkspaces = $workspaces | Where-Object { $_.State -ne "Active" }

# Display the unused workspaces
$unusedWorkspaces | Select-Object Id, Name, Type, State

Example Output

Id                                   Name                      Type      State
------------------------------------ -----------------------  --------- -------
abcd1234-5678-90ef-ghij Old Finance Workspace Workspace Deleted
efgh5678-1234-90kl-mnop Legacy Reports Workspace Workspace Inactive

You now have a list of unused workspaces!

Step 3: Delete an Unused Power BI Workspace

Once you have identified the workspace, delete it using:

# Define workspace name
$workspaceName = "Old Finance Workspace"

# Get workspace details
$workspace = Get-PowerBIWorkspace -Name $workspaceName

# Delete the workspace
Remove-PowerBIWorkspace -Id $workspace.Id -Confirm:$false

Workspace deleted successfully!

Step 4: Delete Multiple Unused Workspaces

To delete all unused workspaces in one go:

# Delete all unused workspaces
$unusedWorkspaces | ForEach-Object { 
    Remove-PowerBIWorkspace -Id $_.Id -Confirm:$false 
}

All unused workspaces have been deleted!

Step 5: Verify Deletion

Run the following command to check if the workspace is still present:

# Check if workspace exists
Get-PowerBIWorkspace -Name "Old Finance Workspace"

If no results are returned, the workspace was successfully deleted.

Step 6: Export Deleted Workspaces Report

To keep a record of deleted workspaces, export the details before deleting them:

$unusedWorkspaces | Export-Csv -Path "C:\Deleted_Workspaces.csv" -NoTypeInformation

Deleted workspaces report saved!

Step 7: Disconnect from Power BI

Once done, disconnect from Power BI:

Disconnect-PowerBIServiceAccount