fabric-samples: the sample notebooks behind the Microsoft Fabric docs

A repository whose purpose is to be referenced by other documents

The Microsoft Fabric samples repository is described in one line: samples and data for Microsoft Fabric Learn content. The README expands that into a repository designed to help you explore and learn about Microsoft Fabric, providing hands-on examples and resources, aimed both at people new to Fabric and at people who want to go deeper.

The key word in that description is referenced. These samples exist to be linked from somewhere else, and the README is explicit about which somewhere. The documentation samples are referenced within the Microsoft Fabric official documentation and Learn training content, and they include both code examples and sample data.

That distinction matters if you are deciding how to use the repository. A sample that a documentation page embeds has a constraint that a standalone tutorial does not: when the documentation changes, the sample has to change with it, or the page breaks. So the code here is closer to a test fixture for the docs than to a project you would fork and evolve.

The primary language is recorded as Jupyter Notebook, which is the most direct hint about the shape of the content. Most of what you will find is notebook code, and the sample data is what makes those notebooks runnable rather than illustrative.

There is no homepage for the repository, and there are no GitHub releases. The last push was on 2026-10-13, so the content does move, but there is no version you can pin a piece of work to.

Three documented folders, and two the README never mentions

The README organises the repository into sections, and the top level listing of the tree shows that the README's list is not complete.

The three documented sections are straightforward. There is a docs-samples folder for the documentation samples referenced by the official docs and Learn content, a features-samples folder for samples that focus on specific features of Fabric and demonstrate how to use them in your projects, and a community-samples folder for samples created by the community, described as showing creative ways to use Fabric and providing insight into real world scenarios.

The tree also contains two directories the README does not describe at all: e2e-samples and workspace-monitoring. There is a media directory for images, and the standard governance files at the root, including CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, LICENSE, README.md, SECURITY.md and SUPPORT.md.

The gap between the three documented sections and the actual tree is worth noting, because it tells you the repository is a working collection rather than a carefully indexed catalogue. The README says the repository is organized into different sections to help you move through various samples and resources easily, and for the three named folders it is right. For the other two, you find out by looking.

The naming convention also suggests different lifecycles. Documentation samples are tied to published pages and will follow the docs. Community samples arrive from outside and carry their own assumptions about workspaces, data and permissions. Feature samples sit in between, written by the team that builds the feature. The e2e-samples and workspace-monitoring directories have no such stated purpose here, and a reader will need to open them to see how they are meant to be run.

The learning path that the samples support

The README points outward to three resources, and they form a progression rather than a random list.

For starting out, the Fabric Learning Path on Microsoft Learn. The README describes it as an excellent place to start for anyone beginning their Fabric journey, offering a series of free, self-paced modules that introduce the basics. That is the entry point for someone who does not yet know the platform.

For teaching and presenting, the Fabric Readiness Repository, a separate repository that contains presentation decks for user groups, online presentations, in-person conferences and customer discussions, with comprehensive notes for presenters. This is the resource for someone who has to explain Fabric to an audience, and the presence of presenter notes is what makes the decks usable rather than decorative.

For a visual treatment of the concepts, Fabric Notes, a set of illustrated notes that break down the core concepts of Fabric into visuals. The README includes a sample image from it, and the hosted site is a separate GitHub Pages location from the repository itself.

The ordering is deliberate in the way a good syllabus is. Learn modules for the individual, illustrated notes for the visual learner, presentation decks for the person who has to stand in front of a room, and this repository for the person who needs the code to run.

Note the division of labour. None of these three resources is in this repository, and the samples here are the executable part of that set. If you are looking for a narrative course, this is the wrong place. If you are looking for the code a lesson refers to, this is exactly the right place.

What the sample data implies for anyone running the notebooks

Sample data is the part of this repository most likely to surprise a reader who expects a code repository.

The documentation samples include both code examples and sample data, and the community samples are described as providing insight into real world scenarios. A notebook that demonstrates a real scenario needs a workspace with the right items in it, and the data that makes it reproducible is part of what you are downloading.

Two practical consequences follow. The first is that running a notebook is not a local operation. A notebook that talks to Fabric expects a Fabric workspace, and it expects a connection to it. The repository does not document, in the README, how to set that up, so you are expected to arrive with the workspace and credentials already in place, or to pick that up from the Learn module and the official documentation that the samples support.

The second is that the data may need replacing. Any sample that contains names, identifiers or dataset-like values is carrying whatever its author put there. If you take a notebook into a tenant you care about, review the data it references before running it with a real connection, and expect to substitute your own values where the sample hardcodes a workspace, a lakehouse or an item name.

Neither point is a criticism of the repository. Samples are meant to be edited. But it does mean the samples are a starting point that requires reading, not a set of scripts you can point at a tenant and run.

Contributing, governance and the licence terms

The README keeps governance short, but it points to real files rather than paraphrasing them.

For contribution, the instruction is to check CONTRIBUTING.md for more information about contributing to this repository. That file is present in the tree along with CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, SECURITY.md and SUPPORT.md, so the repository has the standard set of community documents even though the README does not summarise their contents.

The code of conduct is the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct, with a link to the Code of Conduct FAQ and an email contact at [email protected] for questions. That is a named, specific contact point rather than a generic form, which matters for a repository that takes outside contributions.

On licensing, the statement is that all samples and templates in the repository are licensed under the MIT License, with the full text in a file in the repository root. There is a small inconsistency worth knowing about: the README points to a license.txt file in lowercase, while the top level listing shows a LICENSE file. Whichever name is authoritative in the tree, the substance is the same, MIT, and the README also states the terms apply to templates as well as samples, so a notebook template is covered by the same grant as a notebook.

The trademark section is the most restrictive clause and the one most often skipped. The project may include trademarks or logos for projects, products or services, and use of Microsoft trademarks or logos must follow the Microsoft Trademark and Brand Guidelines and must not cause confusion or imply Microsoft sponsorship. Third-party trademarks remain subject to their own policies. For a repository of samples that reference a commercial platform, that is the clause to read before you redistribute a notebook containing Microsoft logos.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt fabric-samples when you are working through the Microsoft Fabric documentation or Learn modules and want the exact notebooks and data behind a documented sample rather than a paraphrase. Do not adopt it as a product dependency, because it is a collection of examples with no versioning or releases, and expect to need your own Fabric workspace and credentials for anything beyond reading. Before you copy a notebook into a tenant, check the sample data in docs-samples for anything sensitive you have to replace, and read the SECURITY.md and SUPPORT.md files, which the repository lists but the README does not describe in detail.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. Issues
2. License: MIT
3. microsoft/fabric-samples on GitHub
4. README