Power BI Desktop Samples: the PBIX file collection behind Microsoft's monthly blog posts

A collection of PBIX files for monthly blog posts, not a software package

Power BI Desktop Samples is a repository of PBIX files that Microsoft publishes alongside its monthly blog posts and video updates. Nothing in this repository requires installation through a package manager, and no API exists to call. Each file in the Monthly Desktop Blog Samples folder is a report created to accompany a specific blog post or video. Someone following those monthly posts and wanting the underlying data model to inspect is the primary audience.

Beyond the monthly blog files, the directory holds exploration samples, theme validation schemas, DAX examples, and a folder dedicated to the Performance Analyzer. Folder names in the listing show a range: AdventureWorks Sales Sample, Power BI Visuals report, and two overlapping service-sample directories. Each folder sits at the top level, and only three of those folders receive any description in the README.

Anyone looking for an index of what each folder contains will not find one. That gap is worth stating plainly before choosing which folder to open first.

Sixteen top-level entries, including two service-sample folders the README does not distinguish

Sixteen entries sit at the top level. Named folders include Monthly Desktop Blog Samples, Sample Reports, Report Theme JSON Schema, DAX, Performance Analyzer, Power BI Visuals report, AdventureWorks Sales Sample, and one called 2026 Power BI Samples Revamp. Two further folders bear names that overlap: new-power-bi-service-samples and powerbi-service-samples both appear at the same level, and the README explains neither one.

That duplication has a practical consequence. Anyone who wants a Power BI service sample has to open both folders to determine which one is current, because the directory structure offers no other signal. A folder called 2026 Power BI Samples Revamp alongside those two overlapping entries points to reorganisation in progress, yet the README says nothing about what is changing or why.

Other top-level entries include an item-schemas directory and an images directory. No manifest file and no content index appears anywhere in the listing, so every folder beyond the three documented ones requires direct exploration.

Report Theme JSON Schema: what the $schema property enables in external editors and applications

Of all the folders in the repository, Report Theme JSON Schema gets the most documentation. Its content, according to the README, is JSON schemas that specify valid properties to be customised in a Power BI report.

Two uses are described. External application development is the first: a tool that generates or manipulates Power BI themes can validate its output against the schema to confirm that it matches the structure Power BI Desktop expects. Direct validation inside a theme file is the second. Any custom theme JSON file can include a "$schema" property pointing at the schema location, after which a JSON-aware editor checks the file structure before it reaches Power BI Desktop. A theme author keeping files in version control catches structural errors at edit time rather than at load time.

For further detail, the README links to a separate README.md inside the Report Theme JSON Schema folder. That folder-level file is not reproduced elsewhere, so the subfolder itself holds the full property list and any constraints that the top-level README does not repeat.

Telemetry collection starts on by default, with three documented steps to disable it

Power BI Desktop collects usage data and sends it to Microsoft by default. A privacy statement at go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=521839 documents what is collected. This applies to the Power BI Desktop application as a whole, not only to sessions opened with these sample files.

Disabling collection takes three steps, as documented in the README. First, select File, then Options and settings, then Options. Second, within the Options dialog, select Usage Data and uncheck the option labelled "Help improve Power BI Desktop by sending usage information to Microsoft." Third, select Ok.

Nothing in the README specifies which versions of Power BI Desktop support this setting, or whether the setting persists after an application update. For an organisation with a data residency policy or a security review requirement, the privacy statement URL is the source to consult rather than the README.

Finding a specific monthly sample without a file index or naming convention

Monthly Desktop Blog Samples holds files that accompany the monthly blog posts, but no index in the repository maps each file to a specific post or date. Anyone building a training course that links to a specific sample has to identify the right file by name against the corresponding blog post. Nothing in the top-level README explains how files in that folder are named or ordered.

Two overlapping service-sample folders complicate navigation further. New-power-bi-service-samples and powerbi-service-samples both sit at the top level without explanation, and a folder called 2026 Power BI Samples Revamp appears alongside them. Opening both service folders is the only documented path to determining which one is current. For the revamp folder, the name alone signals that something changed in 2026, but neither the README nor any linked document says what.

Item-schemas and images round out the top-level directory. For a new reader, undocumented folders outnumber documented ones, and the natural entry point is the specific blog post that accompanies a sample rather than anything in the repository itself.

Contributing requires a CLA and the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct

Contributing to the repository requires signing a CLA at cla.microsoft.com. That agreement requires each contributor to declare that they have the right to, and actually do, grant Microsoft usage rights over their contribution. A bot on the repository handles the check automatically: on each pull request, it determines whether the contributor has already signed and adds a label or comment to the PR. Signing once is sufficient, and after that the bot recognises the contributor across all repositories that use the same system.

Microsoft's Open Source Code of Conduct applies to this repository. Questions can be sent to [email protected], and both the code of conduct and its FAQ are linked from the README on opensource.microsoft.com.

Nothing in the README says what kinds of contributions are in scope. Whether Microsoft accepts PBIX files from outside contributors, how a new sample would be reviewed, or whether contributions should align with the monthly update schedule: none of those questions is addressed.

What the README covers and what it leaves out across thirteen of sixteen folders

Of the sixteen top-level entries, the README names and describes only three: Monthly Desktop Blog Samples, Sample Reports, and Report Theme JSON Schema. Each of those gets one or two sentences that name its purpose but nothing about specific files, report titles, or a recommended starting point.

Folders that receive no mention include DAX, Performance Analyzer, Power BI Visuals report, AdventureWorks Sales Sample, 2026 Power BI Samples Revamp, new-power-bi-service-samples, powerbi-service-samples, item-schemas, and images. That covers most of the repository.

Much of the README's actual text goes to the Data/Telemetry section and the Contributing section. Together those two sections occupy more space than the descriptions of all three named sample folders combined. Telemetry settings apply to Power BI Desktop as a whole rather than to these files specifically, and the contributing workflow is standard across Microsoft's open-source repositories. For a sample repository where the files are the point, that balance is worth noting before relying on the README as a guide to what is available.

MIT-licensed with no GitHub releases, the last push was on 2026-09-16.

Editorial conclusion

Power BI Desktop Samples is the right repository if you are following the monthly Power BI blog posts and want the corresponding files to inspect. Report Theme JSON Schema is the one folder useful outside Power BI Desktop: it lets a JSON-aware editor validate custom theme files through the $schema reference before loading them. Skip this if you need a Power BI SDK, a data connector, or a dataset with numbered versions and a documented structure. Before using a sample in a course, match it to the specific blog post it accompanies, because the README names the folder's purpose without listing its files.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

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