Migrate Semantic Model in Direct Lake mode from one workspace to another

[JaroWag]

Hello,

I created Semantic Model with Direct Lake mode in one workspace and need to move it to another workspace.

I tried to download the model in Power BI desktop and switch it to Direct Query and reupload, but then i'm not able to switch it to Direct Lake mode.

Could you please advise?

[v-sathmakuri]

Hi @JaroWag ,

I hope the information provided is helpful. Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions or would like to discuss this in more detail. If responses provided answers your question, please accept it as a solution so other community members with similar problems can find a solution faster.

Thank you!!

[v-sathmakuri]

Hi @JaroWag ,

I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. If the responses has addressed your query, please accept it as a solution and give a 'Kudos' so other members can easily find it.

Thank you!!

[v-sathmakuri]

Hi @JaroWag ,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Fabric Community.

Thank you @burakkaragoz  and @suparnababu8  for the prompt respone.

May I ask if the provided solution helped in resolving the issue? If so, please mark the helpful reply and accept it as the solution. This will be helpful for other community members who have similar problems to solve it faster.

Thank you!!

[burakkaragoz]

Hi @JaroWag ,

Just checking in to see if you had a chance to try the suggestions we shared earlier.
Were you able to test the migration steps for the Direct Lake semantic model?

If you've already resolved it, feel free to share what worked—it might help others too.
And if you're still stuck, happy to help further!

[burakkaragoz · Accepted solution]

Hi @JaroWag ,

we ran into the same issue when moving Direct Lake models between workspaces. The problem is that the model keeps a hard reference to the original lakehouse path, and that path breaks when you move it.

Here’s what worked for us:

---

1. Rebind the model manually after moving
After deploying the semantic model to the new workspace:

• Go to the dataset settings
• Reconnect it to the correct lakehouse in the new workspace
• You might need to re-map tables if the lakehouse name or structure changed

2. Use deployment pipelines (if possible)
If both workspaces are in the same tenant and region, deployment pipelines preserve the lakehouse bindings better. Still, double-check the connections after deployment.

3. Avoid renaming lakehouses
If the lakehouse name changes between environments, the model won’t find the tables. Try to keep consistent naming across Dev/Test/Prod.

---

Let me know if you want a sample script to rebind the model via REST API.

If my response resolved your query, kindly mark it as the Accepted Solution to assist others. Additionally, I would be grateful for a 'Kudos' if you found my response helpful.

[suparnababu8]

Hi @JaroWag 

• Once the semantic model is swicthed from Direct lake to Direct query mode, you can't revert semantic model to direct lake mode
• If you have Deployment pipelines in Fabric environemnt, you can use this Deployment pipelines to move the sematic models from one workspace to another workspace while maintining Direct lake mode.

Explore mor about Direct lake sematic models here

Solved: Re: How to move Direct Lake Semantic Models across... - Microsoft Fabric Community

Comprehensive Guide to Direct Lake Datasets in Microsoft Fabric

Manage Direct Lake semantic models - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

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