The only free tool that answers "where does this data come from?" in seconds — tracing Power BI visuals all the way back to the original source column, before any Power Query renames.
- 🔍 Trace any Power BI visual → measure → column → source in one click
- 🔒 100% in your browser — files never uploaded, no account, no server
- ⚡ Works on TMDL/PBIR — the format Power BI Desktop now saves by default
Free forever · 100% client-side · Your files never leave your browser · MIT License
Click a visual → see the full chain from visual to BigQuery source column, including Power Query renames.
No PBIP file? Try it now with built-in sample data — no setup required.
Using this at work? A small sponsorship keeps it maintained and free.
- Open jonathanjihwankim.github.io/pbip-lineage-explorer
- Click Open Project Folder and select your PBIP project root (the folder containing
.SemanticModeland.Reportsubfolders) - Click any visual in the left panel → see every measure, column, and source it uses
- Click any measure → trace its full DAX dependency chain to source
Requires Chrome 86+ or Edge 86+ (File System Access API). Firefox and Safari are not supported.
- Open your PBIP project folder
- Click Visuals tab in the left panel → click any chart or table visual
- The Source Columns — All Measures section loads immediately, showing every source table/column
- Click Grouped by Source to group by source database/table — see which BigQuery datasets, SQL schemas, or files feed this visual
- For the full model mapping: click Source Map in the toolbar → search, sort, and export as CSV
- Open your PBIP project folder
- Click Measures tab → click any measure
- See the interactive tree (Visual → Measure → Table → Column → Source)
- Click ↗ Impact next to any measure → see every downstream visual and upstream dependency
- Click Source-First View toggle to see source columns before DAX (great for reviewing with data engineers)
Saved you an hour? A coffee-sized sponsorship keeps this free for everyone.
- A Power BI developer gives you a dashboard. You need to know: "What BigQuery/SQL tables and columns feed this visual?" You trace through 30 TMDL files by hand.
- You see a column called
customer_idin the Power BI model. The source column is actuallycust_fk. No tool shows you this rename chain without opening every Power Query step manually. - A data engineer asks: "Which source tables are used in this dashboard?" The Power BI developer has to dig through the semantic model and piece it together from memory.
- You need to validate that a source column rename won't silently break a report. There's no way to check without deploying and hoping.
- Someone modifies a shared DAX measure — you don't know which visuals are impacted downstream.
Each of these takes hours. This tool does it in seconds.
| Manual | PBIP Lineage Explorer | |
|---|---|---|
| "What source tables feed this visual?" | Trace through 30 TMDL files | One click → Source Columns section |
| Source column before Power Query renames | Open each PQ step manually | Full rename chain: source → PQ → PBI |
| Visual → measure → source column chain | Copy-paste across dozens of files | Interactive tree: Visual → Table → Column → Source |
| Impact analysis ("what breaks?") | Not feasible at scale | One click — upstream + downstream |
| What changed in the last 5 commits? | Diff raw JSON by hand | Automatic change report with 30+ change types |
| Downstream impact of a measure edit | Hope and pray | Traced through refs, field params & calc groups |
This tool directly bridges the gap between the two teams:
Data engineers get:
- A "Source Columns" section right at the top of every visual — showing every source table and column that feeds it, with full rename chains (source name → Power Query name → Power BI name)
- A flat Source Map table (toolbar button) listing every PBI column mapped to its original source column, database, and schema — exportable as CSV
- Group by Source view to see all columns from a given BigQuery dataset, SQL schema, or file source in one block
- "Source-First View" toggle to see source column mapping before the DAX chain
Power BI developers get:
- DAX dependency tree — interactive D3 graph showing every referenced measure and column with syntax-highlighted DAX
- Calculation group lineage — see all calculation items (YTD, QTD, MTD) with their DAX expressions
- Field parameter resolution — see ALL measures a field parameter contains, not just the active one
- Impact analysis — select any measure to instantly see what breaks if you change it
- Orphan detection — find measures that no visual references
- Commit-by-commit change detection with downstream impact tracing
Team Leads & Governance:
- Track changes across commits (measures, columns, relationships, source expressions)
- Export lineage as CSV/Markdown for documentation
- Run impact analysis before approving PRs
- Model Health Dashboard — tables, columns, measures, relationships, data sources at a glance
- Visual-to-source lineage in one click — full chain from report visual to original source column, through any number of DAX measures and sub-measures
- Interactive D3 tree — Visual → Measure → Table → Column → Power Query → Source, with zoom/pan and click-to-expand nodes
- Export — SVG, PNG, CSV, Markdown — or copy lineage to clipboard
- Source Columns section — appears at the top of every visual's lineage, listing every source table and column that feeds it
- Full rename chain tracking — when a source column is renamed in Power Query, you see
source_name → pq_name → pbi_nameat every level - Group by Source toggle — view aggregated source columns grouped by source database/table instead of a flat list
- Source-First View — swap section order so source mapping appears before the DAX chain
- Source Map view — flat, searchable, sortable table mapping every PBI column to its source. Filterable by source type. Exportable as CSV
- Source node display — in the tree, source nodes show the source type (BigQuery, SQL, etc.), server, database, schema, and table name
- Column rename indicators — column nodes show
← src: original_namein amber when a rename happened
- DAX dependency tree — recursive tree of measure dependencies with syntax-highlighted DAX, Copy buttons, and USERELATIONSHIP display
- Calculation group lineage — see all calculation items (YTD, QTD, MTD) with their full DAX expressions
- Field parameter resolution — see ALL measures a field parameter contains, not just the active one
- Impact analysis — click ↗ Impact on any measure to see upstream and downstream dependencies grouped by type
- Orphan detection — find measures that no visual references
- Page layout minimap — see every visual positioned as in Power BI, click to trace lineage
- Model Health Dashboard — tables, columns, measures, relationships, data sources at a glance
- Commit-by-commit change detection — see exactly what changed, when, and who is impacted
- 30+ change types across 8 scopes — pages, visuals, filters, measures, bookmarks, columns, relationships, and source expressions
- Downstream impact tracing — when a measure changes, see every visual affected through direct refs, field parameters, and calculation groups
- Human-readable descriptions — no raw JSON diffs, just plain-language summaries
- Works in browser and VS Code — same detection engine, both platforms
Your files never leave your browser. All parsing happens client-side — nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Every feature above is free. If your team relies on this tool, sponsor its development — even one-time support helps.
Enterprise platforms like Microsoft Purview, Alation, and Blindata are excellent for organization-wide data governance. Tools like Measure Killer and Power BI Sentinel solve specific problems well within their scope.
This tool fills a different gap: instant, client-side, column-level lineage for PBIP projects — no server, no license, no setup. It's designed for the developer or data engineer who needs an answer right now.
| What makes this tool different | |
|---|---|
| Column-level lineage with renames | Trace from visual all the way to the original source column — including Power Query rename chains |
| Visual → Table → Column → Source | The tree now shows Table and Power Query nodes, completing the full chain |
| Source grouping by database/table | View all source columns grouped by their origin — ideal for data engineers reviewing dashboards |
| Field parameter resolution | See ALL measures a field parameter contains, not just the active one |
| Calculation group lineage | See every calculation item with its DAX expression |
| 100% client-side | Your files never leave your browser — no upload, no server, no account |
| PBIP native | Built for TMDL/PBIR from the ground up — the file formats Power BI Desktop now uses by default |
| Free and open-source | MIT licensed, no premium tiers, no paywalls |
Is my data really safe? Yes. Nothing leaves your browser. All parsing happens locally in JavaScript. The full source code is MIT-licensed and auditable on GitHub.
Do I need to install anything? No. It runs directly in Chrome 86+ or Edge 86+ — just open the URL. A VS Code extension is also available if you prefer to work inside your editor.
What if my PBIP uses calculation groups, field parameters, or custom connectors? All supported. Calculation group lineage, field parameter resolution, and source column tracing are built into the core engine.
Can I use this at work on proprietary reports? Yes. MIT license — use it freely. No telemetry, no network requests, no account. Your files never leave the browser.
I build and maintain this tool solo. It's free forever — no premium tiers, no paywalls, no ads.
Goal: make this a funded side-project so development continues at full steam.
If this saved you an afternoon of manual lineage tracing, a one-time coffee or monthly sponsorship funds the next feature.
Why sponsor?
- Funds 100% of development (solo-maintained, no company backing)
- Keeps every feature free, forever — no paywalls, ever
- Directly shapes the roadmap — sponsors get priority on feature requests
- Your name or company logo visible to a growing Power BI community
🎯 The Expert tier — 30 minutes monthly with a Microsoft MVP — is the flagship. No other open-source Power BI tool offers direct MVP access at this price.
| Tier | Amount | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Expert | 25 EUR/mo | 30-min monthly "Ask a Power BI MVP" video call + name in app + early access |
| Gold | 50+ EUR/mo | Company logo + link on README and app footer + all Expert benefits |
| Professional | 15 EUR/mo | Name on README + in-app Sponsors wall + early access to features |
| Community | 7 EUR/mo | Name on README + sponsor badge |
| Coffee | One-time | A personal thank-you + name listed below |
See SPONSORS.md for full tier details, corporate invoicing, and FAQ.
Testimonials land here as users share their experience — tag me on LinkedIn if this tool helped you.
Also available as a VS Code extension for developers who work directly in PBIP/TMDL files.
- Search "PBIP Lineage Explorer" in the VS Code Extensions marketplace
- Auto-activates when your workspace contains
.tmdlfiles - Sidebar panels: Measure Explorer, Orphan Measures, Model Stats, Change History
- CodeLens: inline "Trace Lineage" links above measure definitions
- Change History panel: auto-scans recent commits, shows changes grouped by commit → scope → detail with impact badges
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| PBIP Documenter | Generate comprehensive, bidirectional documentation from PBIP/TMDL — HTML, Markdown, and JSON |
| PBIR Visual Manager | Manage visual properties in Power BI PBIR reports |
| PBIP Impact Analyzer | Analyze dependencies and safely refactor semantic models |
- Detailed reference guide — UI overview, keyboard shortcuts, use cases, folder structure
- Contributing — development setup and PR guidelines
- License — MIT
If PBIP Lineage Explorer saved your team time, sponsor the project — every contribution keeps it free and actively maintained for the whole community.
Built for: Power BI · Microsoft Fabric · PBIP · PBIR · TMDL · Data Lineage · DAX · Semantic Models · Impact Analysis · Data Governance · Data Engineering
