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Why PBIR Becoming Default in Jan 2026 is a Milestone

  • Jihwan Kim
  • 25 minutes ago
  • 3 min read

In this writing, I like to share how I started to learn about the most significant architectural shift in Power BI's history: the transition to the Power BI Enhanced Report Format (PBIR).

For years, I as a Power BI developer have lived in the era of the .pbix file. It served me well as a container, but it had one fatal flaw: it was a "black box." A binary blob that defied version control, made collaboration a nightmare of "save as" copies, and locked my logic inside a proprietary format.


That era is officially ending.


Microsoft has announced in a detailed post, PBIR will become the default Power BI Report Format – Get Ready for the Transition, that the transition is imminent. Starting January 2026, PBIR will become the default format for new reports in the Power BI Service, followed by Power BI Desktop in March 2026. This isn't just a file extension change; it's a fundamental maturation of Power BI into a true developer platform.




What is PBIR? (And Why I Should Care)


PBIR is Power BI Enhanced Report Format. It is the report-specific component that brings code-level structure to your visuals. To understand the full technical context, you can check the Power BI Project (PBIP) overview.

In the past, a report was a single file. If two developers touched it, I had a conflict I couldn't resolve. With PBIR, the report is exploded into a structured folder system of human-readable JSON files.

  • Every visual has its own file.

  • Every page has its own file.

  • Every bookmark has its own file.

This granularity is the key. It means that:

  1. Git Integration is Finally Real: I can track changes at the line level. If I change a color in a bar chart, Git sees a few lines of JSON change, not a whole new binary file.

  2. Co-Development is Safe: One developer can work on the "Sales" page, another on the "Inventory" page, and their changes merge seamlessly.

  3. Programmatic Batch Editing: Need to update the font size across 50 visuals? You don't need to click 50 times. You can write a script to traverse the JSON files and update the property in seconds.




The Roadmap to Default (Jan 2026)


The transition is happening in a phased approach to ensure stability before General Availability (GA) later in 2026.

  1. January 2026 (Service): Any new report created in the Power BI Service will default to PBIR format. Existing reports will be automatically converted when edited and saved.

  2. March 2026 (Desktop): The default save format in Power BI Desktop will switch to PBIP/PBIR.

  3. Q3 2026: Expected General Availability (GA). When GA hits, PBIR will become the only supported report format, and the legacy format will be deprecated.


What about PBIX?

A common fear is that .pbix files are disappearing. They are not. As clarified in the official roadmap, PBIR format will simply be included within the PBIX file. For users who don't care about git or code, the experience remains exactly the same—the upgrade is silent.




My Journey with PBIR: From Curiosity to Core Workflow


I remember the first time I enabled the preview feature. I opened the report folder and saw report.json had been replaced by a folder structure: \definition, \pages, and \visuals.

It felt like the "matrix" revealed itself. Suddenly, "linting" a report for best practices wasn't a manual review; it became a code quality check I could automate.


Opting Out (If You Must)

If you aren't ready for this change during the preview period, you do have options:

  • Desktop: Disable "Store reports using enhanced metadata format (PBIR)" in Preview Features.

  • Service: Admins can disable the tenant setting "Automatically convert and store reports in the Power BI enhanced metadata format (PBIR)". Note: This tenant setting won't take effect until January 2026.



How to Prepare Today


I don't need to wait until 2026. I can—and should—start testing this today.

  1. Enable the Preview: Go to File > Options and settings > Options > Preview features and check "Store reports using enhanced metadata format (PBIR)".

  2. Save as PBIP: Open my .pbix and "Save as" a Power BI Project (.pbip).

  3. Inspect the Code: Open the resulting folder in VS Code.



I hope this helps having fun in exploring the code-behind of Power BI reports and embracing this new era of professional Power BI development!

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