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Generate an embed token

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APPLIES TO:  App owns data  User owns data

Generate token is a REST API that lets you generate a token for embedding a Power BI report or semantic model in a web app or a portal. It can generate a token for a single item or for multiple reports or semantic models. The token is used to authorize your request against the Power BI service.

The generate token API uses a single identity (a master user or service principal) to generate a token for an individual user, depending on that user's credentials in the app (effective identity).

After successful authentication, access to the relevant data is granted.

Note

Generate token is the newer, version 2 API that works for both reports and semantic models, and single or multiple items. It's preferred over the legacy version 1 APIs. For dashboards and tiles use the V1 Dashboards GenerateTokenInGroup and Tiles GenerateTokenInGroup.

Securing your data

If you're handling data from multiple customers, there are two main approaches to securing your data: Workspace-based isolation and Row-level security-based isolation. You can find a detailed comparison between them in service principal profiles and row level security.

We recommend using workspace-based isolation with profiles, but if you want to use the RLS approach, review the RLS section at the end of this article.

Token permissions and security

In the generate token APIs, the GenerateTokenRequest section describes the token permissions.

Access Level

  • Use the allowEdit parameter to grant the user viewing or editing permissions.

  • Add the workspace ID to the embed token to allow the user to create new reports (either SaveAs or CreateNew) in that workspace.

Row Level Security

With Row Level Security (RLS), the identity you use can be different from the identity of the service principal or master user you're using to generating the token. By using different identities, you can display embedded information according to the user you're targeting. For example, in your application you can ask users to sign in, and then display a report that only contains sales information if the signed in user is a sales employee.

If you're using RLS, you can sometimes leave out the user's identity (the EffectiveIdentity parameter). When you don't use the EffectiveIdentity parameter, the token has access to the entire database. This method can be used to grant access to users such as admins and managers, who have permission to view the entire semantic model. However, you can't use this method in every scenario. The table below lists the different RLS types, and shows which authentication method can be used without specifying a user's identity.

The table also shows the considerations and limitation applicable to each RLS type.

RLS type Can I generate an embed token without specifying the effective user ID? Considerations and limitations
Cloud Row Level Security (Cloud RLS) ✔ Master user
✖ Service principal
RDL (paginated reports) ✖ Master user
✔ Service principal		 You can't use a master user to generate an embed token for RDL.
Analysis Services (AS) on premises live connection ✔ Master user
✖ Service principal		 The user generating the embed token also needs one of the following permissions:
  • Gateway admin permissions
  • Datasource impersonate permission (ReadOverrideEffectiveIdentity)
    		•
    Analysis Services (AS) Azure live connection ✔ Master user
    ✖ Service principal    		 The identity of the user generating the embed token can't be overridden. Custom data can be used to implement dynamic RLS or secure filtering.

    Note: Service principal must provide its object ID as the effective identity (RLS username).
    Single Sign On (SSO) ✔ Master user
    ✖ Service principal    		 An explicit (SSO) identity can be provided using the identity blob property in an effective identity object
    SSO and cloud RLS ✔ Master user
    ✖ Service principal    		 You must provide the following:
  • Explicit (SSO) identity in the identity blob property in an effective identity object
  • Effective (RLS) identity (username)
    		•

    Note

    Service principals must always provide the following information:

    • An identity for any item with an RLS semantic model.
    • For an SSO semantic model, an effective RLS identity with the contextual (SSO) identity defined.

    DirectQuery for Power BI semantic models

    To embed Power BI report that has a semantic model with a Direct Query connection to another Power BI semantic model, do the following:

    Renew tokens before they expire

    Tokens come with a time limit. This means that after embedding a Power BI item, you have a limited amount of time to interact with it. To give your users a continuous experience, renew (or refresh) the token before it expires.

    Dashboards and tiles

    The Generate token works for reports and semantic models. To generate an embed token for a dashboard or tile, use the version 1 Dashboards GenerateTokenInGroup or Tiles GenerateTokenInGroup APIs. These APIs generate tokens for only one item at a time. You can't generate a token for multiple items.

    For these APIs:

    • Use the accessLevel parameter to determine the user's access level.

      • View - Grant the user viewing permissions.

      • Edit - Grant the user viewing and editing permissions (only applies when generating an embed token for a report).

      • Create - Grant the user permissions to create a new report (only applies when generating an embed token for creating a report). For report creation, you must also supply the datasetId parameter.

    • Use the allowSaveAs boolean to let users save the report as a new report. This setting is set to false by default, and only applies when generating an embed token for a report.

    Considerations and limitations

    • For security reasons, the lifetime of the embed token is set to the remaining lifetime of the Microsoft Entra token used to call the GenerateToken API. Therefore, if you use the same Microsoft Entra token to generate several embed tokens, the lifetime of the generated embed tokens will be shorter with each call.

    • If the semantic model and item to be embedded are in two different workspaces, the service principal or master user must be at least a member of both workspaces.

    • You can't create an embed token for My workspace.

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