Reporting Services PowerShell

SQL Server Reporting Services PowerShell utilities

Synopsis

This project contains PowerShell scripts that allow you to perform various operations with SQL Server Reporting Services and Power BI Report Server. In order to use the scripts included in this project successfully, please download/clone the entire project as there are dependencies between the scripts.

All of our scripts were written with the assumption that you will be executing them against Power BI Report Server (PBIRS). However, we understand this may not be the case for you. So for each script, you will see that we have provided a way for you to specify the SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) version instead of PBIRS. Sometimes the instance name is also required. If you do not provide one, we will assume that you want to execute this against the default instance.

Note: SSRS 2017 and later, as well as PBIRS do not support changing the instance names from ‘SSRS’ and ‘PBIRS’ respectively.

PowerShell Version

Please ensure you’re running PowerShell version 3.0+

$PSVersionTable

Install

Invoke-Expression (Invoke-WebRequest https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Microsoft/ReportingServicesTools/master/Install.ps1 -UseBasicParsing)

or

Invoke-Expression (Invoke-WebRequest https://aka.ms/rstools -UseBasicParsing)

or

Install-Module -Name ReportingServicesTools

Note: Using Install-Module is the preferred installation method for most users.

The ZIP installer requires Windows PowerShell 3.0 or later and .NET Framework 4.5 or later. It defaults to Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\ReportingServicesTools, even when you run Install.ps1 from a local checkout. Its optional -Path is a container: the installer creates or replaces only the ReportingServicesTools child directory. An explicit container must be empty or contain only that identified module. Checkouts, junctions, symbolic links, broad system/user directories and unrecognized module directories are rejected. Existing module files absent from the selected archive also block an update; move custom content aside before retrying.

The installer downloads and validates a ZIP in a unique staging directory before replacing the module. Replacement or import failures restore the previous installation. If rollback fails, the error identifies retained recovery files. This changes the old installer behavior: it no longer deletes all files in the supplied container or installs repository-level files alongside the module.

Catalog deployment and migration

Publish-RsProject accepts the strings True and False for OverwriteDatasets and OverwriteDataSources, including values piped from Get-RsDeploymentConfig. With False, an existing shared item is skipped without uploading it or changing its data-source references. Missing items are still created. With True, shared items are created or replaced and newly deployed dataset references are configured. If omitted, datasets are overwritten and existing data sources are retained, preserving the command’s previous defaults. Report deployment continues to overwrite reports. Lookup failures other than HTTP 404 stop deployment rather than being treated as missing items. -WhatIf makes no deployment requests.

Get-RsDeploymentConfig -RsProjectFile 'C:\Reports\Reports.rptproj' -ConfigurationToUse Release |
    Add-Member -PassThru -MemberType NoteProperty -Name ReportPortal -Value 'http://localhost/reports/' |
    Publish-RsProject -OverwriteDatasets False -OverwriteDataSources False

Copy-RsSubscription -RsItem keeps the same explicit destination for every subscription in an array or pipeline. Use -RsFolder to select destination reports by their source names instead.

Write-RsRestCatalogItem preserves an .rsds file’s Enabled value. If the element is absent, the source defaults to enabled, matching the SOAP upload command. Invalid XML Boolean values are rejected before upload.

List of commands

The following is a list of commands which are available for you to use once you follow the steps in the Installation

Command	Description
Backup-RsEncryptionKey	This command backs up the encryption key used by SQL Server Reporting Services to protect sensitive content.
Connect-RsReportServer	This command connects to Reporting Services and sets default connection information.
Copy-RsSubscription	This command adds a retrieved subscription to an existing report. For use with Get-RsSubscription.
Export-RsSubscriptionXml	This command exports a collection of subscriptions to an XML file on disk.
Get-RsFolderContent	This command lists all catalog items under a folder.
Get-RsDataSource	This command lists information about the data source located at the specified path.
Get-RsDeploymentConfig	This command retrieves a list of deployment configurations from a Reporting Services project file.
Get-RsItemReference	This command gets the item references of a report or a dataset.
Get-RsItemDataSource	This command fetches embedded data sources associated with a report.
Get-RsCatalogItemRole	This command retrieves access to catalog items for users or groups.
Get-RsRestCacheRefreshPlan	This function fetches a CacheRefreshPlan from a Power BI report.
Get-RsRestCacheRefreshPlanHistory	This function fetches the history of CacheRefreshPlan(s) from a Power BI report.
Get-RsRestDataSource	This function fetches the a datasource item from a folder.
Get-RsRestFolderContent	This function fetches data sources related to a catalog item from the Report Server.
Get-RsRestItem	This function fetches a catalog item from the Report Server using the REST API.
Get-RsRestItemAccessPolicy	This function retrieves access policies to SQL Server Reporting Services Instance or Power BI Report Server Instance from users/groups.
Get-RsRestItemDataModelParameters	This function fetches the Data Model Parameters related to a Catalog Item report from the Report Server. This is currently only applicable to Power BI Reports and only from ReportServer October/2020 or higher.
Get-RsRestItemDataSource	This command fetches embedded data sources associated with a Paginated report or a Power BI report using the REST Endpoint.
Get-RsSubscription	This command retrieves information about subscriptions for a report.
Grant-RsRestItemAccessPolicy	This function grants access policies on the SQL Server Reporting Services Instance or Power BI Report Server Instance to the specified user/group, using the REST Endpoint.
Grant-RsSystemRole	This command grants access to SQL Server Reporting Services to users or groups. Alias: Grant-AccessToRs
Grant-RsCatalogItemRole	This script grants access to catalog items to users or groups. Alias: Grant-AccessOnCatalogItem
Import-RsSubscriptionXml	This command imports a collection of subscriptions from an XML file on disk, typically created via Export-RsSubscriptionXml.
Initialize-Rs	This command initializes Report Server post-installation. The database MUST be configured and URLs MUST be reserved prior to running this command.
New-RsConfigurationSettingObject	This command creates a new RSConfigurationSettingObject which is used to interact with the WMI Provider.
New-RsDataSource	This command creates/overwrites the data source to the specified path.
New-RsFolder	This command creates a new folder in the specified path.
New-RsRestCacheRefreshPlan	This function creates a new CacheRefreshPlan for the specified Power BI Report.
New-RsRestCredentialsByUserObject	This command creates a CredentialsByUser object to be used by Set-RsRestItemDataSource command.
New-RsRestCredentialsInServerObject	This command creates a CredentialsInServer object to be used by Set-RsRestItemDataSource command.
New-RsRestFolder	This command creates a new folder in the specified path using the REST Endpoint.
New-RsRestSession	This command creates a session object to be specified for all subsequent calls to the REST Endpoint.
New-RsSubscription	This command adds a new subscription to an existing report.
New-RsScheduleXml	This command creates an XML string definition of a subscription schedule. For use with the -Schedule parameter or New-RsSubscription.
New-RsWebServiceProxy	This command creates a new Web Service Proxy which is used to interact with the SOAP Endpoint.
Out-RsCatalogItem	This command downloads a catalog item.
Out-RsFolderContent	This command downloads all catalog items in a folder.
Out-RsRestFolderContent	This command downloads all catalog items under a folder using the REST Endpoint.
Out-RsRestCatalogItem	This command downloads a catalog item using the REST Endpoint.
Publish-RsProject	This command deploys a Reporting Services project to a Power BI Report Server.
Register-PowerBI	This command registers Power BI information with SQL Server Reporting Services. Alias: Register-RSPowerBI
Remove-RsCatalogItem	This command removes the catalog item located at the specified path.
Remove-RsRestCatalogItem	This command removes catalog item located at the specified path using the REST Endpoint.
Remove-RsRestFolder	This command removes folder located at the specified path using the REST Endpoint.
Remove-RSSubscription	This command removes a subscription associated with a report.
Restore-RsEncryptionKey	This command restores the encryption key to the SQL Server Reporting Services.
Revoke-RsCatalogItemAccess	This command revokes access to a catalog item from users or groups. Alias: Revoke-AccessOnCatalogItem
Revoke-RsRestItemAccessPolicy	This function revokes access to catalog items from users/groups, using the REST Endpoint.
Revoke-RsSystemAccess	This command revokes access on SQL Server Reporting Services from users or groups. Alias: Revoke-AccessToRs
Set-RsDatabase	This command configures the database used by SQL Server Reporting Services.
Set-RsDatabaseCredentials	This command configures the credentials to use when connecting to the database used by SQL Server Reporting Services.
Set-RsDataSet	This command links a report to a dataset. Alias: Set-RsDataSetReference
Set-RsDataSource	This command updates information associated to a data source. Alias: Set-RsDataSourceReference
Set-RsDataSourcePassword	This command sets the password associated with a data source.
Set-RsEmailSettings	This command configures the SQL Server Reporting Services email settings to use basic authentication. Alias: Set-RsEmailSettingsAsBasicAuth, Set-RsEmailSettingsAsNoAuth, Set-RsEmailSettingsAsNTLMAuth
Set-RsItemDataSource	This command updates embedded data sources associated with a report.
Set-RsDataSourceReference	This command overrides the reference of a report or dataset to a shared data source.
Set-RsRestItemDataModelParameters	This function updates data sources related to a catalog item from the Report Server.
Set-RsRestItemDataSource	This command updates embedded data sources associated with a Paginated report or a Power BI Report using the REST endpoint.
Set-RsSharedDataSource	This command links a report or a dataset to a data source.
Set-RsUrlReservation	This command configures the SQL Server Reporting Services URLs.
Set-PbiRsUrlReservation	This command configures the Power BI Report Server URLs.
Set-RsSubscription	This command updates existing subscriptions piped from Get-RsSubscription.
Start-RsRestCacheRefreshPlan	This function fetches the CacheRefreshPlan of a report from the Report Server and refreshes them using the REST API. Alternatively, when a report has multiple CacheRefreshPlans you can specify which CacheRefreshPlan to refresh by passing the Id of the CacheRefreshPlan to the -Id parameter.
Test-RsRestItemDataSource	This function fetches the DataSources from a Paginated or Power BI report and tests them to see if the connection can be made.
Write-RsCatalogItem	This command uploads a report, a dataset, or a data source using the SOAP Endpoint.
Write-RsFolderContent	This uploads all reports, datasets, and data sources in a folder.
Write-RsRestCatalogItem	This command uploads a report, a dataset, or a mobile report using the REST Endpoint.
Write-RsRestFolderContent	This uploads all reports, datasets, data sources, mobile reports, and Power BI reports in a folder using the REST Endpoint.

SQL Server Versions

Some of the commands listed above allow you to optionally specify the version of your SQL Server Reporting Services instance. The following is a list of versions associated with each SQL Server Reporting Services release.

SQL Server Release	Version
SQL Server 2012	11
SQL Server 2014	12
SQL Server 2016	13
SQL Server 2017	14
SQL Server 2019	15
SQL Server 2022	16
Power BI Report Server	15

Motivation

The motivation behind this project was to help users perform SQL Server Reporting Services operations via the command line.

Report server database connection options

Set-RsDatabase and Set-RsDatabaseCredentials use two separate SQL connections:

Parameters	Connection affected
Encrypt, TrustServerCertificate, HostNameInCertificate	The setup connection used by Invoke-Sqlcmd to create the database or grant access. These parameters require SQLServer module version 22 or later.
DatabaseEncryptMode, DatabaseMultiSubnetFailover, DatabaseTrustServerCertificate	The report server runtime connection to its catalog database, configured through WMI. These parameters do not require SQLServer module version 22.

For example, configure runtime encryption, certificate trust, and multi-subnet failover independently of setup:

Set-RsDatabase -DatabaseServerName SqlListener -Name ReportServer `
    -IsExistingDatabase -DatabaseCredentialType ServiceAccount `
    -Encrypt Mandatory -TrustServerCertificate `
    -DatabaseEncryptMode Mandatory -DatabaseMultiSubnetFailover `
    -DatabaseTrustServerCertificate $true

DatabaseEncryptMode accepts Optional, Mandatory, Strict, True, or False; True equals Mandatory and False equals Optional. The connected WMI provider must expose Encrypt; Strict also requires the EncryptMode input. Optional and Mandatory map to the older boolean Encrypt input when EncryptMode is unavailable. An unsupported runtime option causes an error before any setup SQL runs.

DatabaseMultiSubnetFailover requires the WMI MultiSubnetFailover input. Pass -DatabaseMultiSubnetFailover:$false to disable it. Omitting it leaves the stored failover setting unchanged. Changing failover alone preserves the current runtime encryption mode. Omitting all runtime option parameters preserves the stored runtime encryption, failover and certificate-trust settings; it does not add new defaults. Providers without the WMI Encrypt input keep the legacy five-argument call.

DatabaseTrustServerCertificate accepts $true or $false: $true writes TrustServerCertificate=True for the report server runtime connection, and $false clears it. Omit the parameter to preserve the stored value. This option requires a WMI provider that exposes the TrustServerCertificate input; the cmdlets fail before running setup SQL when the provider does not support it. When DatabaseEncryptMode is Strict, the SQL client ignores certificate trust.

Server-build requirement: Runtime certificate trust requires a report server build whose SetDatabaseConnection WMI method exposes the new optional Boolean TrustServerCertificate input. Updating this PowerShell module alone does not add that server API. Older providers reject an explicit $true or $false; omission continues to work without that input.

Security: Enabling runtime certificate trust bypasses SQL Server certificate validation except with Strict encryption. Prefer a valid, trusted certificate matching the SQL Server or listener name; enable trust only when you accept that validation bypass. No new parameter enables certificate trust by default.

Setup certificate trust: -TrustServerCertificate remains the separate Invoke-Sqlcmd setup connection switch. It does not set or clear runtime certificate trust. Use -DatabaseTrustServerCertificate for the report server catalog connection.

The WMI provider also supports SetDatabaseLogonTimeout and SetDatabaseQueryTimeout. These separate runtime settings are not exposed by these cmdlets; their existing QueryTimeout parameter controls setup SQL execution only.

API Reference

All of the APIs used by this project are publicly available. There are 2 types of APIs used in this repository: SOAP and WMI. You can find more details about the SOAP API at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms154052.aspx and the WMI API at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms152836.aspx. In general, you will use SOAP API for operations you would perform using Report Server and Web Portal whereas you will use WMI API for operations you would perform using Reporting Services Configuration Manager.

Local testing and development

To verify the versions installed

Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name ReportingServicesTools

After you clone the repo you can make local changes and install them in your local machine with

Remove-Module ReportingServicesTools
Import-Module .\ReportingServicesTools.psd1

For debugging you can set the verbose logging with $VerbosePreference = "continue"

Test

For running tests locally you need a local default instance of SQL Server Reporting Services and Pester

To install Pester execute

Install-Module -Name Pester -RequiredVersion 4.10.1

To execute the tests run (this will execute the CatalogItems test only which doesn’t change the local Reporting Services Installation)

.\Test.ps1

The focused maintenance regression tests use mocks and temporary fixtures; they do not download an installer or contact SQL Server or a report server:

Import-Module Pester -RequiredVersion 4.10.1
Invoke-Pester -Script .\Tests\Unit -EnableExit

The database connection option unit tests use mocks and do not require SQL Server or a report server:

Import-Module Pester -RequiredVersion 4.10.1
Invoke-Pester -Script .\Tests\Unit\DatabaseConnectionOptions.Tests.ps1

Import Known Issue

Workaround for newer versions of PowerShell (version 7.0+)

Import-Module ReportingServicesTools -UseWindowsPowerShell

Style Guidelines

If you have any scripts you would like to share, we request you to please format your scripts according to the guidelines created by the team behind the DSC Resource Kit. (https://github.com/PowerShell/DscResources/blob/master/StyleGuidelines.md) and the PowerShell verbs (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/developer/cmdlet/approved-verbs-for-windows-powershell-commands)

Contributions

For contributions please provide the minimum possible increment per Pull Request so it can be reviewed and merged quickly.

Code of Conduct

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact opencode@microsoft.com with any additional questions or comments.