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v0.5.0 - Serve sessions with stable database names

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@pschaer pschaer released this 19 Jul 19:26
· 10 commits to main since this release

PBI Port Wrapper v0.5.0 — Serve sessions with stable database names

External tools (Excel, DAX Studio, Tabular Editor, scripts) can now connect to
Power BI Desktop models with a stable connection string — fixed port and
fixed database name — that survives Desktop restarts:

Provider=MSOLAP;Data Source=localhost:55555;Initial Catalog=YourAlias

Highlights

  • Serve sessions: give a model a stable alias, click Serve, and the
    wrapper renames the workspace database to the alias and forwards the fixed
    port. Click Stop Serving and Desktop is restored exactly as it was.
    Saved Excel workbooks reconnect across Desktop sessions (validated E2E).
  • Crash recovery: if the wrapper dies mid-serve, the next start detects the
    renamed database (matched by immutable database ID) and offers to resume
    serving or restore the original name. Both paths live-validated.
  • Unsaved-changes preflight: serving warns before touching a model that may
    have unsaved changes (UIA undo-heuristic probe; asks the user when unsure).
  • Safer alias editing: the raw "Rename DB" danger button is gone; aliases
    are validated and only applied by serve sessions.

Fixes

  • Config lost-update race between grid and details panel (#62)
  • Manual Stop no longer bounces back while Auto-connect is enabled (#63)

Known limitations

  • Power BI Desktop shows "Cannot load model" errors while serving — expected;
    do not troubleshoot in Desktop, just Stop Serving to restore it.
  • No single-instance guard yet (#64): run one wrapper at a time.
  • The unsaved-changes probe is conservative and may ask for confirmation even
    right after a save.

Full details in CHANGELOG.md.