For datasets with incremental refresh policy applied, you must avoid publishing and replacing them with a version of a PBIX file from Power BI Desktop, because you will have to refresh all the historical data which could take hours and result in the system’s downtime for users.

Instead, it’s better to perform a metadata-only deployment using the ALM Toolkit tool which is an open-source schema compare tool for Power BI datasets. You can download it at: http://alm-toolkit.com/

This allows the deployment of new objects without losing historical data. For example, if you have added a few measures, you can deploy only the new measures without needing to refresh the data, saving a lot of time.

To perform a metadata only deployment:

1. Select the running Power BI Desktop instance as the source, and the existing dataset in the service as the target:

Both Source and Target you have the following options to connect to your datasets:

– Dataset: You have to indicate the workspace connection URL, to get it in workspace go to Settings > Premium > Workspace Connection, select Copy.

• Power BI Desktop: The tool scans open Power BI files and allows you to select the file you want to use.

• File: You can select a file from your computer.

2. To get only the objects with differences, go to Home > Select Actions > Hide Skip Objects with Same Definition:

In this case the difference is that the “Test Measure” is missed in the target:

You have the option to create it or select skip to don’t create it.

3. Finally click on “Validate Selection” to ensure the integrity of the target model and then click on “Update”:

4. If the deployment was successful, the following screen will be displayed: