Find columns and measures not referenced by any other model object (INFO.CALCDEPENDENCY), relationship, or - when a PBIP project is loaded - any report visual. Safe-cleanup candidate list (a free replacement for paid unused-object tools).
AI agents call find_unused_objects to retrieve information from Power BI MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and analyzes dependency information from Power BI models to surface unused objects. It has no side effects: it does not modify, delete, or execute operations on data or infrastructure. The output is informational only, meant to inform human decision-making about cleanup. Pure read operations on metadata carry minimal blast radius.
From the tool's definition Tool queries model metadata using INFO.CALCDEPENDENCY to identify unreferenced columns and measures. The description explicitly states it is a 'free replacement for paid unused-object tools' and produces a 'candidate list' for cleanup—it reads and analyzes…
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Find columns and measures not referenced by any other model object (INFO.CALCDEPENDENCY), relationship, or - when a PBIP project is loaded - any report visual. Safe-cleanup candidate list (a free replacement for paid unused-object tools). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Power BI MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Power BI MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for find_unused_objects: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Power BI MCP Server. Nothing to install.
find_unused_objects is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the find_unused_objects rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for find_unused_objects. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
find_unused_objects is provided by the Power BI MCP Server MCP server (sulaiman013/powerbi-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.