[FEATURE] SQL Database DDL via fab CLI / Fabric REST API #1004

[goreavin]

Use Case / Problem

Title

Enable T-SQL execution against Fabric SQL Database via the Fabric REST API and fab CLI

Problem Statement

Currently, there is no way to execute T-SQL statements (DDL or DML) against a Fabric SQL Database from the fab CLI or the Fabric REST API. The only supported methods are:

1. Fabric Portal — SQL Query editor (manual, not automatable)
2. sqlcmd (Go) — Requires database.windows.net token audience, which the fab CLI app registration (5814bfb4-2705-4994-b8d6-39aabeb5eaeb) does not have consent for
3. pyodbc/JDBC from Spark notebooks — Fails with "Login failed for user" because the Fabric-issued Spark token doesn't have SQL Database permissions by default

This makes it impossible to automate SQL Database schema setup (CREATE TABLE, INSERT seed data) as part of a CI/CD deployment pipeline using fab CLI.

Current Workarounds (all inadequate)

Approach	Issue
fab CLI table schema / table load	Only works on Lakehouse tables, not SQL Database
Fabric REST API /sqldatabases/{id}/executeQueries	Endpoint does not exist (404)
Spark notebook with spark.sql('CREATE TABLE sqldb.dbo.table')	Cross-database DDL from Spark to SQL DB not supported
Spark notebook with py4j JDBC	Token scope mismatch — database.windows.net token not obtainable via mssparkutils.credentials.getToken() in some configs
fab api with -A powerbi	Power BI executeQueries only supports DAX, not T-SQL against SQL Databases
pyodbc from external CLI	ODBC driver available but fab auth token is scoped to api.fabric.microsoft.com, not database.windows.net

Proposed Solution

Proposed Solution

Requested Enhancement

Option A (preferred): Add fab sql command

# Execute T-SQL against a SQL Database item
fab sql "workspace.Workspace/mydb.SQLDatabase" -q "CREATE TABLE dbo.my_table (id INT PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(100))"

# Or from file
fab sql "workspace.Workspace/mydb.SQLDatabase" -i ./schema.sql

Alternatives Considered

Option B: Add REST API endpoint

POST https://api.fabric.microsoft.com/v1/workspaces/{workspaceId}/sqldatabases/{sqlDbId}/executeStatement
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {fabric_token}

{
    "statement": "CREATE TABLE dbo.my_table (id INT, name VARCHAR(100))"
}

Option C: Allow fab auth to acquire database.windows.net scoped tokens

fab auth token --audience database.windows.net
# Returns a token usable with sqlcmd -S server -G --access-token <token>

Impact

• Blocks CI/CD automation for Fabric SQL Database deployments
• Forces manual portal interaction for any schema changes
• Inconsistent with Lakehouse (where fab table commands work) and Warehouse (where Spark cross-DB queries work)
• User Data Functions that connect to SQL Databases require the staging table to exist — but there's no automated way to create it

Environment

• fab CLI version: 1.0.0 (Python-based, fabric_cli.main)
• Workspace type: Fabric F64 capacity
• Item type: SQLDatabase (SqlDatabase / SqlDbNative)
• SageMaker CodeEditor environment (Linux x86_64, no az CLI)

Related

• Fabric User Data Functions can write to SQL Databases (confirmed) but the table must pre-exist
• Lakehouse SQL analytics endpoint is read-only (by design, documented)
• fab table schema works for Lakehouses but returns "unsupported" for SQL Databases

Impact Assessment

• This would help me personally
• This would help my team/organization
• This would help the broader fabric-cli community
• This aligns with Microsoft Fabric roadmap items

Implementation Attestation

• I understand this feature should maintain backward compatibility with existing commands
• I confirm this feature request does not introduce performance regressions for existing workflows
• I acknowledge that new features must follow fabric-cli's established patterns and conventions

Implementation Notes

fab cli or rest api. Preferred CLI.

[microsoft-github-policy-service]

Thank you for submitting this issue, @goreavin.
A member of the Fabric CLI team will review your submission and provide feedback shortly.

[goreavin]

For questions, please let me know.

[github-actions]

AI Assessment: Needs Team Review

This request targets a gap in Fabric SQL Database automation—direct T-SQL execution via fab. The value is clear: it enables CI/CD deployment scenarios and aligns with existing Lakehouse capabilities in the CLI. However, there are fundamental feasibility questions:

• The Fabric REST API currently offers no SQL execution endpoint for SQL Databases (/sqldatabases/{id}/executeQueries does not exist).
• The fab CLI cannot obtain tokens for database.windows.net audience given app registration constraints, ruling out ODBC/JDBC and sqlcmd approaches, and the CLI's auth command does not support audience selection for SQL DB.
• Implementing a fab sql command would require either (a) new REST API support, or (b) a change to authentication token audience, both of which are outside the CLI project's scope and require platform-level changes.
• This would touch core architectural boundaries — specifically, how fab manages authentication and interacts with SQL Database resources.

Options B and C are out of scope for the CLI alone unless the Fabric platform exposes new API endpoints or broadens token audience allocations. Option A (fab sql) cannot be considered until these Platform changes are addressed.

Next Steps:
🔔 Escalated to team — This issue requires team review and has been flagged for attention.

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💡 If this issue requires the team's attention and was not escalated, you can tag @microsoft/fabric-cli-dev to notify the team.

[github-actions]

🔔 @microsoft/fabric-cli-dev — This issue has been flagged by AI triage as requiring team attention. Please review the assessment above.