The Microsoft Fabric Blog team outlines how the introduction of Service Principal support in Semantic Link empowers data professionals to build secure, scalable automation for notebooks and pipelines—without relying on user credentials.

Service Principal Support in Semantic Link: Enabling Scalable, Secure Automation

Microsoft Fabric’s Semantic Link now supports Service Principal authentication, unlocking enhanced automation and security for data science and analytics teams.

Overview

Semantic Link is a core feature of Microsoft Fabric that connects notebooks with semantic models—enabling direct querying and analytics workflows within the data platform. The latest update introduces Service Principal support, allowing automation tools, pipelines, and non-interactive scripts to authenticate securely and reliably.

Why Service Principals Matter

  • Service Principals are application or automation tool identities managed by Azure Active Directory.
  • With this update, you can trigger notebooks and pipelines in Microsoft Fabric without needing user credentials—making automation easier for production, scheduling, and large-scale operations.
  • This model is ideal for enterprises needing secure, credential-free automation to uphold strict organizational security policies.

How to Use Service Principal Authentication

  1. Register Service Principal in Azure AD (Entra ID), following Microsoft identity platform documentation.
  2. Store the required secrets and certificates in Azure Key Vault.
  3. Use the following code pattern within your Fabric notebook or pipeline:
import sempy.fabric as fabric
from sempy.fabric import set_service_principal

dataset = "<replace-with-your-dataset-name>"
workspace = "<replace-with-your-workspace-id>"
tenant_kv = ("<replace-with-your-tenant-vault-url>", "<replace-with-your-tenant-secret-name>")
client_kv = ("<replace-with-your-client-vault-url>", "<replace-with-your-client-secret-name>")
client_cert_kv = ("<replace-with-your-client-certification-vault-url>", "<replace-with-your-client-certification-secret-name>")

with set_service_principal(tenant_kv, client_kv, client_certificate=client_cert_kv):
    fabric.run_model_bpa(dataset, workspace=workspace)

This approach lets you:

  • Automate notebook and pipeline execution using Fabric Pipelines or Job Scheduler API.
  • Scale processes across teams with consistent, non-interactive credentials.
  • Avoid manual credential sharing and management for enhanced security and compliance.

Enterprise Benefits

Organizations benefit by:

  • Scheduling data workflows confidently—without dependencies on individual users.
  • Upholding strict access control policies with credential-free, role-based access.
  • Reducing friction for production deployments that need reliable, unattended operation.

Resources

Get started and find detailed instructions in the Semantic Link documentation.

This update empowers data teams to deliver streamlined, secure, and scalable solutions on Microsoft Fabric.

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