Sunsetting Default Semantic Models – Microsoft Fabric
Overview
Microsoft Fabric is officially sunsetting Default Semantic Models. This change is part of our ongoing efforts to simplify and improve the manageability, deployment, and governance of Fabric items such as warehouse, lakehouse, SQL database, and mirrored databases.
Why the Change?
Default Semantic Models were initially designed to provide a lightweight, out-of-the-box experience—automatically generating models to help users get started quickly. This approach was effective for early use cases like rapid prototyping and quick insights. However, as customer scenarios grew more complex, so did the need for better control and governance.
As organizations deepen their use of Fabric, the demand for clearer ownership, stronger governance, and greater control over semantic models has grown. In response, we’re shifting away from auto-generated models and placing the creation process into the users’ hands. This change enhances transparency, fosters accountability, and supports more robust lifecycle management.
What’s Changing?
The following user interface and functionality updates will reflect the deprecation:
- No more automatic child semantic models. Creating a Warehouse, Lakehouse, SQL Database, or Mirrored Database will not auto-generate a semantic model with the same name.
- The reporting tab was originally designed to support the default semantic model that was automatically created alongside warehouses and SQL analytics endpoints. However, with this change, the new items do not come with default semantic models, meaning the options such as ‘New Report, ‘Manage default semantic model’ and ‘Automatically update semantic model’ are no longer required.
- Model Layouts: The model layout feature in Microsoft Fabric warehouse provided a visual interface for managing the structure of the default semantic model, such as arranging tables, defining relationships, and configuring metadata for reporting. This was primarily intended for quick report authoring within the context of the auto-generated model. However, with the deprecation of default semantic models, this layout becomes obsolete, since users are expected to explicitly create and manage semantic models using standard tools. It will be replaced with a ‘New Semantic Model’ entry point under the home tab, giving users explicit control over model creation and design.
- Context Menu Cleanup: ‘New Report’ and ‘New Paginated Report’ will be removed from the context menu of warehouses and SQL analytics endpoints.
- These options will also be removed when clicking ‘View Details’ in the item context menu.
These actions were tied directly to the auto-generated default semantic model. With the removal of this model, these options no longer apply. Users are now expected to explicitly create semantic models when needed and build reports off those. Removing these options helps prevent confusion and aligns with the new, intentional modeling approach.
What’s Next?
This change will be implemented in two stages, with both scheduled for release by end of December 2025.
- Stage 1: Disabling auto-creation of default semantic models
- What: Newly created warehouses, lake houses, SQL databases, and mirrored databases will not auto-generate default semantic models.
- Impact: Existing artifacts are not affected. Default semantic models already present will remain as-is for now.
- Plan & Communication – Stay tuned to Microsoft Fabric docs, blog posts in next few weeks about this change. You can also check our roadmap for timeline.
- Stage 2: Migrating existing default semantic models
- What: Existing default semantic models will be decoupled from its parent items and become a regular semantic model.
- Impact: All decoupled semantic models need to be managed by the users.
- Plan & Communication – Stay tuned to Microsoft Fabric docs, blog posts in next few weeks about this change.
Conclusion
The deprecation of Default Semantic Models in Microsoft Fabric marks a strategic shift toward more intentional, governed, and user-controlled data modeling. While the automatic generation of semantic models offered early convenience, evolving enterprise needs demand clearer ownership, stronger governance, and greater flexibility. By placing model creation explicitly in users’ hands, Microsoft Fabric empowers organizations to build more robust and maintainable reporting solutions. Users are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the upcoming changes, plan accordingly, and stay informed through official documentation and announcements as the transition unfolds.
