Tmdl linter false positives
Skill fabioc-aloha/Alex_Skill_Mall/plugins/data-analytics/tmdl-linter-false-positives
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VS Code's TMDL (Tabular Model Definition Language) linter reports valid syntax as errors:
SKILL.md
2.0 KB, 444 tokens by cl100k_base, as published. Nobody here has run it
TMDL Linter False Positives
The Problem
VS Code's TMDL (Tabular Model Definition Language) linter reports valid syntax as errors:
measure 'Total Sales' = SUM('Sales'[Amount])
description = "Sum of all sales amounts" // Linter: "Invalid property 'description'"
The description property IS valid — this is a linter limitation.
The Solution
Ignore these specific false positives:
Known False Positives
| Property | Context | Actual Status |
|---|---|---|
description | On measures | ✅ Valid |
description | On columns | ✅ Valid |
formatString | Some contexts | ✅ Valid |
displayFolder | On measures | ✅ Valid |
Verification
Test in Power BI Desktop or Tabular Editor:
- Apply the TMDL
- If it loads without error, the syntax is correct
- The VS Code linter is wrong, not your code
Workaround Options
Option 1: Ignore the Squiggles
The TMDL will work — the linter is just incomplete.
Option 2: Suppress in Settings
// .vscode/settings.json
{
"tmdl.validate": false
}
Option 3: Use Tabular Editor
Tabular Editor's TMDL support is more complete.
When Linter IS Correct
| Error | Likely Real |
|---|---|
Syntax errors (missing =, unmatched quotes) | Yes |
| Unknown table/column references | Yes |
| DAX function errors | Yes |
| Property on wrong object type | Maybe |
Verification
# Deploy to test
# If no error in Power BI/SSAS, linter was wrong
When to Apply
- TMDL development in VS Code
- Any unexpected linter error on common properties
- When syntax looks correct but shows errors
Tags
data tmdl power-bi linting false-positive