Which Power BI File to Gitignore to Prevent Data Push

DP-600 By islever Editorial Last updated Oct 4, 2026

Maintain the analytics development lifecycle

Short answer

B Reference cache.abf in the .gitignore file to prevent cached data values from data sources from being pushed to the repository.

Question

You have a Microsoft Power BI project that contains a semantic model. You plan to use Azure DevOps for version control. You need to modify the .gitignore file to prevent the data values from the data sources from being pushed to the repository. Which file should you reference?

unappliedChanges.json
cache.abf Correct Answer
localSettings.json
model.bim

Key Takeaways

This question tests Power BI version control file structures; the common trap is confusing local settings or model metadata with the actual cached data values stored in cache.abf.

When using Azure DevOps for version control with Power BI, preventing data values from data sources from being pushed to the repository requires ignoring the cache.abf file. This page establishes that cache.abf holds the cached data and should be excluded via .gitignore.

Common mistake: Choosing localSettings. because it sounds like it might contain sensitive configurations, but it does not contain the actual data values from the data sources.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

The cache.abf file contains the cached data from the semantic model's data sources. By adding cache.abf to the.gitignore file, you prevent this potentially large and sensitive cached data from being pushed to the Azure DevOps repository. This is a standard practice for Power BI version control to keep repositories lean and secure.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

localSettings. contains local user-specific configurations and paths, not the data values from the data sources. model.bim contains the semantic model's metadata and schema definitions, not the cached data. unappliedChanges. tracks local unapplied changes to the model metadata, which also does not include data values.

Community Comment Notes

As pk07 noted, "This file contains the cached data for the semantic model" and excluding it "will prevent data from data sources from being pushed". testtaker45 also pointed out that localSettings. contains "settings specific to the local environment" rather than "data values from the Data Sources".

Official Reference

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/developer/projects/power-bi-project-overview

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

Know the specific file extensions generated by Power BI Desktop and what data each contains. Remember that cache.abf holds the actual cached data, while model.bim holds the metadata.

Community Votes

100%

100% of anonymous learners picked answer B. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 4 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors, not of islever. The comments shown first are the most substantive of the thread — ranked by depth, community endorsement and relevance; expand the list below to read the rest.

From public community threads 4

pk07 👍 4 Answered B

B. cache.abf Justification: This file contains the cached data for the semantic model. It is a binary file and can be very large. Excluding this file from version control is necessary to prevent pushing large amounts of unnecessary data, and will prevent data from data sources from being pushed to the repository. Why it's the correct option: Contains the cached data from the data model.
pk07 👍 3 Answered B

You have a Microsoft Power BI project that contains a semantic model. You plan to use Azure DevOps for version control. You need to modify the .gitignore file to prevent the data values from the data sources from being pushed to the repository. Which file should you reference? B. cache.abf
Michal88 👍 1 Answered C

Explanation: When using Azure DevOps for version control in a Power BI project, you need to exclude sensitive data values (such as connection strings, credentials, and local configurations). The localSettings.json file contains environment-specific settings, including: Local dataset credentials Server connections User-specific configurations By referencing localSettings.json in the .gitignore file, you ensure that sensitive information is not pushed to the repository.
testtaker45 👍 1 Answered B

Seems like cache.abf is the right answer. It has data values from the data sources, and some other sensitive info you may not want to upload. localfiles.json contains settings specific to the local environment, such as paths or configurations for testing/debugging. Not the data values from the Data Sources.

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