The publish step sends the report from the Power BI Desktop to the Power BI Service (cloud).
See the Microsoft documentation: Create reports in Power BI . You need a report to begin.
To publish a report to Power BI Service (cloud):
- Select Publish from the Power BI Desktop report dialog.
![Microsoft Power BI report dialog with a left menu that displays the Publish option.](https://assets-us-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/cddce937-cf5a-003a-bfad-78b8fc29ea3f/906e806a-70e9-4ed9-9c11-3a85779f106c/PBI-report.png)
The report is now in the Power BI Service (cloud). Sign in to Power BI Service (cloud) to see the report.