Working with a Power BI Semantic Model Using GitHub Copilot CLI on an Android Phone

Imagine sitting on a train, pulling out your Android phone, and working on a Power BI semantic model — creating measures, reviewing and documenting the model, adding comments and descriptions— all from a terminal in the palm of your hand. No laptop required.

This is possible today by combining GitHub Copilot CLI, an OpenSSH Server on your Windows machine, and Termius, a modern SSH client for Android. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the complete setup so you can connect your phone to your PC and work with Power BI models remotely.

Note: I connect to my personal laptop in my home network where I have administrator rights. If you want to connect to a work machine, make sure to check with your IT department first, as they may have specific policies around remote access and SSH.

What You’ll Need

On Android

• Termius – Modern SSH Client — A terminal app with built-in SSH support. Free Starter plan is sufficient for this workflow.

On Windows

• GitHub Copilot CLI — A GitHub-native AI agent that runs directly in your terminal. Included in all GitHub Copilot plans.
• OpenSSH Server — Built into Windows 11 as an optional feature. OpenSSH encrypts all traffic between client and server to ensure secure remote access.

Setup Instructions

Step 1: Install GitHub Copilot CLI (Windows)

There are multiple ways to install Copilot CLI, for example:

PowerShell:

winget install GitHub.Copilot

See the official documentation for more options:

📖 GitHub Copilot CLI installation page

Step 2: Install OpenSSH Server (Windows)

OpenSSH Server is available as an optional feature in Windows 11.

1. Open Start, type Optional Features, and select Optional Features.
2. Click View features.
3. Click See available features.
4. Search for OpenSSH Server and select Add, wait for installation to complete.

Configure and Start the OpenSSH Server Service

1. Open Start type Services, and select Services app.
2. Double-click OpenSSH SSH Server.
3. Click Start Service to start the service.
4. Set Startup type to Automatic and click OK.

Note: Installing OpenSSH Server automatically creates a firewall rule named OpenSSH SSH Server (sshd) that allows inbound SSH traffic on port 22. Make sure this port is open or configure your firewall accordingly if you want to use a different port.

Open Start, type Windows Defender Firewall, and select Windows Defender Firewall. Click Advanced settings → Inbound Rules → find OpenSSH SSH Server (sshd) → ensure it’s enabled and allows traffic on the correct port. Create a new rule if you need to allow a different port.

📖 Get started with OpenSSH Server for Windows

Step 3: Generate a Key Pair (Windows)

Key-based authentication uses asymmetric cryptography — a private key (your secret) and a public key (shared with the server). This is far more secure than password-based authentication.

Open a PowerShell or Command Prompt window and run:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

You’ll be prompted for a file location and an optional passphrase.

This creates two files:

• id_ed25519 — your private key (treat this like a password — never share it)
• id_ed25519.pub — your public key (this goes on the server)

📖 Key-based authentication in OpenSSH for Windows

Step 4: Deploy the Public Key (Windows)

Where you place the public key depends on whether your Windows account is a standard user or an administrator.

For a Standard User

Place the contents of your public key into C:\Users\<username>\.ssh\authorized_keys.

For an Administrative User

Place the contents of your public key into C:\ProgramData\ssh\administrators_authorized_keys.

📖 Deploy the public key

Step 5: Configure the SSH Server (Windows)

Edit the SSH server configuration file at %ProgramData%\ssh\sshd_config to enable public key authentication and disable password authentication for tighter security:

PubkeyAuthentication yes
PasswordAuthentication no

Then restart the SSH service to apply the changes.

PowerShell:

Restart-Service sshd

📖 OpenSSH Server configuration for Windows

Step 6: Install Termius (Android)

Install Termius from the Google Play Store.

📖 Termius on Google Play

Step 7: Connect from Termius Using the Private Key (Android)

You’ll need to transfer your private key (id_ecdsa) to your Android device. You can do this via a USB cable, cloud storage, or any secure method you prefer.

Then in Termius:

1. Create a New Host.
2. Enter your Windows machine’s IP address, SSH port (default: 22), and Username.
3. Tap Key, Certificate, FIDO2, then New SSH Key, then Paste or Import from file your private key.
4. Tap on the host you just created to connect.

You should now have a remote terminal session on your Windows machine.

📖 Termius documentation — Connect via SSH with an SSH Key

Step 8: Start Copilot CLI and Authenticate (Android → Windows)

In your Termius terminal, which is now connected to your Windows machine, start the Copilot CLI:

copilot

Then authenticate by typing:

/login

The CLI will generate a one-time code and display a URL. Open that URL on your phone’s browser (https://github.com/login/device), paste the code, and authorize GitHub Copilot CLI.

Once authenticated, you’ll see:

Signed in successfully as <Username>. You can now use Copilot.

You’re now running GitHub Copilot CLI on your Windows machine, controlled from your Android phone!

📖 Authenticate Copilot CLI

Working with Power BI Semantic Models

With Copilot CLI running on your Windows machine, you can now work with Power BI semantic models. You can create measures, review and document the model, add comments and descriptions. You can also work with report in PBIR format, but a terminal is best suited for model-level tasks, where you don’t need to see the report.

Summary

Step	Platform	Action
1	Windows	Install GitHub Copilot CLI
2	Windows	Install & start OpenSSH Server
3	Windows	Generate SSH key pair
4	Windows	Deploy public key
5	Windows	Configure sshd_config and restart service
6	Android	Install Termius
7	Android	Connect to Windows machine with private key
8	Android	Run copilot → /login to authenticate

What once required a full laptop setup can now be done from your pocket. Happy modeling!