Power Platform Development

Expert guidance for Microsoft Power Platform ALM, PAC CLI operations, solution management, and CI/CD pipelines.

Triggers

Use this skill when you see:

• power platform, pac cli, power platform cli
• solution export, solution import, managed solution
• power platform alm, environment promotion
• power platform ci/cd, build tools
• pcf init, plugin init, pac auth

Instructions

PAC CLI Authentication

# Create authentication profile
pac auth create --environment "https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com"

# Create with service principal (CI/CD)
pac auth create --applicationId <app-id> --clientSecret <secret> --tenant <tenant-id> --environment "https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com"

# List and select profiles
pac auth list
pac auth select --index 1

# Check current environment
pac env who

Solution Operations

# Export solution (unmanaged for development)
pac solution export --path ./solutions/MySolution.zip --name MySolution --managed false

# Export solution (managed for deployment)
pac solution export --path ./solutions/MySolution_managed.zip --name MySolution --managed true

# Import solution
pac solution import --path ./solutions/MySolution_managed.zip --publish-changes

# Unpack for source control (folder structure)
pac solution unpack --zipfile ./solutions/MySolution.zip --folder ./src/MySolution --processCanvasApps

# Pack from source control
pac solution pack --zipfile ./solutions/MySolution.zip --folder ./src/MySolution --processCanvasApps

# Publish customizations
pac solution publish

# Run solution checker
pac solution check --path ./solutions/MySolution.zip --geo unitedstates

Environment Management

# List environments
pac env list

# Select environment
pac env select --environment "https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com"

# Who am I (current context)
pac env who

# Copy environment (for testing)
pac env copy --source-env <source-id> --target-env <target-id> --type MinimalCopy

PCF and Plugin Init

# Initialize PCF control project
pac pcf init --namespace Contoso --name MyControl --template field --framework react --run-npm-install

# Initialize plugin project
pac plugin init

# Generate early-bound types
pac modelbuilder build

CI/CD with Azure DevOps Build Tools

# azure-pipelines.yml
trigger:
  branches:
    include:
      - main

pool:
  vmImage: 'windows-latest'

steps:
  - task: microsoft-IsvExpTools.PowerPlatform-BuildTools.tool-installer.PowerPlatformToolInstaller@2
    displayName: 'Install Power Platform Build Tools'

  - task: microsoft-IsvExpTools.PowerPlatform-BuildTools.pack-solution.PowerPlatformPackSolution@2
    displayName: 'Pack Solution'
    inputs:
      SolutionSourceFolder: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)/src/MySolution'
      SolutionOutputFile: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/MySolution_managed.zip'
      SolutionType: 'Managed'
      ProcessCanvasApps: true

  - task: microsoft-IsvExpTools.PowerPlatform-BuildTools.checker.PowerPlatformChecker@2
    displayName: 'Solution Checker'
    inputs:
      authenticationType: 'PowerPlatformSPN'
      PowerPlatformSPN: 'PowerPlatformSPN'
      FilesToAnalyze: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/MySolution_managed.zip'
      RuleSet: '0ad12346-e108-40b8-a956-9a8f95ea18c9'

  - task: microsoft-IsvExpTools.PowerPlatform-BuildTools.import-solution.PowerPlatformImportSolution@2
    displayName: 'Import to Target'
    inputs:
      authenticationType: 'PowerPlatformSPN'
      PowerPlatformSPN: 'PowerPlatformSPN'
      SolutionInputFile: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/MySolution_managed.zip'
      PublishChanges: true

CI/CD with GitHub Actions

# .github/workflows/deploy-solution.yml
name: Deploy Power Platform Solution
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build-and-deploy:
    runs-on: windows-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Pack solution
        uses: microsoft/powerplatform-actions/pack-solution@v1
        with:
          solution-folder: src/MySolution
          solution-file: out/MySolution_managed.zip
          solution-type: Managed
          process-canvas-apps: true

      - name: Import to target
        uses: microsoft/powerplatform-actions/import-solution@v1
        with:
          environment-url: ${{ secrets.PP_ENV_URL }}
          app-id: ${{ secrets.PP_APP_ID }}
          client-secret: ${{ secrets.PP_CLIENT_SECRET }}
          tenant-id: ${{ secrets.PP_TENANT_ID }}
          solution-file: out/MySolution_managed.zip
          publish-changes: true

Best Practices

Practice	Description
Environment strategy	Use Dev (unmanaged) -> Test (managed) -> Prod (managed) promotion
Solution segmentation	Split large solutions by functional area (Core, UI, Integrations)
Unmanaged in dev only	Only develop in unmanaged; deploy managed to Test/Prod
Source control	Always unpack solutions to source control with pac solution unpack
Connection references	Use connection references instead of hardcoded connections
Environment variables	Store configuration in Dataverse environment variables
Solution checker	Run pac solution check before every deployment
Publisher prefix	Use a consistent publisher prefix across all components

Common Workflows

New Solution Setup

1. Create solution in dev environment with consistent publisher
2. Add components (tables, apps, flows, etc.)
3. Export and unpack to source control
4. Set up CI/CD pipeline for automated deployment
5. Configure environment variables and connection references

Environment Promotion

1. Export unmanaged from Dev
2. Pack as managed for deployment
3. Run solution checker
4. Import managed to Test, validate
5. Import managed to Prod with approvals
6. Verify post-deployment

Source Control Workflow

1. pac solution export from dev environment
2. pac solution unpack to repo folder
3. Commit and push changes
4. CI pipeline packs and deploys managed solution
5. Use PRs for code review of customizations