Getting started with Power Platform PowerApps CLI

This article is about Getting started with the Power Platform / PowerApps command line interface (CLI). You might be wondering why no code or low code tools need a CLI but worry not because theres a completely clear explanation: "The Power Platform CLI (PowerApps CLI) works for both inner loop development and outer loop development. The inner loop is for when a developer wants to work on a project and build a new feature for instance. The outer loop is to make sure that what has been built, also can be deployed to other environments." I prefer to think of this as software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) and application lifecycle management (ALM). To me theres no separation of loop. I guess it might make sense for citizen developers / makers to be considered inner loop and pro developers to be outer loop but it seems a bit artificial.

Wait, what is the Power Platform CLI (PowerApps CLI)?

Seriously though, the Power Platform CLI is a vital set of utilities designed for developers with an emphasis on both single use and scriptability.

Power Platform CLI is a single low level integration point for VSCodium (or VS Code), for GitHub Actions and for any other services that might benefit from scripting.
Power Platform CLI provides a proper GitHub first developer experience for the wider power platform including pages, components, connectors, solutions, packages, installers and more
Power Platform CLI uses the command line tool PAC with a wealth of administrative capabilities previously only accessible from the Power Apps Admin web console.

Wait, what is the Power Platform CLI (PowerApps CLI)?
Installing the Power Platform CLI (PowerApps CLI)
Installing PowerApps CLI on Windows 11
Installing PowerApps CLI on macOS Ventura via VSCodium (or VS Code)
Install .NET for macOS
Success in VSCodium / VS Code
Run the PAC CLI from the terminal inside VSCodium / VS Code
Getting started with the Power Platform CLI PAC commands
Profile Stored locally
PAC Auth – Commands to connect to your environment.
PAC Org – Commands for working with Dataverse environments.
pac admin – Commands for environment lifecycle features.
pac application – Commands to install AppSource applications that are prerequisites for the solution work in the target environment
pac canvas – Commands for working with canvas app source files
pac package – Commands for working with solution packages.
pac paportal – Commands for working with Portals support for Microsoft Power Platform CLI.
pac pcf – Commands for working with Power Apps component framework.
pac plugin – Command to create a plug-in project.
pac solution – Commands for working with Dataverse solution projects.
pac telemetry – Manages the telemetry settings.

Installing the Power Platform CLI (PowerApps CLI)

Note — Don't hard code names into product names or commands kids or marketing people will get mad at you when they decide it is a Platform PAC as a command is badly named as it probably evolved from Power Apps CLI and should probably now just be PP now to reflect Power Platform but that ship has sailed!

Microsoft point out the easiest way to use the CLI is to install it as a platform extension in VSCode. You can also install it for macOS and Linux although some funcitonality which depends on the Windows version of the .net framework will not function.

Installing PowerApps CLI on Windows 11

Find and run the MSI installer for Windows https://aka.ms/PowerAppsCLI. The installer calls itself the PowerApps CLI so that is the term I will use from now on although Microsoft use Power Platform CLI.

The PowerApps CLI installer
Let it finish, it will open a terminal to do its thing.
And then check it is working by running it

Installing PowerApps CLI on macOS Ventura via VSCodium (or VS Code)

Note — VSCodium, available from https://vscodium.com, is a community-driven, freely-licensed binary distribution of Microsoft’s editor VS Code. You could also use VS Code but according to the VSCodium people it contains telemetry and tracking whereas VSCodium does not.

Install .NET for macOS

You can use .NET as part of a continuous integration, continuous development (CI/CD) workflow with GitHub because GitHub hosted runners are preinstalled with .NET Core SDK amongst the list of software tools they provide for GitHub Actions to use. This is something I didn't know, and I also didn't know that .NET runs on macOS, and even on Apple silicon equipped Mac computers. For CI/CD with PowerApps thats going to be important, and for me its important it works on a Mac.

Note — You will need to Install and test .NET on macOS, before you can install the extension succesfully. .NET is made up of the runtime and the SDK. The runtime is used to run a .NET app and may or may not be included with the app. The SDK is used to create .NET apps and libraries. The .NET runtime is always installed with the SDK. I chose the latest version of .NET which is 7.Be aware however that the .NET SDK telemetry feature is enabled by default for Microsoft distributions of the .net SDK. To opt out of the telemetry feature, set the DOTNET_CLI_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT environment variable to 1 or true.

Review the installation notes for .Net for mac computer. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/install/macos
You can find the macOS installer here https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/7.0
Install it and test it by building the hello world app following the tutorial here https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/dotnet/hello-world-tutorial/intro
Install the Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI tool using the terminal % dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI.Tool

% dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI.Tool

Welcome to .NET 7.0!
---------------------
SDK Version: 7.0.306

----------------
Installed an ASP.NET Core HTTPS development certificate.
To trust the certificate run 'dotnet dev-certs https --trust' (Windows and macOS only).
Learn about HTTPS: https://aka.ms/dotnet-https
----------------
Write your first app: https://aka.ms/dotnet-hello-world
Find out what's new: https://aka.ms/dotnet-whats-new
Explore documentation: https://aka.ms/dotnet-docs
Report issues and find source on GitHub: https://github.com/dotnet/core
Use 'dotnet --help' to see available commands or visit: https://aka.ms/dotnet-cli
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tools directory '/Users/angusf/.dotnet/tools' is not currently on the PATH environment variable.
If you are using zsh, you can add it to your profile by running the following command:

cat << \EOF >> ~/.zprofile
# Add .NET Core SDK tools
export PATH="$PATH:/Users/angusf/.dotnet/tools"
EOF

And run `zsh -l` to make it available for current session.

You can only add it to the current session by running the following command:

export PATH="$PATH:/Users/angusf/.dotnet/tools"

You can invoke the tool using the following command: pac
Tool 'microsoft.powerapps.cli.tool' (version '1.25.3') was successfully installed.

Now you are ready to install the extension for VSCodium or VS Code.
You'll need to sideload the extension for VSCodium. Find the download link on the page and download it.

Power Platform Tools from the marketplace
Launch VSCodium and select the Extensions icon, then select the more icon (ellipsis) on the Extensions side bar, and then select Install from VSIX.

Install from VSIX... Menu item

Success in VSCodium / VS Code

You should see the results of a successful install in the VSCodium notifications. If you see an error, you either didnt get the .net installation right, or you didnt install the PAC tool properly and set the path to it for your command shell.

See how it says the PAC CLI is ready for use!

Run the PAC CLI from the terminal inside VSCodium / VS Code

Now you can run the PAC CLI commands in the terminal inside VSCodium / VS Code

Getting started with the Power Platform CLI PAC commands

First thing to do is set the context for this user account by creating and storing authentication profiles for this user on this computer. Type % pac auth createin the Terminal in VSCodium / VS Code. It will load a default browser window for you to authenticate your Microsoft Sign in account.

Microsoft Online OAuth 2.0 Sign in screen

Once you complete the OAuth Sign in dance, you'll see your profile has been created. Now you can use the PAC CLI to access your Power Platform.

% pac auth create
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.' authenticated successfully.
Validating connection...
Default organization: production-orgname
Authentication profile created
    * UNIVERSAL https://orgc0ffee01.crm11.dynamics.com/ : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Public

By default this creates a profile for your username for the tenant and connects you to the default environment.

Profile Stored locally

I wondered what happened to the profile information, since it must persist across machine reboots and it can't really be held in the Browser cache. I found it. It is stored in ~/.local/share/Microsoft/PowerAppsCli. Heres part of mine. mine (details are not real).

{
  "Profiles": [
    {
      "Kind": "UNIVERSAL",
      "User": "This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.",
      "AadObjectId": "46f2a44a-b8b5-4d16-83f2-695a38f46855",
      "Puid": null,
      "UserCountry": null,
      "Resource": "https://orgnnnnnnnn.crmnn.dynamics.com",
      "EnvironmentId": "6529b3bc-27d0-11ee-a201-2eb5a363657c",
      "EnvironmentType": "Default",
      "ExpiresOn": "2099-07-21T12:20:17.00459+00:00",
      "Authority": "https://login.microsoftonline.com/organizations",
      "Name": "",
      "ProfileType": 0,
      "CloudInstance": 0,
      "TenantId": "d69a6e6d-466c-42d2-a20b-8dd63dd12c68",
      "TenantCountry": null,
      "OrganizationUniqueName": null,
      "FriendlyName": "production-orgname"
    }
  ],
 ...
}%

When you run Pac Auth Create, this settings file is created. I couldnt find it documented anywhere so its clearly not meant to be edited outside of the PAC command line.

PAC Auth – Commands to connect to your environment.

Theres a set of associated commands for authentication profile management. Probably the only useful one at this point is pac auth list which confirms your profile settings.

The settings themselves are tucked away in a hidden folder in your home folder.

list — shows the authentication profiles stored on this computer
create — Create and store authentication profiles on this computer
select — Select which authentication profile should be active
delete — Delete a particular authentication profile
update — Update name or target environment of an existing authentication profile
name — Name or rename an existing authentication profile
clear — Clear all authentication profiles stored on this computer

PAC Org – Commands for working with Dataverse environments.

Theres a set of associated commands for authentication profile management. Probably the most useful one at this point is pac org list which lists all of the Dataverse organizations the user has access to.

The settings themselves are tucked away in a hidden folder in your home folder.

who — Displays information about the current Dataverse organization

% pac org who
Connected to... production-orgname
Connected as This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Organization Information
  Org ID:                     46f2a44a-b8b5-4d16-83f2-695a38f46855
  Unique Name:                d69a6e6d-466c-42d2-a20b-8dd63dd12c68
  Friendly Name:              production-orgname
  Org URL:                    https://orgnnnnnnnn.crmnn.dynamics.com
  User Email:                 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  User ID:                    5fa5680a-27d0-11ee-970f-2eb5a363657c
  Environment ID:             6529b3bc-27d0-11ee-a201-2eb5a363657c

list — Lists all of the Dataverse organizations the user has access to

You'll see output something like this (fake numbers) ad thats very useful for scripting, you can get the Display Name, Environment ID, Environment URL, and Unique Name and use them to do useful things in your CI/CD or ALM pipelines.

% pac org list
Display Name       Environment ID                       Environment URL                           Unique Name
dev-username       e335ef1c-27cd-11ee-8518-2eb5a363657c https://orged1nnnnnnnn.crmnn.dynamics.com 77309443-e6b8-4d38-b94c-0e40d454cce5
production-orgname eb1e440e-27cd-11ee-ac01-2eb5a363657c https://orgnnnnnnnn.crmnn.dynamics.com    4d8992e0-2106-4613-ad83-1bb08129955c

fetch — (Preview) Performs FetchXML query against Dataverse
list-settings — List environment settings
update-settings — Update environment settings
select — Select default organization for current authentication profile

pac admin – Commands for environment lifecycle features.

Usage: pac admin [list] [create] [backup] [set-backup-retention-period] [delete] [reset] [list-backups] [restore] [copy] [status] [assign-user] [assign-group] [list-app-templates] [create-service-principal]

list — List all environments from your tenant.

% pac admin list

Listing all environments from your tenant...
Environment          Environment ID                       Environment Url                         Type      Organization ID
dev-username           9bc02954-2c55-11ee-8e80-325096b39f47 https://orgnnnnn.crm11.dynamics.com/ Developer a03cc3b6-7f2e-4314-ba6e-387d6a69df59
production-orgname e37e861e-2c55-11ee-8d45-325096b39f47 https://orgnnnnn6.crm11.dynamics.com/ Default   a9b5a878-64de-4c5a-88c8-4ee040829381

create Creates a Dataverse instance in your tenant.

backup — Takes a manual backup of your environment.

% pac admin backup --environment 9bc02954-2c55-11ee-8e80-325096b39f47  --label dev-username-20230727 

Backing up your environment with label : dev-angusf-20230727

 Environment Id                           Label                       Backup Expiry             Backup Point Date         User Id                  

 9bc02954-2c55-11ee-8e80-325096b39f47     dev-username-20230727        8/3/2023 8:19:59 AM       7/27/2023 8:19:59 AM      d225842f-398c-439e-9c8b-f814f4e9511b

set-backup-retention-period Takes a manual backup of your environment.
delete Deletes the environment from your tenant.
reset Reset the environment from your tenant.

list-backups — Lists all backups of your environment.

% pac admin list-backups --environment 9bc02954-2c55-11ee-8e80-325096b39f47

Listing all backups of your environment with Url : https://orgnnnnnn.crm11.dynamics.com/

 Index      Id                                                 Label                                    Expiry                                             Point Date          

 1          9683bf13-c394-4a98-a6a0-f122d856959c             dev-username-20230727                      8/3/2023 8:19:59 AM                                7/27/2023 8:19:59 AM

restore Restores an environment to a given backup.
copy Copy Source Environment to Destination Environment.
status This command lists the status of all the operations in progress.
assign-user Assign a user to a target Dataverse environment with specified security role.
assign-group Assign group to target Dataverse environment with specified security role.

list-app-templates Lists all supported Dataverse templates of model-driven apps in Dynamics 365.

% pac admin list-app-templates                                         
Template Name               Template Location Template Display Name Is Disabled
D365_CDSSampleApp           unitedstates      Sample App            False
D365_CustomerService        unitedstates      Customer Service      True
D365_CustomerServicePro     unitedstates      Customer Service Pro  True
D365_DeveloperEdition       unitedstates      Developer Edition     True
D365_FieldService           unitedstates      Field Service         True
D365_Guides                 unitedstates      Guides                True
D365_PowerFrameworkTemplate unitedstates      Power Framework       True
D365_ProjectOperations      unitedstates      Project Operations    True
D365_RemoteAssist           unitedstates      Remote Assist         True
D365_Sales                  unitedstates      Sales Enterprise      True
D365_SalesPro               unitedstates      Sales Pro             True
D365_SmbMarketing           unitedstates      SMB Marketing         True

create-service-principal — Add Microsoft Azure Active Directory application and associated application user to the Dataverse environment.
Note — Make sure your application is registered in Azure AD first!

pac application – Commands to install AppSource applications that are prerequisites for the solution work in the target environment

% pac application
Microsoft PowerPlatform CLI
Version: 1.25.3+g1f959a5
Online documentation: https://aka.ms/PowerPlatformCLI
Feedback, Suggestions, Issues: https://github.com/microsoft/powerplatform-build-tools/discussions

Usage: pac application [list] [install]

list — List available Dataverse applications from AppSource

% pac application list
Friendly Name                                                  Unique Name                                          Application ID
Account Onboarding                                             AccountOnboardingAnchor                              a5f0c8b9-adb3-4499-b5e8-f8eb0afd106e
Agent Productivity Tools                                
...
...
Wrap for Power Apps                                            msdyn_MobileAppsSolutionAnchor                       72ad61ed-9ce6-4eb9-af04-9fcb2dbdcdc1

install Installs Dataverse application to given environment.

pac canvas – Commands for working with canvas app source files

% pac canvas
Microsoft PowerPlatform CLI
Version: 1.25.3+g1f959a5
Online documentation: https://aka.ms/PowerPlatformCLI
Feedback, Suggestions, Issues: https://github.com/microsoft/powerplatform-build-tools/discussions

Usage: pac canvas [pack] [unpack] [create]

pack (Preview) Pack sources into an msapp file
unpack (Preview) Extract an msapp file into sources
create Generate a canvas app from a custom connector

pac package – Commands for working with solution packages.

% pac package
Microsoft PowerPlatform CLI
Version: 1.25.3+g1f959a5
Online documentation: https://aka.ms/PowerPlatformCLI
Feedback, Suggestions, Issues: https://github.com/microsoft/powerplatform-build-tools/discussions

Usage: pac package [init] [add-external-package] [add-solution] [add-reference]

init — Initializes a directory with a new Dataverse package project
add-external-package — Adds a package that is external to the Dataverse solution system to a Package Deployer Package project.
add-solution — Adds a prebuilt Dataverse solution file to a Package Deployer Package project.
add-reference — Adds reference to Dataverse solution project

pac paportal – Commands for working with Portals support for Microsoft Power Platform CLI.

% pac paportal
Microsoft PowerPlatform CLI
Version: 1.25.3+g1f959a5
Online documentation: https://aka.ms/PowerPlatformCLI
Feedback, Suggestions, Issues: https://github.com/microsoft/powerplatform-build-tools/discussions