Introduction
In the ever-evolving landscape of enterprise technology, efficient Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is vital to ensuring that solutions built on platforms like Power Platform are continuously improved, maintained, and deployed smoothly across various environments. One of the best ways to achieve this is through the use of the Power Platform Command-Line Interface (PAC CLI), a tool that enables automated deployment and management of Power Platform solutions, apps, and resources.
The PAC CLI is an integral part of ALM in the Power Platform ecosystem. It helps simplify the deployment process, version control, and environment management, particularly in environments that require continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD). By automating tasks like exporting and importing solutions, managing environment variables, and integrating with DevOps pipelines, PAC enhances both development efficiency and the consistency of deployments.
In this article, we’ll explore the process of deploying with PAC, diving deep into the necessary steps, best practices, integration strategies, and how you can leverage PAC CLI to streamline your Power Platform ALM process.
What is PAC (Power Platform ALM)?
PAC (Power Platform Command-Line Interface) is a cross-platform command-line tool that allows developers and administrators to interact with and manage their Power Platform environments. PAC provides a set of commands for managing solutions, environments, data, and resources in Power Apps, Power Automate, and Microsoft Dataverse.
PAC is a crucial tool in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), as it facilitates seamless deployment processes, supports version control, and allows automation for repetitive tasks.
In the context of ALM, deployment is the key to ensuring that the solutions you build on Power Platform are accurately moved from development environments to testing, staging, and production environments, maintaining consistency and minimizing the risk of errors.
Key Features of PAC for Deployment
Before we delve into the details of deploying with PAC, it’s important to understand the core features of PAC that are most relevant for deployment:
- Exporting and Importing Solutions: PAC allows you to export and import solutions (managed and unmanaged), which include your apps, flows, tables, and other components.
- Environment Management: PAC facilitates managing multiple environments by allowing you to create, list, and set active environments for deployment.
- Automated Deployment: PAC CLI integrates with CI/CD pipelines (such as Azure DevOps), making it possible to automate the deployment of Power Platform solutions.
- Managing Dataverse: PAC lets you manage Dataverse tables, data migrations, and retrieve metadata for various Power Platform components.
- Handling Environment Variables: PAC supports environment variables, which are critical for managing different configurations across multiple environments, such as development, testing, and production.
Setting Up PAC CLI for Deployment
To start using PAC for deployments, you’ll need to first install and configure the Power Platform CLI. Here are the steps to get started:
1. Install PAC CLI
To use PAC CLI, you must have .NET Core 3.1 or later installed. After ensuring that .NET Core is installed, you can proceed to install PAC using either npm or NuGet.
For npm:
npm install -g pac-cli
For NuGet:
dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.PowerPlatform.Cds.Client
2. Authenticate with Power Platform
After installing PAC, you need to authenticate it to interact with your Power Platform environments. You can authenticate using the following command:
pac auth create --url https://<your-tenant>.crm.dynamics.com
This command will prompt you to sign in with your Microsoft account and authenticate your session.
3. Set Environment and Organization
Once authenticated, you need to set your environment. This can be done by listing the available environments and setting the active environment for your tasks.
pac environment list
pac environment set <environment-name>
By setting the correct environment, you ensure that your deployments target the right destination.
Deploying Solutions Using PAC
The core of Power Platform ALM involves deploying solutions across different environments. Solutions can contain apps, flows, tables, and other resources, and they can be either managed or unmanaged. Managed solutions are typically used in production environments, while unmanaged solutions are more commonly used in development and testing environments.
1. Exporting a Solution
The first step in deployment is exporting the solution from your source environment (usually a development environment). The PAC CLI command for exporting solutions is:
pac solution export --name <solution-name> --path <export-path>
This command will export the solution and store it at the specified path. You can specify the solution type (managed or unmanaged), and you can even include dependencies.
Example:
pac solution export --name MyCustomApp --path "C:\Deployments\MyCustomApp.zip" --managed
This will export the solution MyCustomApp as a managed solution to the specified path.
2. Importing a Solution
Once the solution is exported, you can deploy it to another environment, such as a test or production environment. The command for importing the solution is:
pac solution import --path <path-to-solution> --async
The --async flag ensures that the process runs in the background, allowing you to continue other tasks.
Example:
pac solution import --path "C:\Deployments\MyCustomApp.zip" --async
This will import the solution from the specified path into the target environment.
3. Checking Deployment Status
After importing a solution, you can check the status of the deployment using the pac solution list command to ensure the solution is successfully deployed:
pac solution list
This command provides you with details about the solutions in your environment, including their deployment status.
Managing Dependencies During Deployment
When deploying solutions, it’s important to handle any dependencies that might exist between different solutions or components. PAC CLI allows you to include dependencies during the export and import process. For instance:
1. Exporting with Dependencies
pac solution export --name <solution-name> --path <path-to-export> --include-dependencies
This command ensures that all related components and dependencies are included in the exported solution, reducing the likelihood of missing or broken features when importing.
2. Importing with Dependencies
During the import process, PAC automatically resolves dependencies between solutions. However, if specific dependencies are not available in the target environment, the import may fail. To ensure successful deployment, always verify that all dependencies are available before importing the solution.
Automating Deployment with CI/CD Pipelines
One of the most significant benefits of using PAC is the ability to integrate it into CI/CD pipelines. This allows organizations to automate the deployment of solutions, providing a consistent and repeatable process.
1. Integrating PAC with Azure DevOps
Integrating PAC into Azure DevOps allows you to automate the deployment of Power Platform solutions as part of your CI/CD pipeline. Here’s how you can set up a basic pipeline:
Step 1: Install the Power Platform Build Tools extension from the Azure DevOps marketplace.
Step 2: In your pipeline YAML file, include steps to install PAC CLI and authenticate:
steps:
- task: PowerPlatformToolInstaller@0
inputs:
powerPlatformCliVersion: 'latest'
- script: |
pac auth create --url https://<your-tenant>.crm.dynamics.com
pac solution export --name <solution-name> --path $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/solution.zip
displayName: 'Export Solution'
- script: |
pac auth create --url https://<destination-environment>.crm.dynamics.com
pac solution import --path $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/solution.zip
displayName: 'Import Solution to Target Environment'
This example demonstrates how to automate the export of a solution from a source environment and its subsequent import into a target environment.
2. Automating with GitHub Actions
You can also use GitHub Actions to automate deployments. Similar to Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions enables you to automate the export and import of solutions.
name: Power Platform Deployment
on:
push:
branches:
- main
jobs:
deploy:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout code
uses: actions/checkout@v2
- name: Setup Power Platform CLI
run: npm install -g pac-cli
- name: Authenticate and Export Solution
run: |
pac auth create --url https://<your-tenant>.crm.dynamics.com
pac solution export --name <solution-name> --path "solution.zip"
- name: Authenticate and Import Solution
run: |
pac auth create --url https://<destination-environment>.crm.dynamics.com
pac solution import --path "solution.zip"
This YAML configuration automates the deployment process by exporting the solution from the source repository and importing it into the target environment, triggered on every push to the main branch.
Best Practices for Deploying with PAC
- Use Managed Solutions in Production: Always deploy managed solutions in production environments to ensure that they are locked and cannot be modified directly.
- Test Deployments in a Sandbox Environment: Before deploying to production, test your solutions in a sandbox or UAT environment to ensure that all components function correctly.
- Version Control Your Solutions: Keep track of your solutions in version control (e.g., Git) to maintain an accurate history of changes and ensure the consistency of deployments.
- Automate with CI/CD: Automate the deployment process with CI/CD pipelines to reduce manual errors and improve the consistency of your deployments.
- Handle Dependencies Carefully: Always verify that dependencies are correctly included during export and ensure that all necessary components are available in the target environment.