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As more organizations build business-critical applications using Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, the need for structured Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) becomes essential. Manual deployments are error-prone, time-consuming, and lack traceability. The solution? DevOps automation—specifically using GitHub Actions to manage Dynamics 365 solutions efficiently.

GitHub Actions offers a powerful, cloud-native way to automate workflows directly from your code repository. When combined with the Power Platform CLI (PAC CLI) and solution best practices, it becomes an essential tool for implementing enterprise-grade ALM.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to use GitHub Actions to manage Dynamics 365 solutions, automate solution deployment, enforce quality checks, and streamline CI/CD pipelines.

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Why Use GitHub Actions for Dynamics Solutions?

GitHub Actions allows you to:

• Automate solution exports, imports, and validations.
• Trigger deployments based on events (e.g., code push, PR merge).
• Run solution checker for code quality.
• Push portal content (Power Pages) as part of CI/CD.
• Integrate with secrets, approvals, and build artifacts.

When combined with Power Platform CLI and solution packaging, GitHub Actions becomes a DevOps powerhouse for Power Platform and Dynamics 365 teams.

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Prerequisites

Before setting up GitHub Actions for Dynamics 365:

• Access to a GitHub repository
• Dynamics 365 environment(s) (Dev, Test, Prod)
• A registered Azure AD App (for Service Principal authentication)
• Power Platform CLI installed locally (for testing)
• Dynamics 365 solutions in source control (unpacked using pac solution unpack)

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1. Overview of the Workflow

A typical Dynamics 365 GitHub Actions workflow includes:

1. Exporting a solution from development.
2. Running Solution Checker.
3. Importing into Test or UAT.
4. Optional approval before production deployment.
5. Uploading portal (Power Pages) content if applicable.
6. Versioning, backups, and rollback capability.

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2. Authenticating with Power Platform in GitHub Actions

First, create a Service Principal in Azure Active Directory and register your app. Then, store the following as secrets in your GitHub repo:

• CLIENT_ID
• CLIENT_SECRET
• TENANT_ID
• ENV_URL (Dataverse environment URL)

To authenticate in GitHub Actions, use:

- name: Authenticate with Power Platform
  run: |
    pac auth create --url ${{ secrets.ENV_URL }} --clientId ${{ secrets.CLIENT_ID }} --clientSecret ${{ secrets.CLIENT_SECRET }} --tenant ${{ secrets.TENANT_ID }}

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3. GitHub Actions Workflow File Structure

Create a file in your repo under .github/workflows/deploy.yml:

name: Deploy Dynamics Solution

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: windows-latest

    steps:
    - name: Checkout code
      uses: actions/checkout@v3

    - name: Setup PAC CLI
      run: |
        npm install -g paconn
        npm install -g @microsoft/powerplatform-cli

    - name: Authenticate
      run: |
        pac auth create --url ${{ secrets.ENV_URL }} --clientId ${{ secrets.CLIENT_ID }} --clientSecret ${{ secrets.CLIENT_SECRET }} --tenant ${{ secrets.TENANT_ID }}

    - name: Pack solution
      run: |
        pac solution pack --folder ./solutions/MySolution --zipfile ./MySolution.zip --packagetype Managed

    - name: Import to Environment
      run: |
        pac solution import --path ./MySolution.zip --async --wait 30

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4. Exporting and Unpacking Solutions (Optional CI Stage)

If you want to export a solution from your Dev environment and store it in the repo (e.g., as part of nightly builds or backups):

- name: Export solution
  run: |
    pac solution export --name "MySolution" --path ./MySolution.zip --managed

- name: Unpack solution for source control
  run: |
    pac solution unpack --zipfile ./MySolution.zip --folder ./solutions/MySolution --allowDelete

This helps track changes via Git and allows peer reviews.

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5. Running Solution Checker

Solution Checker is critical for ensuring code quality before deployment:

- name: Run Solution Checker
  run: |
    pac solution checker --path ./MySolution.zip --outputDirectory ./checkresults

- name: Upload Checker Results
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
  with:
    name: checker-results
    path: ./checkresults

For GitHub Advanced Security users, you can convert this output to SARIF format and publish as security alerts.

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6. Portal Deployment with GitHub Actions

If you’re also using Power Pages, add steps to push content:

- name: Upload portal content
  run: |
    pac paportal upload --path ./portal

You can store Power Pages content in a portal folder within your repo, synchronized using pac paportal download.

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7. Deployment to Multiple Environments

Split your workflow into multiple jobs or stages, with secrets for each environment:

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: windows-latest
    steps:
      # authenticate with UAT and import
      - name: Import to UAT
        run: |
          pac auth create --url ${{ secrets.UAT_ENV_URL }} --clientId ${{ secrets.CLIENT_ID }} --clientSecret ${{ secrets.CLIENT_SECRET }} --tenant ${{ secrets.TENANT_ID }}
          pac solution import --path ./MySolution.zip

  prod:
    needs: test
    runs-on: windows-latest
    if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
    steps:
      # same steps for production

You can use workflow_dispatch for manual triggering of the production job, simulating approval gates.

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8. Artifact Management and Versioning

Store build artifacts for traceability and rollback:

- name: Upload solution artifact
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
  with:
    name: ManagedSolution
    path: ./MySolution.zip

Also consider adding semantic versioning via tags or commit messages, such as:

- name: Tag version
  run: |
    git tag -a v1.0.${{ github.run_number }} -m "Automated build"
    git push origin --tags

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9. Secrets and Security

Keep all sensitive values out of code by storing them in GitHub secrets.

Set them at:

Repository → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret

Avoid hardcoding environment URLs or client credentials in your YAML file.

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10. Bonus: GitHub Actions with ALM Accelerator

If you’re using ALM Accelerator for Power Platform from Microsoft’s CoE Starter Kit, you can integrate GitHub Actions into its process.

Use GitHub as your source control provider, and trigger deployments based on pull requests, tagging, or approvals.

ALM Accelerator provides pre-built pipelines, but you can enhance or override them using custom GitHub Actions workflows like those described above.

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11. Best Practices for Dynamics + GitHub Actions

Best Practice	Why It Matters
✅ Use secrets	Never expose credentials in workflows
✅ Store unpacked solutions	Enables Git-based source control
✅ Run Solution Checker	Prevents poor-quality code in production
✅ Use tags or versions	Enables traceability and rollback
✅ Separate environments	Avoid mixing dev/test/prod workflows
✅ Use workflow_dispatch	Manual deployment control for production
✅ Combine with portal content	For Power Pages deployment
✅ Monitor artifacts	Use checker reports and solution zips
✅ Limit branch access	Enforce protected branches and reviews

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12. Real-World Scenario: Dynamics App Deployment via GitHub

Let’s say Contoso uses Dynamics 365 for Sales and has a custom extension managed through solutions. Their workflow looks like this:

1. Developers make changes and commit to feature branches.
2. Pull requests trigger a GitHub Action to run Solution Checker.
3. Once merged to main, the CI pipeline:
   • Packs and uploads the managed solution
   • Runs quality checks
   • Imports to UAT
4. After UAT validation, a release manager triggers workflow_dispatch to push to production.

All changes are logged, versioned, and traceable—aligned with enterprise DevOps practices.

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