data-entity-scaffolding

name	data-entity-scaffolding
description	Scaffold an AxDataEntityView (data entity) in D365 Finance & Operations for OData / DMF (Data Management Framework) integration. Use when the user asks to "create a data entity", "expose a table to OData", or "scaffold an entity for DMF".
applies_when	User intent mentions data entity, AxDataEntityView, OData, DMF, public entity name, public collection name, or exposing tables to integrations.

⛔ NEVER write X++ AOT XML files directly via PowerShell, terminal file commands (Set-Content, Out-File, New-Item), editor write tools, or any raw text approach. The XML schema (<AxClass>, <AxTable>, <AxForm>, <Methods>, <SourceCode>) is proprietary — LLMs have not been trained on it reliably. ALWAYS use d365fo generate … commands to produce correct AOT XML. If d365fo is unavailable in PATH, stop and ask the user to install it.

Authoring AxDataEntityView XML

Data entities are the supported integration surface for D365FO — OData v4, Power Platform, DMF imports/exports, and inbound/outbound async services all consume them. d365fo generate entity emits a minimal but compile-clean AxDataEntityView XML.

Pre-flight

d365fo search entity <Name>     --output json    # collision check
d365fo get table   <Table>      --output json    # field list to expose
d365fo search edt  <Edt>        --output json    # for any EDT mappings

Scaffolding

# Minimal — exposes one table; OData names default to <Name>Entity / <Name>Entities
d365fo generate entity FmVehicleEntity \
    --table FmVehicle \
    --all-fields \
    --install-to FleetManagement

# Explicit OData names + per-field selection
d365fo generate entity FmVehicleEntity \
    --table FmVehicle \
    --field VIN --field Make --field Year \
    --public-entity-name FleetVehicle \
    --public-collection-name FleetVehicles \
    --install-to FleetManagement

The CLI returns {path, bytes, backup, fieldCount, publicEntityName, publicCollectionName}. Never request the full XML back.

OData naming conventions (D365FO)

AOT property	Convention	Used for
Name	<Domain><Concept>Entity	Internal AOT identifier
PublicEntityName	<Domain><Concept> (singular)	OData entity type
PublicCollectionName	<Domain><Concept>s (plural)	OData collection (/data/<Plural>)

If the singular ends in s, set the plural explicitly (FleetStatus → FleetStatuses).

Hard rules

• Never expose a table without confirming IsPublic = Yes on the entity (the scaffold emits this — preserve it).
• Never hardcode label captions for entity fields — they inherit from the underlying EDT or table field.
• Never duplicate an existing public entity / collection name across models — OData names are global. d365fo search entity first.
• Run d365fo build (and the OData metadata refresh) only on user request.