setup-pipeline

name	setup-pipeline
description	Sets up a Power Platform Pipeline for automated Power Pages deployments. Power Platform Pipelines is Microsoft's native CI/CD tool built into the Power Platform — no external infrastructure required. Use when asked to: "set up ci/cd", "create pipeline", "setup pipeline", "set up power platform pipelines", "create power pipelines", "automate deployments", "set up automated deployment", "create deployment pipeline", "use power pipelines". Also handles: "set up github actions" or "set up azure devops pipeline" (shows coming-soon guidance for those platforms).
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	Optional: 'power-platform', 'github', or 'ado' to skip platform selection
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep, TaskCreate, TaskUpdate, TaskList, AskUserQuestion, mcp__plugin_power-pages_microsoft-learn__microsoft_docs_search, mcp__plugin_power-pages_microsoft-learn__microsoft_docs_fetch
model	opus

Plugin check: Run node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/check-version.js" — if it outputs a message, show it to the user before proceeding.

setup-pipeline

Sets up a Power Platform Pipeline for automated Power Pages solution deployments. Creates the pipeline configuration directly in Dataverse using the PP Pipelines OData API — no YAML files, no external CI/CD infrastructure needed.

GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps Pipeline options are shown in the platform menu as coming soon.

Refer to ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/cicd-pipeline-patterns.md for all HAR-confirmed API patterns used in this skill.

Prerequisites

• powerpages.config.json exists in the project root
• .solution-manifest.json exists (solution must be created first via setup-solution)
• Azure CLI logged in (az account show succeeds)
• PAC CLI logged in (pac env who succeeds)
• A Power Platform environment with Pipelines package installed (the "host" environment)

Phases

Phase 0 — ALM plan gate

plan-alm is the front door. When the user expresses an ALM intent (promote / ship / deploy / set up CI-CD / move to staging / push to prod), the orchestrator (/power-pages:plan-alm) should run first. This Phase 0 enforces that and is meant to fail closed when there's no plan, not to be a one-time check the user can dismiss forever.

Skip rule. If this skill was invoked as part of an active plan-alm orchestration, skip Phase 0 entirely and proceed to Phase 1. The gate helper exposes this via its inExecution block — pass through silently to Phase 1 when:

inExecution.status === "active"

The helper computes this from docs/.alm-plan-data.json — PLAN_STATUS === "In Execution" AND LAST_INVOCATION_AT within the last 60 minutes. check-alm-plan.js refreshes LAST_INVOCATION_AT automatically on every invocation that finds the plan in execution, so each in-chain skill keeps the chain alive for the next one — even multi-hour deploys (deploy-pipeline alone can take 60 min per stage) survive the window without the chain incorrectly de-classifying. Stalled chains (no heartbeat for > 60 min) reclassify as stale-heartbeat and Phase 0 gates fire normally so an abandoned plan doesn't silently bypass user confirmation.

When inExecution.status is anything other than "active" ("not-running", "stale-heartbeat", "no-plan"), run the Phase 0 gate flow below. Branch on the remaining helper fields:

Step 1 — Run the gate helper.

node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/check-alm-plan.js" \
  --projectRoot "." \
  --envUrl "{devEnvUrl}" \
  --token "{token}" \
  --solutionId "{solutionId from .solution-manifest.json, if available}"

The helper returns JSON with { exists, stale, staleness: { reason, detail }, generatedAt, planStatus, ... }. The freshness check requires env credentials + solutionId; without those the helper does an existence-only check.

Step 2 — Branch on the result.

Result	Behavior
deferred: true	The user has explicitly deferred ALM for this project (.alm-deferred marker present). Pass through silently to Phase 1 — do not nag.
exists: false	The user hasn't run plan-alm yet. See Step 3.
exists: true, stale: false	Plan is current. Pass through silently to Phase 1.
exists: true, stale: true (reason: solution-modified)	The solution changed after the plan was generated. See Step 4.

Step 3 — No plan. Tell the user:

"No ALM plan exists for this project. /power-pages:plan-alm builds one — it detects the project state, asks about your promotion strategy (PP Pipelines vs Manual export/import), and orchestrates the right skills (including this one) in the right order. Want me to run plan-alm now?"

🚦 Gate (intent · setup-pipeline:0.no-plan): Fail-closed entry gate when check-alm-plan.js returns exists:false. Helper-script-backed.

AskUserQuestion:

Question	Header	Options
Run /power-pages:plan-alm first?	ALM plan gate	Yes — run /power-pages:plan-alm now (Recommended), Continue without a plan (advanced — I know what I'm doing), Cancel

• Yes (Recommended) → invoke /power-pages:plan-alm. It builds the plan and returns — plan-alm is a planner and does not deploy. This skill then re-runs the Phase 0 check (now exists:true) and proceeds to Phase 1.
• Continue without a plan → set BYPASSED_PLAN_GATE = true and proceed to Phase 1.
• Cancel → exit cleanly.

Step 4 — Stale plan. Tell the user:

"ALM plan exists from {generatedAt} but the source solution has been modified since (at {solution.modifiedon}). Components may have changed. Re-running plan-alm will refresh the analysis and the rendered HTML."

🚦 Gate (intent · setup-pipeline:0.stale-plan): Fail-closed entry gate when check-alm-plan.js returns stale:true. Helper-script-backed.

AskUserQuestion:

Question	Header	Options
Refresh the plan first?	ALM plan freshness	Refresh — re-run /power-pages:plan-alm (Recommended), Continue with the existing plan, Cancel

• Refresh (Recommended) → invoke /power-pages:plan-alm. After completion, re-run the Phase 0 helper once to confirm freshness; if still stale, surface the detail and proceed to Phase 1 anyway (don't infinite-loop).
• Continue → set STALE_PLAN_ACK = true and proceed to Phase 1.
• Cancel → exit cleanly.

Why this gate exists. Direct invocation of this skill bypasses the orchestrator's pre-deploy completeness check, host-resolution decision, deployment-strategy selection, and rendered HTML plan. Users who run setup-pipeline directly often miss components that should have been added to the solution, miss the asset advisory for large web files, or build a pipeline against the wrong host environment. The gate ensures plan-alm either ran (so all of those decisions are surfaced and recorded) or the user explicitly chose to bypass it.

Phase 1 — Detect Project Context

Create all tasks upfront at the start of this phase.

Tasks to create:

1. "Detect project context"
2. "Select CI/CD platform"
3. "Confirm pipeline configuration"
4. "Run preflight checks"
5. "Create deployment environments"
6. "Create pipeline and stages"
7. "Verify and write artifacts"

Steps:

1. Read project context using detect-project-context.js:

   node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/detect-project-context.js"
   

   Capture output as JSON; extract .siteName (store as siteName), .websiteRecordId, .environmentUrl (store as devEnvUrl), and .solutionManifest (store as solutionManifest). devEnvUrl is null for declarative / data-model (EDM) sites — detect-project-context.js reads the env URL only from powerpages.config.json, which those sites don't have. Do not treat a null devEnvUrl as an error here; Step 2 resolves the authoritative dev env URL from pac env who. If siteName is absent, stop and advise running /power-pages:create-site first — a downloaded/deployed site (code or declarative) always resolves a siteName (from powerpages.config.json or .powerpages-site/website.yml), so a missing siteName means there is no site checked out here, not merely "no powerpages.config.json". If solutionManifest is null (no .solution-manifest.json), stop and advise running /power-pages:setup-solution first.

   Manifest version check:

   • If solutionManifest.schemaVersion === 2 (multi-solution layout), set MULTI_SOLUTION_MODE = true and store solutionManifest.solutions[] as SOLUTIONS_LIST. See Phase 6b — a SINGLE pipeline ships all solutions through per-solution stage runs (the pre-v1.3.x "one pipeline per solution" layout was reverted because it cluttered the Pipelines UI).
   • If schemaVersion is absent or 1 (single solution), read solutionManifest.solution.uniqueName and solutionManifest.solution.solutionId. One pipeline will be created (existing flow).

2. Run verify-alm-prerequisites.js to confirm PAC CLI auth, acquire a token, and verify API access. Pass --envUrl only when devEnvUrl is non-null (code sites). When devEnvUrl is null (declarative / data-model sites from Step 1), omit --envUrl entirely — do not pass --envUrl "null" or an empty value:

   # Code sites — devEnvUrl resolved from powerpages.config.json in Step 1:
   node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/verify-alm-prerequisites.js" --envUrl "{devEnvUrl}"
   
   # Declarative / data-model (EDM) sites — devEnvUrl is null, omit the flag:
   node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/verify-alm-prerequisites.js"
   

   verify-alm-prerequisites.js treats --envUrl as optional and resolves the environment from pac env who when it's omitted (the flag only overrides the PAC CLI env). Capture output as JSON; extract .envUrl and .token (store as DEV_TOKEN), then set devEnvUrl = .envUrl — this verified value (from pac env who) is the authoritative dev env URL for every later step: it backfills the null for declarative sites and confirms it for code sites. If .envUrl is still empty after this, stop and advise the user to run pac auth create / select an environment (pac org select) before retrying.

3. Run silently:

   node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/list-environments.js"
   

   Store the JSON array as ENV_LIST (entries: { displayName, environmentId, environmentUrl, uniqueName, active }). This helper parses pac env list — the old pac env list --output json is invalid on current PAC CLI (pac env list only accepts --filter). It prints [] and exits 0 when PAC is unauthenticated, so this step degrades gracefully.

4. Resolve the Pipelines host via ensure-pipelines-host-detect.js (the same flow /power-pages:ensure-pipelines-host runs internally — it reads any cached docs/alm/last-host-check.json, then walks the resolution order: org-setting binding → BAP env GET → tenant default custom host → tenant-wide enumeration. Read-only; never prompts the user):

   BAP_TOKEN=$(az account get-access-token --resource "https://service.powerapps.com/" --query accessToken -o tsv)
   node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/ensure-pipelines-host-detect.js" \
     --envUrl "{devEnvUrl}" \
     --token "{DEV_TOKEN}" \
     --userId "{userId}" \
     --bapToken "{BAP_TOKEN}" \
     --projectRoot "."
   

   Capture stdout as JSON: const hostResult = JSON.parse(output). Read hostResult.resolutionStatus, hostResult.finalHostEnvUrl, hostResult.ready.

   Branch on resolutionStatus:

   • AvailableUsingPlatformHost / AvailableUsingCustomHost / AvailableUsingCustomHostByAdminDefault — host is already established and ready: true. Store HOST_ENV_URL = hostResult.finalHostEnvUrl and continue. Phase 3 confirms with the user.
   • AvailableUnboundCustomHost / MultipleUnboundCustomHosts / PlatformHostExistsUnbound / NoHost — no host bound to the dev env. Delegate to /power-pages:ensure-pipelines-host so the user can reuse an existing host or provision a new Custom Host (D365_ProjectHost template). Tell the user: "No Pipelines host bound to {devEnvUrl}. Invoking /power-pages:ensure-pipelines-host to set one up — it will run a tenant-wide search for existing hosts and offer to provision a new Custom Host if none are found." After the sub-skill completes, re-read docs/alm/last-host-check.json; capture HOST_ENV_URL = finalHostEnvUrl only if the new marker has ready: true. If the user cancelled the sub-skill, stop this skill — no pipeline can be created without a host.
   • CannotRedirect — stop with the specific tenant-misconfiguration error from hostResult.warnings[0]. Tell the user: "This tenant's DefaultCustomPipelinesHostEnvForTenant setting and the source env's ProjectHostEnvironmentId org setting disagree — only a Power Platform admin can resolve."
   • OrgSettingStale — stop and surface the warning: "ProjectHostEnvironmentId on {devEnvUrl} points at a host env that is no longer visible (deleted, disabled, or you lack access). Clear the org setting via PPAC or contact the env owner."
   • PermissionDenied — stop and surface the warning: "Caller lacks BAP read access on the env {devEnvUrl} is bound to. Contact the host env owner for at least Deployment Pipeline User access."

   Why this replaces the old discover-pipelines-host.js call: that helper only checked the tenant-level DefaultCustomPipelinesHostEnvForTenant setting (one of four resolution signals). ensure-pipelines-host-detect.js walks the full resolution order the Power Apps UI uses (mirrors ProjectHostProvider.tsx), so we agree with the UI in every case — including the previously-undetected AvailableUnboundCustomHost case where a Custom Host exists in the tenant but the source env hasn't been bound yet. See references/cicd-pipeline-patterns.md for the full state matrix.

5. Check for existing docs/alm/last-pipeline.json. If found, read its contents.

6. Report findings: "Project: {siteName}. Solution: {uniqueName}. Dev env: {devEnvUrl}. Host env: {HOST_ENV_URL ?? 'pending — will be ensured next'} ({hostResult.resolutionStatus}). Existing pipeline: found/not found."

🚦 Gate (plan · setup-pipeline:1.existing-pipeline): Existing docs/alm/last-pipeline.json found — overwrite, review first, or cancel. No Dataverse write yet.

If an existing docs/alm/last-pipeline.json is found, ask via AskUserQuestion:

"A pipeline configuration already exists for {pipelineName} (created {createdAt}). How would you like to proceed?

1. Overwrite — create a new pipeline, replacing the marker
2. Review existing setup first, then decide
3. Cancel"

• If Review: display the existing docs/alm/last-pipeline.json contents, then ask again with the same 3 options.
• If Cancel: stop the skill and inform the user no changes were made.
• If Overwrite: proceed.

Phase 1.5 — Ground in current Pipelines documentation

Reference: ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/alm-docs-grounding.md

Cap this step at ~30 seconds. If MCP search / fetch errors out, log a one-line note and continue — this skill must remain runnable offline.

1. Run microsoft_docs_search with the query: Power Platform Pipelines setup OData API host environment deploymentenvironments.
2. Fetch https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/alm/pipelines (and at most one sister page on host setup or pipeline creation) in parallel via microsoft_docs_fetch.
3. Extract a one-paragraph summary of what Microsoft Learn currently says about Pipelines host resolution, deploymentenvironments / deploymentpipelines / deploymentstages schema, and pipeline lifecycle. Compare against ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/cicd-pipeline-patterns.md and flag any divergence (new fields, deprecated APIs, changed validation status codes).
4. Use the summary to inform Phase 2+ decisions. Do not silently change skill behavior — surface any divergence to the user as a soft warning before Phase 5 (Register Environments with the Pipelines Host).

Phase 2 — Select CI/CD Platform

🚦 Gate (plan · setup-pipeline:2.platform): Pick CI/CD platform — PP Pipelines (full) vs GitHub Actions / ADO (coming soon stubs).

Ask user via AskUserQuestion:

"Which CI/CD platform do you want to use?

1. Power Platform Pipelines — Microsoft's native deployment pipeline. No external infrastructure needed. (Recommended)
2. GitHub Actions — Coming soon
3. Azure DevOps Pipeline — Coming soon"

If the user passed power-platform, github, or ado as an argument, skip this question and use the provided value.

Store the selection as PLATFORM.

If github or ado selected → display the Coming Soon path and stop.

---

Power Platform Pipelines Path

Phase 3 — Confirm Pipeline Configuration

Before asking any questions, assemble what was auto-detected:

Setting	Auto-detected value
Site name	{siteName} from powerpages.config.json
Solution unique name	{uniqueName} from .solution-manifest.json
Dev environment URL	{devEnvUrl} from pac env who
Host environment URL	{HOST_ENV_URL} from ensure-pipelines-host-detect.js (resolved in Phase 1 step 4)
BAP environment ID (dev)	From pac env list

🚦 Gate (plan · setup-pipeline:3.config): Confirm auto-detected pipeline configuration — pipeline name, host env, target envs. Cancel exits before any Dataverse write to the host.

Ask user via AskUserQuestion with pre-filled values:

"I've gathered the following pipeline configuration. Please confirm or correct:

• Pipeline name: {siteName} Pipeline (can change)
• Source (Dev) environment: {devEnvUrl}
• Host environment (where Pipelines is installed): {HOST_ENV_URL} (resolved in Phase 1 — should always be present at this point; ensure-pipelines-host would have stopped the skill otherwise)
• Solution to deploy: {uniqueName}
• Target environments: How many? (Dev → Staging / Dev → Staging → Production)"

Collect from user:

• PIPELINE_NAME (default: {siteName} Pipeline)
• HOST_ENV_URL (confirm — already resolved in Phase 1; user can override only if they want to point at a different host they administer, in which case re-run /power-pages:ensure-pipelines-host first to validate it)
• Target environment count and URLs (STAGING_ENV_URL, PROD_ENV_URL if applicable)
• BAP environment IDs for each target (from pac env list — pre-fill if found, otherwise ask)

Store HOST_TOKEN by running:

az account get-access-token --resource "{hostEnvOrigin}" --query accessToken -o tsv

Present a final confirmation summary and ask user to approve before proceeding.

Phase 4 — Preflight Checks

Use Node.js https module for all Dataverse calls (curl has encoding issues on Windows).

4.1 Verify host environment has Pipelines installed:

GET {hostEnvUrl}/api/data/v9.1/deploymentpipelines?$top=0
Authorization: Bearer {HOST_TOKEN}

If response is 404 or returns an "unknown entity" error, stop and inform the user: "The selected host environment does not have Power Platform Pipelines installed. Please select a different environment or install the Pipelines package."

4.2 Verify solution exists in dev environment using verify-solution-exists.js:

node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/verify-solution-exists.js" \
  --envUrl "{devEnvUrl}" \
  --uniqueName "{uniqueName}" \
  --token "{DEV_TOKEN}"

Capture output as JSON; check .found. If false: warn the user — the solution must be exported from dev before it can be deployed.

4.3 Check for existing pipeline with same name:

GET {hostEnvUrl}/api/data/v9.1/deploymentpipelines?$filter=name eq '{PIPELINE_NAME}'&$select=deploymentpipelineid&$top=1
Authorization: Bearer {HOST_TOKEN}

🚦 Gate (plan · setup-pipeline:4.3.name-conflict): A pipeline with the same name already exists in the host env. Pick: reuse the existing pipeline ID, or create a new one with a different name. Auto-reusing risks attaching to a pipeline owned by someone else; auto-overwriting loses their stage history.

Trigger: Phase 4.3 query returned a hit. Why we ask: Either a foreign pipeline gets its stages overwritten, or a duplicate pipeline gets created that pollutes the host env's pipeline list. Cancel leaves: Nothing — no Dataverse write yet.

If found: ask via AskUserQuestion whether to use the existing pipeline ID or create a new one with a different name.

4.4 Check blockedattachments on source + all target envs:

Power Pages code sites include .js files in their compiled output. If .js is in the env's blockedattachments setting, pac pages upload-code-site (on the source) and deploy-pipeline (on targets) will both fail with AttachmentBlocked. Run this on the source env and on every target env:

node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/fix-blocked-attachments.js" \
  --envUrl "{envUrl}" \
  --extensions js \
  --dry-run

If wasBlocked is non-empty for any env, inform the user:

".js files are blocked in {envUrl}. This will cause upload/deployment failures for Power Pages code sites. Remove the block? This modifies an environment-level security setting."

🚦 Gate (consent · setup-pipeline:4.4.blocked-attachments): Modify env-level blockedattachments security setting (tenant-wide impact). Affects all users of the env, not just this skill. Reversible from PPAC. Fires PER ENV that has blocks. Phase 4.4 checks source + every target env; if M envs out of N have .js (or other media extensions) on the blocklist, the gate fires M times — once per env. Each env has its own security setting and its own group of affected makers. Yes for source does NOT cover staging; yes for staging does NOT cover production. Do NOT batch consent across envs.

Ask via AskUserQuestion: 1. Yes, remove block (recommended) / 2. Skip (I'll fix manually).

If approved, re-run without --dry-run to apply the change. If the user declines, record it as a warning — they'll need to fix it manually before deployment succeeds.

Report preflight results. If any critical check failed, stop with clear instructions. If warnings only, ask user to confirm before proceeding.

Phase 5 — Register Environments with the Pipelines Host

Register each environment (source + targets) with the Pipelines host by creating a deploymentenvironments row in the host's Dataverse. This is a metadata-only registration — the row is a pointer to an existing BAP environment, not a provisioning call. The environments themselves must already exist in BAP. The host validates that the referenced env is reachable and the caller has the right access (validationstatus flips Pending → Succeeded). Process source env first, then targets.

Use create-deployment-environment.js for each environment (dev source + each target):

node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/create-deployment-environment.js" \
  --hostEnvUrl "{HOST_ENV_URL}" \
  --token "{HOST_TOKEN}" \
  --name "{siteName} {label}" \
  --bapEnvId "{BAP_ENV_GUID}" \
  --environmentType 200000000 \
  [--environmentUrl "{environmentUrl}"]

Required args (per scripts/lib/create-deployment-environment.js):

• --bapEnvId — the BAP environment GUID for the env being added. Resolve via pac env list (column Environment ID) or pac env who for the current source env. NOT the org/Dataverse URL.
• --environmentType — 200000000 for the dev/source env, 200000001 for each target env.
• --environmentUrl is optional and only echoed back into the output marker; it is not posted to Dataverse.

Capture stdout as JSON: const envResult = JSON.parse(output). Store envResult.deploymentEnvironmentId as SOURCE_DEPLOYMENT_ENV_ID (for the dev source env) or append to TARGET_DEPLOYMENT_ENV_IDs (for each target). Also retain the bapEnvId value used for each call — Phase 5a's force-link auto-fix needs it if creation lands in a Failed state.

Note: The script POSTs to deploymentenvironments with unprefixed fields (name, environmentid, environmenttype), extracts the deploymentenvironmentid GUID from the OData-EntityId header, then polls validationstatus every 3 seconds (max 20 attempts) until status 200000001 (Succeeded) or 200000002 (Failed). On failure the script writes the error details to stderr and exits 1 — stop and report the error to the user. (The earlier msdyn_-prefixed field shape and 192350001/192350002 status codes were from an early-preview HAR; the shipped Pipelines schema rejects msdyn_-prefixed properties and uses the 2000000XX codes.)

On failure: stop with the error — deployment environment creation is mandatory.

5a — Detect "already associated with another pipelines host" (Pattern 15)

If the script's stderr (case-insensitively) contains any of these substrings, the BAP env is currently stamped to a different Pipelines host:

• already associated with another pipelines host
• associated with another pipelines host
• environment is already linked to a different host
• environment is already bound to
• linked to another host
• claimed by another host

Match all of these case-insensitively (String.prototype.toLowerCase() before .includes()) so backend wording drift between Pipelines package versions doesn't silently break detection. If none match but the script exited with the underlying Dataverse error code 0x80048d18 (or a wrapped errormessage containing that hex code), treat it as the same pattern — that's the stable signal even when the message wording shifts.

🚦 Gate (consent · setup-pipeline:5a.pattern-15): Target env stamped to a different Pipelines host. Offer force-link as documented auto-fix — DESTRUCTIVE: previous host loses pipeline access for this env. Cancel here exits setup-pipeline cleanly. Fires PER ENV that triggers Pattern 15. Phase 5 loops over source + each target env when registering with the host; if two target envs both turn out to be stamped to different hosts, this gate fires twice — once per env. Do NOT batch the consent across envs; the destructive blast radius is per-env (each env carries its own previous-host stamp and its own group of makers losing access).

This is Pattern 15 in ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/deployment-error-catalog.md. Do NOT silently retry. Surface the raw errormessage to the user verbatim and offer the documented auto-fix via AskUserQuestion:

question: "<envLabel> is already linked to a different Pipelines host. The /power-pages:force-link-environment skill can take over the association (DESTRUCTIVE to the previous host — makers there lose pipeline access for this env). Run it now?"
header: "Force Link?"
options:
  - "Run /power-pages:force-link-environment now (Recommended)" — auto-fix per the deployment error catalog
  - "Cancel setup-pipeline" — investigate the previous host first

Important guardrails:

• Never invoke /power-pages:force-link-environment without explicit user consent through this prompt — the action is reversible only by performing Force Link again from the previous host.
• If the user picks "Run …", invoke /power-pages:force-link-environment with --host <HOST_ENV_URL> and --dev-env <bapEnvId> (the BAP env GUID captured for this env in Phase 5 — see the "Also retain the bapEnvId value" note above) so the sub-skill skips its own host/env prompts.
• When that sub-skill returns success, re-attempt just the failing environment by re-running create-deployment-environment.js with the same args — do NOT restart Phase 5 wholesale. The create script is idempotent: it short-circuits via findExistingByBapId for envs already created (they return reused: true), and the previously-failing env will now resolve to Succeeded because the host stamp has moved.
• If the user picks "Cancel", stop the pipeline setup and recommend /power-pages:ensure-pipelines-host detect-only to inspect the current host bindings before retrying.

For any other create-deployment-environment failure, fall through to the generic "stop with the error" path above.

Report progress for each environment as validation completes.

Phase 6 — Create Pipeline, Associate Source, Create Stages

Use create-deployment-pipeline.js to create the pipeline, associate the source environment, and create all stage records in one call:

node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/create-deployment-pipeline.js" \
  --hostEnvUrl "{HOST_ENV_URL}" \
  --token "{HOST_TOKEN}" \
  --pipelineName "{PIPELINE_NAME}" \
  --description "Power Pages deployment pipeline for {siteName}" \
  --sourceDeploymentEnvironmentId "{SOURCE_DEPLOYMENT_ENV_ID}" \
  --stagesJson '[{"name":"Deploy to {targetLabel}","targetDeploymentEnvironmentId":"{TARGET_DEPLOYMENT_ENV_ID}","order":1}]'

Capture stdout as JSON: const pipelineResult = JSON.parse(output). Extract:

• pipelineResult.pipelineId → store as PIPELINE_ID
• pipelineResult.stages → array of { stageId, name, targetDeploymentEnvironmentId }

What the script does internally (uses the unprefixed field schema — the earlier msdyn_-prefixed body was rejected by the shipped Pipelines schema; see the comment block at the top of create-deployment-pipeline.js for the full migration map):

1. POSTs { name, description } to deploymentpipelines (v9.1) — extracts deploymentpipelineid from OData-EntityId header
2. POSTs a relative-path @odata.id body to deploymentpipelines({pipelineId})/deploymentpipeline_deploymentenvironment/$ref to associate the source environment (HAR-confirmed — no leading / or full URL)
3. For each stage: POSTs { name, [e-mail], [e-mail] } to deploymentstages — extracts deploymentstagesid from OData-EntityId header

On failure: the script writes the error to stderr and exits 1 — stop and report the error to the user.

Phase 6b — Multi-solution deploymentOrder (only if MULTI_SOLUTION_MODE = true)

Design note (updated v1.3.x): A single Power Platform Pipeline can deploy multiple solutions through separate stage runs — each run just specifies a different artifactname + solutionid on the same deploymentstages record. Creating one pipeline per solution was wasteful and cluttered the Pipelines UI. We now create ONE pipeline + one stage per target env, and record the per-solution deployment order in docs/alm/last-pipeline.json. deploy-pipeline then loops over the order, creating a stage run per solution against the same stage.

When the manifest is schemaVersion: 2, do not call create-deployment-pipeline.js multiple times. Instead:

1. Call create-deployment-pipeline.js once with:
   • pipelineName = "{siteName}-Pipeline" (e.g. IdeaSphere-Pipeline).
   • description listing the solutions that will deploy through it (e.g. "Deploys IdeaSphere_Core → IdeaSphere_WebAssets → IdeaSphere_Future in order").
   • One deploymentstages record per target environment (not per solution).
2. Build the deploymentOrder array from SOLUTIONS_LIST sorted by order. Each entry has { solutionUniqueName, solutionId, order }. Skip entries where isFutureBuffer: true AND components.length === 0 — an empty Future solution has nothing to deploy; it's created by setup-solution but does not participate in the deployment loop until it has content. Keep it in the order array with status: "SkippedEmpty" so the renderer can show the intent.
3. Collect the single pipelineId and its stages[]. Persist deploymentOrder to docs/alm/last-pipeline.json (see Phase 7).

Phase 7 — Verify, Write Artifacts, Commit

7.1 Verify pipeline was created:

GET {hostEnvUrl}/api/data/v9.1/deploymentpipelines({PIPELINE_ID})?$select=name,statecode
Authorization: Bearer {HOST_TOKEN}

Confirm statecode = 0 (Active). If the query fails, report as "verification inconclusive — pipeline may still be valid".

7.2 Write docs/alm/last-pipeline.json (create the docs/alm/ directory first if missing — node -e "require('fs').mkdirSync('docs/alm',{recursive:true})"):

{
  "pipelineId": "{PIPELINE_ID}",
  "pipelineName": "{PIPELINE_NAME}",
  "hostEnvUrl": "{HOST_ENV_URL}",
  "sourceDeploymentEnvironmentId": "{SOURCE_DEPLOYMENT_ENV_ID}",
  "sourceEnvironmentUrl": "{devEnvUrl}",
  "solutionName": "{uniqueName}",
  "createdAt": "{ISO timestamp}",
  "stages": [
    {
      "stageId": "{deploymentstagesid}",
      "name": "Deploy to {targetLabel}",
      "rank": 1,
      "targetDeploymentEnvironmentId": "{TARGET_DEPLOYMENT_ENV_ID}",
      "targetEnvironmentUrl": "{targetEnvUrl}"
    }
  ]
}

Multi-solution marker (manifest v2): When MULTI_SOLUTION_MODE = true, docs/alm/last-pipeline.json uses schemaVersion: 3 with a single pipeline and a deploymentOrder[] describing which solutions deploy through it, in what order:

{
  "schemaVersion": 3,
  "pipelineId": "...",
  "pipelineName": "IdeaSphere-Pipeline",
  "hostEnvUrl": "{HOST_ENV_URL}",
  "sourceDeploymentEnvironmentId": "{SOURCE_DEPLOYMENT_ENV_ID}",
  "sourceEnvironmentUrl": "{devEnvUrl}",
  "createdAt": "{ISO timestamp}",
  "stages": [
    {
      "stageId": "...",
      "name": "Deploy to Staging",
      "rank": 1,
      "targetDeploymentEnvironmentId": "...",
      "targetEnvironmentUrl": "https://staging.crm.dynamics.com"
    }
  ],
  "deploymentOrder": [
    { "solutionUniqueName": "IdeaSphere_Core", "solutionId": "...", "order": 1 },
    { "solutionUniqueName": "IdeaSphere_WebAssets", "solutionId": "...", "order": 2 },
    { "solutionUniqueName": "IdeaSphere_Future", "solutionId": "...", "order": 3, "status": "SkippedEmpty", "isFutureBuffer": true }
  ]
}

🚦 Gate (plan · setup-pipeline:6b.v2-migration): v2 pipelines[] manifest detected on re-run. Pick: migrate to v3 (delete the N-1 extra pipelines and collapse to one) or keep the legacy layout.

Trigger: Re-running setup-pipeline on a project whose docs/alm/last-pipeline.json is schemaVersion: 2. Why we ask: Auto-migrating deletes Dataverse pipeline records — destructive against host env state, irreversible without re-running setup-pipeline. Cancel leaves: Nothing — no pipeline records deleted yet.

Migration note: Earlier versions of this skill used schemaVersion: 2 with a pipelines[] array (one Dataverse pipeline record per solution). Projects pinned to v2 continue to work with the old deploy-pipeline MULTI_PIPELINE_MODE path; the v3 format should be used for all new setups. When re-running setup-pipeline on a v2 project, ask via AskUserQuestion whether to migrate (delete the N-1 extra pipelines and collapse to a single one) or keep the legacy layout.

7.3 Write (or re-render) docs/pipeline-setup.md (create docs/ directory if needed).

Contents:

1. Pipeline Created — name, host env URL, pipeline ID
2. Environments configured — source + each target with their deployment environment IDs
3. Solutions in deployment order (multi-solution mode only) — for each entry in solutionManifest.solutions[], list {uniqueName, version, componentCount}. Read componentCount from each entry's components.length if the manifest tracks it, otherwise from a live Dataverse query (solutioncomponents?$filter=_solutionid_value eq '{solutionId}' and componenttype ne 380&$count=true) — DO NOT hard-code or carry forward a stale count from a prior invocation.
4. How to trigger a deployment — Run /power-pages:deploy-pipeline or open Power Platform make.powerapps.com → Solutions → Pipelines
5. Approval gates (if applicable) — How to configure in Power Platform Admin Center
6. Troubleshooting — Common validation errors and how to resolve them

Sync-mode re-render: when setup-pipeline is invoked on a project where docs/alm/last-pipeline.json ALREADY exists (re-run after configure-env-variables, setup-solution sync, or a follow-up env-var addition that bumped component counts), regenerate this file in full from current Dataverse state — do not patch in place. Validated failure: a Citizens portal pipeline-setup.md showed Foundation = 13 components while Dataverse had 15 after configure-env-variables added 2 env var definitions to that solution; the markdown never updated. The simplest safe behavior is "always re-render in Phase 7.3", because the operation reads current state directly and the file has no user-editable sections worth preserving.

7.4 Commit:

git add docs/alm/last-pipeline.json docs/pipeline-setup.md
git commit -m "Add Power Platform Pipeline configuration for {siteName}"

7.5 Record skill usage:

Reference: ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/skill-tracking-reference.md

Follow the skill tracking instructions in the reference to record this skill's usage. Use --skillName "SetupPipeline".

7.5b Refresh the ALM plan (if one exists):

node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/refresh-alm-plan-data.js" \
  --projectRoot "." \
  --phase setup-pipeline \
  --render

The helper reads docs/alm/last-host-check.json + docs/alm/last-pipeline.json, refreshes planData.hostResolution and planData.pipelineMeta, drops pre-setup "no host detected" risks, and re-renders docs/alm-plan.html. When docs/.alm-plan-data.json is absent (standalone invocation, not part of an ALM plan), the helper returns ok:false as a soft no-op — safe to run unconditionally.

Point the user at the next step (user-driven sequencing). The helper's stdout JSON includes nextStep: { name, skill: string | null } | null. When non-null, branch on skill: when skill is non-null, tell the user "Plan updated. Next in your plan: {nextStep.name} → run {nextStep.skill} when you're ready."; when skill is null (an internal step such as Finalize, no user command), name the step only — "Plan updated. Next in your plan: {nextStep.name}." — and never print run null. When null (all steps done) or the helper returned ok:false (no plan), say nothing about a next step. Never auto-invoke the next skill — the user drives execution.

7.6 Present summary:

Resource	ID / URL
Pipeline	{PIPELINE_NAME} ({PIPELINE_ID})
Host environment	{HOST_ENV_URL}
Source deployment env	{SOURCE_DEPLOYMENT_ENV_ID}
Stage: {name}	{stageId} → {targetEnvUrl}

Files written:

• docs/alm/last-pipeline.json — pipeline configuration marker
• docs/pipeline-setup.md — setup documentation

Next step:

Run /power-pages:deploy-pipeline to trigger your first deployment run.

---

Coming Soon Path

If GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps was selected:

Inform the user:

"GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps Pipeline support are coming soon for this skill.

For now, you have two options:

1. Use Power Platform Pipelines — select option 1 to set up Microsoft's native deployment pipeline (recommended)
2. Exit — I'll set up GitHub Actions / Azure DevOps manually using the documentation"

🚦 Gate (plan · setup-pipeline:coming-soon.exit): User selected GitHub/ADO (coming-soon stubs) — offer to switch back to PP Pipelines or exit cleanly.

Ask via AskUserQuestion:

1. Switch to Power Platform Pipelines — go back to Phase 2
2. Exit — I'll set up manually

If GitHub/ADO passed as argument: display above message and exit gracefully.

---

Key Decision Points (Wait for User)

0. Phase 1: Existing pipeline file — overwrite, review, or cancel (only if docs/alm/last-pipeline.json found)
1. Phase 2: Platform selection (Power Platform Pipelines / GitHub coming soon / ADO coming soon)
2. Phase 3: Confirm pipeline configuration — pipeline name, host env URL, target environments
3. Phase 4: Preflight warnings — proceed or cancel
4. Phase 3: Parameter confirmation before pipeline creation

Error Handling

• No powerpages.config.json: stop, advise /power-pages:create-site
• No .solution-manifest.json: stop, advise /power-pages:setup-solution
• RetrieveSetting returns empty: ask user for host environment URL manually
• Deployment environment statecode = 1 with non-null errormessage (validation failed): stop with error details
• Pipeline $ref call fails: stop — this association is required before stages can be created
• Stage creation fails: record failure, continue with remaining stages — partial success is valid

Progress Tracking Table

Task subject	activeForm	Description
Detect project context	Detecting project context	Read powerpages.config.json and .solution-manifest.json; run pac env who and pac env list; call RetrieveSetting to find host env; check for existing docs/alm/last-pipeline.json
Select CI/CD platform	Selecting CI/CD platform	Ask user: Power Platform Pipelines (full) or GitHub/ADO (coming soon)
Confirm pipeline configuration	Confirming pipeline configuration	Pre-fill pipeline name, source env, host env, solution name from auto-detected values; ask for target environments; get user confirmation
Run preflight checks	Running preflight checks	Verify host env has Pipelines installed; verify solution exists in dev env; check for pipeline name conflict
Create deployment environments	Creating deployment environments	POST deploymentenvironments for source + each target; poll validationstatus for each until Succeeded
Create pipeline and stages	Creating pipeline and stages	POST deploymentpipelines; $ref associate source env; POST deploymentstages for each target (linked via previousdeploymentstageid)
Verify and write artifacts	Verifying and writing artifacts	Query pipeline to confirm active; write docs/alm/last-pipeline.json; write docs/pipeline-setup.md; commit; present summary with next steps