pac-power-platform-cli

name	pac-power-platform-cli
description	Use the Microsoft Power Platform CLI (`pac`) to manage Dataverse environments, authentication profiles, and solutions (export / import / unpack / pack / clone), plus PCF, plug-ins, and Power Pages. Trigger whenever the user wants to work with Power Platform / Dataverse / Power Apps from the command line, do solution ALM / source control, or asks about a `pac ...` command.

Power Platform CLI (pac)

pac is Microsoft's official command-line tool for Power Platform / Dataverse. It manages authentication, environments, solutions (ALM), and developer components (PCF, plug-ins, Power Pages, code apps). Installed as a .NET global tool at ~/.dotnet/tools/pac.

Official reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/power-platform/developer/cli/reference/

When to use this skill

• Connecting to a Dataverse tenant/environment or switching between them.
• Solution lifecycle: export, import, unpack/pack (source control), clone, sync, version, publish, check, upgrade.
• Scaffolding/pushing developer components: pcf, plugin, pages.
• Any request phrased as "run pac ..." or "using the Power Platform CLI".

First: orient yourself before acting

Auth and environment state is global to the machine, so always confirm context before running any command that writes to Dataverse:

pac auth list      # which profiles exist, which is Active (*)
pac auth who       # current account + connected environment
pac env list       # environments visible to the active profile

Key gotcha: a profile can be authenticated but have no active environment selected (the Active column in pac env list is blank). Import/export/publish commands need a target — set one first:

pac env select --environment <URL | ID | unique-name | partial-name>
# e.g. pac env select --environment https://orgc658acec.crm21.dynamics.com/

Almost every write command also accepts a per-invocation --environment (-env) override, so you don't have to change the global selection if you only need it once.

Core command groups

Group	Purpose
pac auth	Authentication profiles (create, list, select, delete, who)
pac env	Environments (list, select, who, fetch, settings)
pac solution	Solution ALM — the most-used group
pac pcf	Power Apps Component Framework projects
pac plugin	Dataverse plug-in class libraries
pac pages	Power Pages websites (download / upload)
pac pipeline	Deployment pipelines
pac tool	Launch companion GUIs (PRT, CMT, Package Deployer) — Windows/.NET Full only
pac data	Import/export Dataverse data
pac admin	Tenant/admin operations (create/copy/backup envs, service principals)

See all: pac help. See one group's verbs: pac <group> help. See a verb's full options: pac <group> <verb> help (e.g. pac solution export help).

Authentication

# Interactive login to a specific environment, named for reuse
pac auth create --name Contoso-Dev --environment "HR-Dev"

# Service principal (CI/CD, non-interactive)
pac auth create --name Contoso-SPN \
  --applicationId <appId> --clientSecret <secret> --tenant <tenantId>

# Device code (WSL2, Codespaces, headless — no browser available)
pac auth create --environment <envId> --deviceCode

pac auth list                 # list profiles (note the * = active)
pac auth select --index 2     # switch active profile
pac auth name --index 1 --name "Contoso Dev"   # (re)name a profile
pac auth delete --index 2     # remove one profile
pac auth clear                # remove all profiles

Notes:

• Use --environment (accepts ID, URL, unique name, or partial name). --url is deprecated — and using --url creates a DATAVERSE-kind profile rather than a UNIVERSAL one, which some commands (e.g. power-fx) reject.
• Cloud values for sovereign clouds: GCC=UsGov, GCC High=UsGovHigh, DoD=UsGovDod (via --cloud).

Solution ALM — the primary workflow

The canonical source-control loop: export → unpack → commit → (edit) → pack → import.

pac solution list                       # solutions in the active environment

# Export a solution as a zip (use the solution's unique Name, not display name)
pac solution export --name MySolution --path ./out --managed        # managed
pac solution export --name MySolution --path ./out                  # unmanaged

# Decompose the zip into source files for Git
pac solution unpack --zipfile ./out/MySolution.zip --folder ./src --packagetype Both

# ...edit files under ./src, commit to source control...

# Recompose source back into a deployable zip
pac solution pack --zipfile ./MySolution.zip --folder ./src --packagetype Managed

# Import into the target environment (override target inline if needed)
pac solution import --path ./MySolution.zip --environment <target URL|ID>

Other useful solution verbs:

pac solution init --publisher-name Contoso --publisher-prefix con   # new project
pac solution clone --name MySolution        # export + unpack into a full project in one step
pac solution sync                            # re-sync local project to the online solution
pac solution version --revision 1            # bump build/revision
pac solution publish                         # publish all customizations
pac solution check --path ./MySolution.zip   # run Power Apps Checker (quality/analysis)
pac solution upgrade --solution-name MySolution --async --max-async-wait-time 60
pac solution delete --solution-name MySolution

unpack/pack format nuance (important)

• Default pac solution unpack produces the classic XML layout (Other/Solution.xml, Controls/, etc.).
• Solutions from Dataverse Git integration or pac solution clone use the newer YAML layout under solutions/<Name>/ (solution.yml, solutioncomponents.yml, ...). YAML support requires CLI ≥ 2.4.1.
• To repack YAML, use pac solution pack --folder <root> — the presence of a solutions/ subdirectory auto-selects YAML. Putting YAML files at the repo root instead causes a misleading "missing Customizations.xml" error.
• unpack, clone, and sync do not currently emit YAML on their own; only Git integration and clone produce the YAML layout that pack can consume.

pac solution supersedes the old standalone SolutionPackager.exe — same engine, now built into the CLI.

Developer components (quick reference)

# PCF (Power Apps Component Framework)
pac pcf init --namespace Contoso --name MyControl --template field

# Dataverse plug-in class library
pac plugin init
pac plugin push --pluginId <assembly-or-package-id>   # import into Dataverse

# Power Pages
pac pages download --path ./site --webSiteId <id>
pac pages upload   --path ./site

Environment data / queries

pac env who                                   # current org info
pac env fetch --xml "<fetch>...</fetch>"       # run a FetchXML query
pac env list-settings --filter <name>          # read org settings
pac data export / pac data import              # bulk data movement

CI/CD without installing globally

With .NET 10+, run any command without a global install (good for pipelines):

dnx Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI.Tool --yes env list
# i.e. replace `pac` with `dnx Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI.Tool --yes`

Practical tips

• Prefer the solution unique Name (not display name) everywhere it's requested.
• Add --json to admin/list commands to get machine-readable output for scripting.
• Long operations: many verbs accept --async + --max-async-wait-time <minutes>.
• pac tool ... GUIs (Plugin Registration Tool, Configuration Migration, Package Deployer) are Windows / .NET Full Framework only — not available on macOS/Linux.
• Discover options interactively with the layered help: pac, pac <group> help, pac <group> <verb> help.

Safety

Import, publish, delete, upgrade, and any pac admin write command mutate a live environment. Before running one, confirm the active auth profile and target environment (pac auth who) so you don't push changes to production by mistake. When the intended target differs from the active one, pass --environment explicitly rather than relying on global state.