Plugin check: Run node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/check-version.js" — if it outputs a message, show it to the user before proceeding.
force-link-environment
Move a dev or target environment's Power Platform Pipelines host association from one host to another. This is the documented remediation when deploymentenvironments create fails with "this environment is already associated with another pipelines host", and also the right tool when intentionally migrating environments between hosts.
Microsoft Learn (ground truth): Using Force Link to associate an environment with a new host
What this skill changes
In the target host (the new host the user wants to use):
- Marks the existing
deploymentenvironments record as the active stamp for the BAP environment.
- Re-runs validation; on success,
validationstatus flips to Succeeded (200000001).
In the previous host (the host the env was previously linked to):
- The corresponding
deploymentenvironments row is delinked. Its validationstatus is left stale until refreshed in the previous host's UI.
- Makers who could run pipelines through that environment in the previous host lose access to those pipelines via this environment.
The action is reversible by running Force Link again from the previous host.
Phase 1.5 — Microsoft Learn grounding (required)
Before any Dataverse call, refresh the agent's grounding by fetching the doc above via mcp__plugin_power-pages_microsoft-learn__microsoft_docs_fetch. If the doc has updated behaviors (e.g., new permission requirements, new warning text), surface them to the user before continuing. See ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/alm-docs-grounding.md for the shared pattern.
Phases
| # | Phase | Output |
|---|
| 1 | Prerequisites | Azure CLI token for the host environment; PAC CLI authenticated |
| 1.5 | MCP Learn grounding | Confirmed current behavior of Force Link / ManageEnvironmentStamp |
| 2 | Identify host + dev env | hostEnvUrl, target host's deploymentEnvironmentId, source BAP env GUID |
| 3 | Resolve deploymentenvironments record | Either an existing record on the new host, or a freshly created one |
| 4 | Confirm destructive action | Explicit user consent via AskUserQuestion |
| 5 | Execute Force Link | 204 from ManageEnvironmentStamp + post-validation Succeeded |
| 6 | Write marker + summary | docs/alm/last-force-link.json + human-readable summary |
Create all tasks at Phase 1 start with TaskCreate. Mark each in_progress when starting and completed when done.
Phase 1 — Prerequisites
Reuse the shared verifier:
node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/verify-alm-prerequisites.js"
Specifically required:
- PAC CLI auth —
pac env who must report an authenticated environment (for --dev-env auto-discovery).
- Azure CLI auth —
az account show succeeds.
- Host-scoped token — the caller must have Deployment Pipeline Administrator on the target host (the host the env is being linked TO). Without it,
ManageEnvironmentStamp returns 403.
Fetch the host token from Azure CLI using the host's Dataverse URL as the resource. Reuse getAuthToken from scripts/lib/validation-helpers.js.
Phase 1.5 — MCP Learn grounding
Call:
mcp__plugin_power-pages_microsoft-learn__microsoft_docs_fetch(url=
"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/alm/custom-host-pipelines")
Confirm the "Using Force Link…" section's current warnings before proceeding. If the section now mentions new prerequisites or rollback constraints not covered in this skill, surface them to the user.
Phase 2 — Identify host + dev env
🚦 Gate (plan · force-link-environment:2.host-url): Pick the target host environment URL when arg / marker resolution paths all came up empty. Fires only on the "no --host arg, no last-host-check.json, no last-pipeline.json" branch (step 4 below).
Trigger: Phase 2 resolution order steps 1–3 all returned no value.
Why we ask: Auto-picking the wrong host runs ManageEnvironmentStamp against the wrong tenant and moves the stamp irreversibly without consent.
Cancel leaves: Nothing — no API call yet.
🚦 Gate (plan · force-link-environment:2.dev-env): Pick (or paste) the source dev env's BAP env GUID when --dev-env arg is absent and pac env who didn't confirm. Fires only on the "no arg + no confirmation" branch (step 3 below).
Trigger: Phase 2 BAP-GUID resolution steps 1–2 all returned no value.
Why we ask: Auto-picking the wrong dev env relinks a different env to the new host — makers of the wrong env lose pipeline access.
Cancel leaves: Nothing — no API call yet.
Resolution order for hostEnvUrl:
--host <url> argument, if supplied.docs/alm/last-host-check.json (written by ensure-pipelines-host) — read finalHostEnvUrl.docs/alm/last-pipeline.json — read hostEnvUrl.- Prompt user via
AskUserQuestion.
Resolution order for the source dev env's BAP env GUID:
--dev-env <guid> argument, if supplied.pac env who (current PAC CLI env) — but ONLY if the user confirms this is the env to relink.- Prompt user via
AskUserQuestion.
Phase 3 — Resolve deploymentenvironments record on the new host
Goal of this phase: obtain the deploymentEnvironmentId (the new host's record ID) regardless of whether it already exists, just got created, or got created in a Failed state. Force Link in Phase 5 cannot run without that GUID.
Step 3.1 — Look up by BAP env GUID
GET {hostEnvUrl}/api/data/v9.1/deploymentenvironments?$filter=environmentid eq '{bapEnvId}'&$select=deploymentenvironmentid,name,environmenttype,validationstatus,errormessage
| Result | Action |
|---|
One hit, validationstatus = 200000001 (Succeeded) | Already linked to this host. Skip to Phase 6 with a no-op summary; no Force Link needed. |
One hit, validationstatus = 200000002 (Failed) | This is the "already associated with another pipelines host" state. Capture deploymentenvironmentid + errormessage. Skip to Phase 4 with those values. |
One hit, validationstatus = 200000000 (Pending) | Wait briefly (3–5 s) and re-query. If still Pending after ~20 s, abort with a "validation still in progress; retry later" message. |
| Zero hits | Continue to Step 3.2 — the record needs to be created first. |
Step 3.2 — Create the record on the new host (when Step 3.1 returned zero hits)
node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/create-deployment-environment.js" \
--hostEnvUrl <hostEnvUrl> \
--token <hostToken> \
--name "<display name>" \
--bapEnvId <bapEnvId> \
--environmentType <200000000|200000001>
The helper polls validationstatus and throws on Failed without returning the new record's GUID in the error payload. Three outcomes to handle:
| Helper outcome | Action |
|---|
Resolves with validationStatus = Succeeded | Record is fully linked. Skip to Phase 6 — no Force Link needed. |
| Throws with message containing "already associated with another pipelines host" (or similar host-claim wording) | The record was created in Failed state but the helper's error doesn't surface the new GUID. Re-run Step 3.1's GET to recover the just-created record's deploymentenvironmentid, then proceed to Phase 4 with that ID + the captured errormessage. Do NOT retry the create — it would log a duplicate name. |
| Throws with any other message | Surface the error verbatim and abort. Force Link is not the right tool — this is a different failure (e.g., 403 on create = caller lacks role on host; 400 = bad bapEnvId). |
Why the re-query is necessary: create-deployment-environment.js is idempotent on subsequent calls (it short-circuits via findExistingByBapId), but on the first call that lands in Failed validation it raises before the return path runs. Re-querying by environmentid eq '{bapEnvId}' is the canonical recovery — the same query Step 3.1 already uses.
After this phase ends, you must hold a non-null deploymentEnvironmentId. If you don't, abort Phase 4 with a clear "could not resolve record on new host" message.
Phase 4 — Confirm destructive action
🚦 Gate (consent · force-link-environment:4.destructive): Mandatory consent before ManageEnvironmentStamp cross-host stamp move. Previous host loses pipeline access for this env. Reversible only by re-running Force Link from the previous host. Fires fresh on every skill invocation. Each invocation force-links exactly one env to one host. If a maker needs to migrate multiple envs across hosts, they invoke this skill once per env — each invocation requires its own consent prompt with its own env identity echoed back. No --yes flag, no batch mode, no consent carry-over.
This is the mandatory gate. Use AskUserQuestion with both options and a clear destructive-action warning in the question text. Required fields to display before asking:
- Target host (the new host)
- Source environment name + BAP env GUID
- The error message from the previous host's stamp (from Phase 3), if any
- Documented side effects:
- "Makers in the previous host lose pipeline access for this environment"
- "The previous host's environment record is left with a stale validation status"
- "Reversible by running Force Link from the previous host"
Question structure:
question: "Force-link this environment to <host name>? This will remove its association with the previous host."
options:
- "Yes — force link" (Recommended only if user is intentionally migrating)
- "Cancel"
If the user picks Cancel, exit cleanly (no marker file written) and recommend /power-pages:ensure-pipelines-host detect-only for further diagnosis.
Phase 5 — Execute Force Link
node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/lib/force-link-environment.js" \
--hostEnvUrl <hostEnvUrl> \
--token <hostToken> \
--deploymentEnvironmentId <guid>
The helper:
- Calls
ManageEnvironmentStamp (returns 204 No Content on success).
- Re-polls
validationstatus on the same record every 3s up to 20 attempts.
- Resolves on Succeeded (200000001), throws on Failed (200000002) with the captured
errormessage.
If the helper throws with status 403, the caller lacks Deployment Pipeline Administrator on the target host — surface that as the remediation message.
If the helper throws with status 404, the deploymentenvironments record doesn't exist on the target host — Phase 3 must have failed silently; loop back.
Phase 6 — Write marker + summary
Ensure the docs/alm/ directory exists (node -e "require('fs').mkdirSync('docs/alm',{recursive:true})"), then write docs/alm/last-force-link.json:
{
"schemaVersion": 1,
"hostEnvUrl": "https://...",
"deploymentEnvironmentId": "...",
"bapEnvId": "...",
"previousHostEnvUrl": "https://...",
"validationStatus": 200000001,
"forcedAt": "2026-05-11T..."
}
previousHostEnvUrl is best-effort. Derive in this order; leave null if none of these yield a value:
- From
docs/alm/last-host-check.json (written by ensure-pipelines-host): if finalHostEnvUrl is set AND differs from the current hostEnvUrl, the discovery flow had already bound this env to that previous host — record it.
- From Phase 3's errormessage: scan the captured
errormessage for the pattern https?://[^\s'"]+\.(crm\d*\.dynamics\.com|dynamics-int\.com|crm\.microsoftdynamics\.us) and pick the first match that is not the current hostEnvUrl. Microsoft's error wording on the "already associated" path sometimes includes the prior host's URL, sometimes only its display name; treat the regex as opportunistic, not authoritative.
- Otherwise: leave
null. The marker schema permits this — validator does not require the field.
Do NOT prompt the user to fill previousHostEnvUrl; it's informational only for the post-run summary.
Present a summary table with:
- Environment force-linked
- Old host → new host
- Validation status
- Reminder: "You can undo this by running
/power-pages:force-link-environment from the previous host."
Record skill usage per ${PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/skill-tracking-reference.md.
Failure modes & remediation
| Failure | Surface to user | Next step |
|---|
403 Forbidden on ManageEnvironmentStamp | "You need Deployment Pipeline Administrator role on ." | Ask host admin to grant the role; documented in share with pipeline administrators. |
404 Not Found on the deployment env record | "No deploymentenvironments record exists yet on this host." | Re-run Phase 3's create step. |
| Post-link validation status flips to Failed | Show the errormessage verbatim. | If the message mentions the env is still associated with a host, the previous host may have an immediate-reapply policy — check with the previous host's admin. |
| User cancels at Phase 4 | "Force Link not performed; previous association preserved." | Suggest /power-pages:ensure-pipelines-host detect-only for a wider diagnosis. |
What this skill does NOT do
- It does not install the Pipelines application on the new host — use
/power-pages:ensure-pipelines-host for that.
- It does not create the new host environment itself.
- It does not re-link pipeline definitions; only the env↔host stamp is moved. Pipelines that referenced this env in the previous host stay there and lose this env as a participant.
- It does not modify the user's solution. No
.solution-manifest.json updates; no AddSolutionComponent calls.
Progress tracking
| Phase | Status |
|---|
| 1 — Prerequisites | ⏳ |
| 1.5 — MCP Learn grounding | ⏳ |
| 2 — Identify host + dev env | ⏳ |
| 3 — Resolve deploymentenvironments record | ⏳ |
| 4 — Confirm destructive action | ⏳ |
| 5 — Execute Force Link | ⏳ |
| 6 — Write marker + summary | ⏳ |
Update this table as phases complete.
