-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 2
Requirements
This guide takes you from a clean machine to a connected Dataverse project.
Steps: Install prerequisites → Check requirements → Initialise a project → Connect.
Dataverse PowerTools shells out to standard, cross-platform tooling. Install:
| Tool | Used for | Install |
|---|---|---|
| .NET SDK | Building plugins (targets .NET Framework 4.6.2 via reference assemblies, on any OS) | dotnet.microsoft.com |
| Node.js | Web resource build / bundling | nodejs.org |
Power Platform CLI (pac) |
Solution, portal and early-bound operations | MS Learn install guide |
Web resource projects also use a few globally-installed npm packages:
npm i -g jest webpack webpack-cli typescriptYou don't have to install these by hand — the extension detects what's missing and offers to install them (next step).
Cross-platform: the extension runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Two features are Windows-only because they wrap Windows binaries: web resource typings (via
XrmDefinitelyTyped.exe) and the deprecated pre-v3 (spkl) plugin path. Everything else — solutions, plugin build/deploy, web resource build/deploy — is cross-platform.
Open the Dataverse PowerTools activity-bar view and expand System Requirements.
It scans for the .NET SDK, Node.js, pac, and the required npm globals and shows ✅/❌
for each.
- Add Missing npm Globals — installs any missing npm packages for you.
- Recheck Requirements — re-runs the scan after you install something.
Verify: every row shows ✅ before you build or deploy.
- Open an empty folder in VS Code (
File → Open Folder). - Run Dataverse PowerTools: Initialise Project from the Command Palette, or click Initialise Project in the activity-bar view.
- Choose a project type: Solution · Web Resource · Plugin · Portal.
- Provide your connection details (next step).
Initialisation scaffolds the chosen template, restores dependencies (npm / NuGet /
pac), and writes a dataverse-powertools.json settings file to the workspace root.
Verify: the folder now contains project files and dataverse-powertools.json, and
the activity-bar view shows the actions for your project type.
During initialisation you choose how to authenticate — Interactive sign-in (a browser sign-in, no app registration needed) or Service principal (client secret).
Then you pick an environment and a solution (the publisher prefix is inferred from it). Secrets are stored in VS Code secret storage, never in the settings file.
Verify: the status bar shows a $(database) icon with your environment URL, and
Show Log reads Connected to Dataverse.
➡ Full details — including switching environments and fixing a stale connection — are in Connecting & Authentication.
-
Solutions — export / pack / import with
pac. - Web Resources — TypeScript, typings, build & deploy.
- Plugins — classes, step registration, early-bound, build & deploy.
- Portals / Power Pages — download and edit Power Pages content.
- Troubleshooting — common issues.