PPDS ALM

CI/CD templates for Power Platform Application Lifecycle Management (ALM).

Part of the Power Platform Developer Suite ecosystem.

Quick Start

GitHub Actions

name: Deploy to QA

on:
  push:
    branches: [develop]

jobs:
  deploy:
    uses: joshsmithxrm/ppds-alm/.github/workflows/solution-deploy.yml@v1
    with:
      solution-name: MySolution
      solution-folder: solutions/MySolution/src
      build-plugins: true
      package-type: Managed
    secrets:
      environment-url: ${{ vars.POWERPLATFORM_ENVIRONMENT_URL }}
      tenant-id: ${{ vars.POWERPLATFORM_TENANT_ID }}
      client-id: ${{ vars.POWERPLATFORM_CLIENT_ID }}
      client-secret: ${{ secrets.POWERPLATFORM_CLIENT_SECRET }}

Reusable Workflows

Workflow	Purpose
solution-export.yml	Export solution from environment with noise filtering
solution-import.yml	Import solution with version check and retry logic
solution-build.yml	Build .NET code and pack solution
solution-validate.yml	PR validation with build, pack, and Solution Checker
solution-deploy.yml	Full deployment: build, pack, import
plugin-deploy.yml	Deploy plugins using PPDS.Cli
plugin-extract.yml	Extract plugin registrations from assembly
solution-promote.yml	Promote solution between environments (export, build, deploy)
azure-deploy.yml	Deploy Azure integration resources

Composite Actions

Granular, reusable actions for building custom workflows:

Action	Purpose
setup-pac-cli	Install .NET SDK and Power Platform CLI
pac-auth	Authenticate to Power Platform environment
export-solution	Export and unpack solution
import-solution	Import with version check and retry
pack-solution	Pack solution from source
build-solution	Build .NET solution with tests
check-solution	Run PowerApps Solution Checker
analyze-changes	Filter noise from exports
copy-plugin-assemblies	Copy built DLLs to solution
copy-plugin-packages	Copy NuGet packages to solution

See Actions Reference for detailed documentation.

Key Features

Smart Import

The import action automatically:

• Compares versions - Skips import if target has same or newer version
• Retries transient failures - Handles concurrent import conflicts with configurable retry
• Applies deployment settings - Auto-detects environment-specific configuration files

- uses: joshsmithxrm/ppds-alm/.github/actions/import-solution@v1
  with:
    solution-path: ./exports/MySolution_managed.zip
    solution-name: MySolution
    skip-if-same-version: 'true'
    max-retries: '3'
    settings-file: ./config/qa.deploymentsettings.json

Noise Filtering

Solution exports often contain volatile changes that aren't real customizations:

• Solution.xml version timestamps
• Canvas app random URI suffixes
• Workflow session IDs
• Whitespace-only changes

The analyze-changes action filters these, preventing unnecessary commits.

Solution Checker Integration

Validate solution quality before deployment:

- uses: joshsmithxrm/ppds-alm/.github/actions/check-solution@v1
  with:
    solution-path: ./exports/MySolution_managed.zip
    fail-on-level: High  # Critical, High, Medium, Low, Informational
    geography: unitedstates

Documentation

Getting Started

• GitHub Actions Quickstart
• Authentication Setup

Reference

• Workflows Reference - All reusable workflows documented
• Actions Reference - All composite actions documented
• Consumption Guide - When to use actions vs workflows
• Features Guide - Deep dive into advanced features
• Troubleshooting

Azure Integration

• Azure Integration - Bicep modules and naming
• Azure OIDC Setup - GitHub Actions authentication
• Azure Coordination - Coordinating Azure and Dataverse deployments

Strategy Guides

• ALM Overview - Philosophy and approach
• Branching Strategy - Recommended git workflow
• Environment Strategy - Dev/QA/Prod patterns

Repository Structure

ppds-alm/
├── .github/
│   ├── actions/                    # Composite actions
│   │   ├── setup-pac-cli/
│   │   ├── pac-auth/
│   │   ├── export-solution/
│   │   ├── import-solution/
│   │   ├── pack-solution/
│   │   ├── build-solution/
│   │   ├── check-solution/
│   │   ├── analyze-changes/
│   │   ├── copy-plugin-assemblies/
│   │   └── copy-plugin-packages/
│   └── workflows/                  # All workflows
│       ├── _ci.yml                 # CI for this repo (internal)
│       ├── solution-export.yml     # Reusable workflows (workflow_call)
│       ├── solution-import.yml
│       ├── solution-build.yml
│       ├── solution-validate.yml
│       ├── solution-deploy.yml
│       ├── plugin-deploy.yml
│       ├── plugin-extract.yml
│       ├── solution-promote.yml
│       └── azure-deploy.yml
├── bicep/                          # Azure Bicep modules
├── docs/
├── CHANGELOG.md
└── README.md

Compatibility

ALM Version	Dependencies
v1.0.x	PPDS.Cli (for plugins), PAC CLI (for solutions)

Versioning

Use version tags for stability:

Tag	Description	Recommendation
@v1	Latest v1.x release	Recommended for production
@v1.0.0	Specific version	Maximum stability
@main	Latest development	Not recommended for production

PPDS Ecosystem

Repository	Purpose	Install
power-platform-developer-suite	SDK + CLI + TUI + Extension + MCP	NuGet / VS Code Marketplace
ppds-tools	PowerShell Module	Install-Module PPDS.Tools
ppds-alm	CI/CD Templates	Reference in pipelines
ppds-demo	Reference Implementation	Clone
ppds-orchestration	Parallel Claude Code Sessions	npm

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run actionlint on GitHub Actions workflows
5. Test with actual CI/CD environment
6. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Support

• Report Issues
• Documentation