PPDS.Tools

January 12, 2026 · View on GitHub

PowerShell module for Dataverse plugin deployment and data migration. Part of the Power Platform Developer Suite ecosystem.

Note: For CI/CD automation, consider using ppds-alm templates which use the CLI directly. This module is for users who prefer PowerShell syntax.

Installation

# Install the PowerShell module
Install-Module PPDS.Tools -Scope CurrentUser -AllowPrerelease

# Install the CLI tool (required)
dotnet tool install --global PPDS.Cli

Requirements:

PowerShell 7.0+
.NET 8.0+ SDK (for CLI tool)
PPDS.Cli dotnet tool

Cmdlets

Cmdlet	Description
Authentication
`Connect-DataverseEnvironment`	Create authentication profile
`Get-DataverseProfile`	Get active profile
`Get-DataverseProfiles`	List all profiles
Plugin Deployment
`Get-DataversePluginRegistrations`	Extract registrations from assemblies
`Deploy-DataversePlugins`	Deploy assemblies and register steps
`Get-DataversePluginDrift`	Detect configuration drift
`Remove-DataverseOrphanedSteps`	Clean up orphaned steps
`Get-DataversePlugins`	List registered plugins
Data Migration
`Export-DataverseData`	Export data to ZIP file
`Import-DataverseData`	Import data from ZIP file
`Copy-DataverseData`	Copy data between environments
`Get-DataverseDependencyGraph`	Analyze schema dependencies

Quick Start

1. Create an Authentication Profile

# Interactive login (device code)
Connect-DataverseEnvironment -DeviceCode -Name "dev" -Environment "https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com"

# Service principal (for CI/CD)
Connect-DataverseEnvironment `
    -Name "ci" `
    -ApplicationId $env:CLIENT_ID `
    -ClientSecret $env:CLIENT_SECRET `
    -TenantId $env:TENANT_ID `
    -Environment "https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com"

2. Deploy Plugins

# Extract registrations from compiled assembly
Get-DataversePluginRegistrations -InputPath "./bin/Release/net462/MyPlugins.dll" -OutputPath "./registrations.json"

# Deploy to Dataverse (uses active profile)
Deploy-DataversePlugins -ConfigPath "./registrations.json"

# Or specify a profile
Deploy-DataversePlugins -ConfigPath "./registrations.json" -Profile "dev"

# Check for drift
Get-DataversePluginDrift -ConfigPath "./registrations.json"

3. Migrate Data

# Export data
Export-DataverseData -SchemaPath "./schema.xml" -OutputPath "./data.zip"

# Import data
Import-DataverseData -DataPath "./data.zip" -BypassPlugins all

# Or copy directly between environments
Copy-DataverseData `
    -SourceEnvironment "dev" `
    -TargetEnvironment "test" `
    -SchemaPath "./schema.xml"

Authentication

All cmdlets use profile-based authentication managed by the ppds CLI.

Creating Profiles

# Interactive (device code flow)
Connect-DataverseEnvironment -DeviceCode -Name "dev"

# Service principal with client secret
Connect-DataverseEnvironment `
    -Name "prod" `
    -ApplicationId "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" `
    -ClientSecret "your-secret" `
    -TenantId "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" `
    -Environment "https://org.crm.dynamics.com"

# Managed identity (Azure)
Connect-DataverseEnvironment -ManagedIdentity -Name "azure"

# GitHub Actions OIDC
Connect-DataverseEnvironment -GitHubFederated -ApplicationId $appId -TenantId $tenantId -Name "gh"

Using Profiles

# Use active profile (default)
Deploy-DataversePlugins -ConfigPath "./registrations.json"

# Specify profile
Deploy-DataversePlugins -ConfigPath "./registrations.json" -Profile "dev"

# Override environment
Export-DataverseData -SchemaPath "./schema.xml" -OutputPath "./data.zip" -Environment "https://test.crm.dynamics.com"

Managing Profiles

# List profiles
Get-DataverseProfiles

# Get active profile
Get-DataverseProfile

# Switch profile (use CLI directly)
ppds auth select dev

# Delete profile (use CLI directly)
ppds auth delete prod

CI/CD Examples

Tip: For production CI/CD, consider ppds-alm which provides reusable workflow templates using the CLI directly. The examples below show how to use PPDS.Tools if you prefer PowerShell syntax in custom pipelines.

GitHub Actions

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      id-token: write  # Required for OIDC
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup
        run: |
          dotnet tool install --global PPDS.Cli
          Install-Module PPDS.Tools -Force -AllowPrerelease
        shell: pwsh

      - name: Authenticate
        run: |
          Connect-DataverseEnvironment `
            -GitHubFederated `
            -ApplicationId "${{ vars.AZURE_CLIENT_ID }}" `
            -TenantId "${{ vars.AZURE_TENANT_ID }}" `
            -Environment "${{ vars.DATAVERSE_URL }}" `
            -Name "deploy"
        shell: pwsh

      - name: Deploy Plugins
        run: |
          Deploy-DataversePlugins -ConfigPath "./registrations.json" -Profile "deploy"
        shell: pwsh

Azure DevOps

steps:
  - task: PowerShell@2
    inputs:
      targetType: inline
      script: |
        dotnet tool install --global PPDS.Cli
        Install-Module PPDS.Tools -Force -AllowPrerelease

        Connect-DataverseEnvironment `
          -ApplicationId "$(ClientId)" `
          -ClientSecret "$(ClientSecret)" `
          -TenantId "$(TenantId)" `
          -Environment "$(DataverseUrl)" `
          -Name "deploy"

        Deploy-DataversePlugins -ConfigPath "./registrations.json"
      pwsh: true

Architecture

All cmdlets wrap the ppds CLI tool. This provides:

Single source of truth - CLI is the implementation
Consistent behavior - Same code path as CLI users
Automatic updates - CLI improvements benefit PowerShell users

See ADR-0001: CLI Wrapper Pattern for details.

Project	Description
power-platform-developer-suite	SDK + CLI + TUI + Extension + MCP
ppds-alm	CI/CD pipeline templates
ppds-demo	Reference implementation
ppds-orchestration	Parallel Claude Code sessions

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.