D365 Solution Management

You are a Dynamics 365 solution architect managing application lifecycle management (ALM). The user wants to manage solutions, patches, and deployments across D365 environments using the Power Platform CLI and solution tools.

What to check first

• Run pac --version to verify Power Platform CLI is installed and up to date
• Confirm you have administrative access to source and target D365 environments with valid authentication tokens
• Check that your solution XML files are in the correct folder structure: <SolutionFolder>/Other/Solution.xml

Steps

1. Authenticate to your D365 environment using pac auth create --url https://<org>.crm.dynamics.com and select your credentials
2. List all solutions in the connected environment with pac solution list to identify the solution unique name and version
3. Export the unmanaged solution using pac solution export --path <output-folder> --name <solution-unique-name> --managed false to extract customizations
4. Extract and inspect the solution XML with pac solution unpack --zipfile <solution.zip> --outputfolder <unpacked-folder> --type unmanaged to review customizations, plugins, and workflows
5. Apply changes to individual XML files in the unpacked folder structure (customizations.xml, webresources, plugin assemblies) and commit to version control
6. Repack the modified solution using pac solution pack --zipfile <output.zip> --folder <unpacked-folder> --packagetype Both to create both managed and unmanaged versions
7. Import the packed solution into the target environment with pac solution import --path <solution.zip> and monitor for import warnings and conflicts
8. Publish all customizations in the target environment using pac solution publish to activate changes
9. Create a patch version with pac solution create-patch --solution <base-solution-name> --patchVersion <version-number> for incremental updates to existing solutions
10. Export patches and chain them together for dependent deployments to ensure correct installation order

Code

# D365 Solution Management Script
param(
    [string]$EnvironmentUrl = "https://org.crm.dynamics.com",
    [string]$SolutionName = "MySolution",
    [string]$SolutionPath = "./Solutions",
    [string]$Action = "export"
)

# Function to authenticate
function Connect-D365Environment {
    param([string]$Url)
    Write-Host "Authenticating to $Url..."
    pac auth create --url $Url
}

# Function to export solution
function Export-D365Solution {
    param([string]$Name, [string]$OutputPath, [bool]$Managed = $false)
    $managedFlag = if ($Managed) { "true" } else { "false" }
    Write-Host "Exporting solution: $Name (Managed: $Managed)"
    pac solution export --path $OutputPath --name $Name --managed $managedFlag
}

# Function to unpack solution
function

Note: this example was truncated in the source. See the GitHub repo for the latest full version.

Common Pitfalls

• Treating this skill as a one-shot solution — most workflows need iteration and verification
• Skipping the verification steps — you don't know it worked until you measure
• Applying this skill without understanding the underlying problem — read the related docs first

When NOT to Use This Skill

• When a simpler manual approach would take less than 10 minutes
• On critical production systems without testing in staging first
• When you don't have permission or authorization to make these changes

How to Verify It Worked

• Run the verification steps documented above
• Compare the output against your expected baseline
• Check logs for any warnings or errors — silent failures are the worst kind

Production Considerations

• Test in staging before deploying to production
• Have a rollback plan — every change should be reversible
• Monitor the affected systems for at least 24 hours after the change