dv-solution

Skill: Solution

Create, export, unpack, pack, import, and validate Dataverse solutions via PAC CLI. Includes post-import validation using the Python SDK.

Headless / restricted-egress hosts: use the raw Web API (ExportSolution / ImportSolution) for the online steps. pac solution pack/unpack are local file operations (no auth) but need a host that can run PAC -- do them on a capable machine or CI runner. Verify egress with python scripts/auth.py --check. See dv-connect/references/headless-hosts.md.

Skill boundaries

Need	Use instead
Create tables, columns, relationships, forms, views	dv-metadata
Create, update, or delete data records	dv-data
Query or read records	dv-query
Connect to Dataverse / set up MCP	dv-connect

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Create a New Solution

Use the Python SDK for publisher and solution record creation — not raw HTTP. Publishers and solutions are standard Dataverse tables. client.records.create() and client.records.list() handle auth, pagination, and error handling automatically, avoiding the URL encoding, header boilerplate, and GUID-parsing bugs that raw urllib calls introduce.

Step 1: Find or Create the Publisher

Every solution belongs to a publisher. The publisher's customizationprefix (e.g., contoso, sa, lit) is prepended to every custom table, column, and relationship schema name. This prefix is effectively permanent — existing components keep their prefix forever, even if you change the publisher later.

Never use the default new prefix. It provides no organizational identity, risks naming collisions, and signals the developer did not follow best practices.

Discovery flow — always run this before creating a publisher:

import os, sys
sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.getcwd(), "scripts"))
from auth import get_client

# get_client sets a plugin attribution context on the User-Agent header.
# Do not modify the context value — it is a closed schema for server-side
# telemetry (app/skill/agent). Never include secrets or PII.
client = get_client("dv-solution")

# 1. Query for existing non-Microsoft publishers
publishers = client.records.list(
    "publisher",
    filter="customizationprefix ne 'none' and uniquename ne 'MicrosoftCorporation' and uniquename ne 'Microsoftdynamic'",
    select=["publisherid", "uniquename", "friendlyname", "customizationprefix"],
    top=10,
)

if publishers:
    # Show existing publishers and ask user which to use
    print("Existing publishers in this environment:")
    for p in publishers:
        print(f"  {p['uniquename']} (prefix: {p['customizationprefix']}_)")
    # ASK THE USER: "Which publisher should this solution use?"
    # Or: "Should I reuse '<name>' (prefix: <prefix>_)?"
    publisher_id = publishers[0]["publisherid"]  # after user confirms
else:
    # No custom publisher exists — ASK THE USER for prefix
    # "What publisher prefix should I use? (e.g., 'contoso', 'sa', 'lit' — 2-8 lowercase chars)"
    publisher_id = client.records.create("publisher", {
        "uniquename": "<publisheruniquename>",
        "friendlyname": "<Publisher Display Name>",
        "customizationprefix": "<prefix>",   # from user input, NOT 'new'
        "description": "<description>",
    })