PCF Helper Core 🔧

Individual CLI commands and core library for Power Platform Component Framework (PCF) development.

This package provides discrete command-line utilities for each PCF operation, making it ideal for automation scripts and developers who prefer granular control over their PCF workflows.

📋 Table of Contents

• Installation
• Available Commands
• Command Reference
• API Reference
• Troubleshooting

📦 Installation

Global Installation (Recommended)

npm install -g @tywalk/pcf-helper

Local Installation

npm install @tywalk/pcf-helper

🛠️ Available Commands

Each command is available as a standalone executable:

| Command | Purpose | Global Usage | |---------|---------|--------------| | pcf-helper-init | Initialize new PCF project | pcf-helper-init [options] | | pcf-helper-build | Build PCF controls | pcf-helper-build [options] | | pcf-helper-import | Import controls to solution | pcf-helper-import [options] | | pcf-helper-deploy | Deploy controls (upgrade + build + import) | pcf-helper-deploy [options] | | pcf-helper-upgrade | Upgrade project dependencies | pcf-helper-upgrade [options] | | pcf-helper-session | Manage development sessions | pcf-helper-session [options] |

📖 Command Reference

🏗️ pcf-helper-init

Initialize a new PCF project with proper scaffolding.

pcf-helper-init -n <control-name> [options]

Options

| Option | Description | Required | Default | |--------|-------------|----------|---------| | -n, --name <name> | Name of the PCF control | ✅ | - | | --publisher-name <name> | Publisher name for the control | ❌ | - | | --publisher-prefix <prefix> | Publisher prefix | ❌ | - | | -p, --path <path> | Path to create the project | ❌ | Current directory | | --run-npm-install | Run npm install after init | ❌ | true | | -V, --verbose | Enable verbose logging | ❌ | false | | -v, --version | Display version | ❌ | - |

Example

# Basic initialization
pcf-helper-init -n MyCustomControl

# Full initialization with custom settings
pcf-helper-init -n MyCustomControl \
  --publisher-name "Contoso" \
  --publisher-prefix "con" \
  -p ./my-pcf-project \
  --verbose

⚡ pcf-helper-build

Build and compile your PCF controls.

pcf-helper-build -p <solution-path> [options]

Options

| Option | Description | Required | Default | |--------|-------------|----------|---------| | -p, --path <path> | Path to solution folder | ✅ | - | | -t, --timeout <ms> | Timeout in milliseconds | ❌ | 300000 | | -V, --verbose | Enable verbose logging | ❌ | false | | -v, --version | Display version | ❌ | - |

Example

# Build with default settings
pcf-helper-build -p ./MySolution

# Build with custom timeout and verbose output
pcf-helper-build -p ./MySolution --timeout 120000 --verbose

📦 pcf-helper-import

Import PCF controls into your Dataverse solution.

pcf-helper-import -p <solution-path> [options]

Options

| Option | Description | Required | Default | |--------|-------------|----------|---------| | -p, --path <path> | Path to solution folder | ✅ | - | | -e, --environment <environment> | Target environment | ❌ | - | | -t, --timeout <ms> | Timeout in milliseconds | ❌ | 300000 | | -V, --verbose | Enable verbose logging | ❌ | false | | -v, --version | Display version | ❌ | - |

🚀 pcf-helper-deploy

Deploy your PCF controls to the target environment. This command runs upgrade, build, and import in sequence.

pcf-helper-deploy -p <solution-path> [options]

Options

Same as pcf-helper-import, but runs the full deployment pipeline.

🔄 pcf-helper-upgrade

Upgrade project dependencies and framework versions.

pcf-helper-upgrade -p <solution-path> [options]

Options

| Option | Description | Required | Default | |--------|-------------|----------|---------| | -p, --path <path> | Path to solution folder | ✅ | - | | -V, --verbose | Enable verbose logging | ❌ | false | | -v, --version | Display version | ❌ | - |

🎯 pcf-helper-session

Manage development sessions with live reloading capabilities.

pcf-helper-session [options]

Options

| Option | Description | Required | Default | |--------|-------------|----------|---------| | -u, --url <url> | Remote environment URL | ❌ | - | | -s, --script <path> | Remote script to intercept | ❌ | - | | -t, --stylesheet <path> | Remote stylesheet to intercept | ❌ | - | | -b, --bundle <path> | Local bundle path | ❌ | - | | -c, --css <path> | Local CSS path | ❌ | - | | -f, --config <path> | Config file path | ❌ | session.config.json | | -V, --verbose | Enable verbose logging | ❌ | false | | -v, --version | Display version | ❌ | - |

🔧 API Reference

You can also use PCF Helper programmatically in your Node.js applications:

import * as pcfHelper from '@tywalk/pcf-helper';

// Build a PCF control
const result = pcfHelper.runBuild('./my-solution', true, 120000);

// Initialize a new project
const initResult = pcfHelper.runInit(
  './new-project',
  'MyControl',
  'My Publisher',
  'mp',
  true,
  true
);

// Set logging level
pcfHelper.setLogLevel('debug');

Available Functions

• runBuild(path, verbose, timeout?) - Build PCF controls
• runInit(path, name, publisherName, publisherPrefix, runNpmInstall, verbose) - Initialize new PCF project
• runImport(path, environment, verbose, timeout?) - Import controls to solution
• runUpgrade(path, verbose) - Upgrade project
• runSession(...) - Manage development sessions
• setLogLevel(level) - Set logging verbosity ('debug' | 'info' | 'warn' | 'error')

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Build Failures

# Enable verbose logging for detailed error information
pcf-helper-build -p . --verbose

# Check if PAC CLI is properly installed
pac --version

# Verify .NET SDK installation
dotnet --version

Timeout Errors

# Increase timeout for large projects
pcf-helper-build -p . --timeout 600000  # 10 minutes

Getting Help

# Show help for any command
pcf-helper-build --help
pcf-helper-init --help

# Show version
pcf-helper-build --version

📚 Additional Resources

• Power Platform Component Framework Documentation
• Power Platform CLI Reference

🔗 Related Packages

• @tywalk/pcf-helper-run - Unified CLI interface
• @tywalk/color-logger - Enhanced logging utilities

🏠 ← Back to Main Package

For questions or issues, please visit our GitHub Issues page.