PCF Helper 🚀

Command-line tools for Power Platform Component Framework (PCF) development, providing streamlined utilities to initialize, build, deploy, and manage your PCF controls in Dataverse environments.

📋 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
• Packages
• Requirements
• Quick Start
• Documentation
• Testing

Overview

PCF Helper simplifies the PCF development workflow by automating common tasks such as project initialization, building, importing, and deploying PCF controls.

✨ Features

• 🏗️ Project Initialization: Scaffold new PCF projects with proper structure
• ⚡ Fast Build Process: Build PCF controls with TypeScript compilation
• 🚀 Automated Deployment: Deploy controls to your Dataverse environment (runs upgrade + build + import)
• 📦 Solution Management: Import PCF controls into your solutions
• 🔄 Upgrade Automation: Keep your PCF projects up-to-date with latest dependencies
• 🎯 Session Management: Handle development sessions with live reloading capabilities

📦 Packages

This monorepo contains two complementary packages:

Package	Description	NPM Link
@tywalk/pcf-helper	Core library with individual CLI commands
@tywalk/pcf-helper-run	Unified CLI interface

Package Comparison

• Use @tywalk/pcf-helper for individual commands or integration into scripts
• Use @tywalk/pcf-helper-run for a unified CLI experience

🔧 Requirements

• Node.js (version 16.x or higher)
• Microsoft Power Platform CLI (pac) - Installation Guide
• .NET SDK - Download .NET

Verify Installation

# Check Node.js version
node --version

# Verify PAC CLI installation
pac --version

# Check .NET SDK
dotnet --version

🚀 Quick Start

1. Install a Package

Individual Commands

npm install -g @tywalk/pcf-helper

Unified Interface

npm install -g @tywalk/pcf-helper-run

2. Initialize a New PCF Project

# Using individual commands
pcf-helper-init -n MyControl --publisher-name "My Publisher" --publisher-prefix myprefix

# Using unified interface
pcf-helper-run init -n MyControl --publisher-name "My Publisher" --publisher-prefix myprefix

3. Build Your Control

# Navigate to your solution folder
cd path/to/your/solution

# Build the control
pcf-helper-build -p . 
# or
pcf-helper-run build -p .

📖 Documentation

• PCF Helper Core - Individual CLI commands and API reference
• PCF Helper Run - Unified CLI interface

External Resources

• Power Platform Component Framework Documentation
• Power Platform CLI Documentation
• PCF Gallery - Community Controls

🧪 Testing

The project uses Jest for testing:

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run tests for specific package
cd packages/pcf-helper && npm test
cd packages/pcf-helper-run && npm test

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Made with ❤️ for the Power Platform community

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