Power Platform Navigator (PowerToys Command Palette Extension)

Power Platform Navigator is a PowerToys Command Palette extension that helps you quickly open Power Platform environments in the right destination.

It discovers environments from the Global Discovery Service, shows them in a searchable list, and opens the selected environment in your browser.

What it does

• Adds a top-level Power Platform Navigator command in Command Palette.
• Authenticates with Microsoft Entra ID using interactive sign-in.
• Discovers environments from the Global Discovery Service.
• Shows each environment with clear metadata (host, region, type, unique name).
• Opens canonical URLs for:
  • Maker portal (primary action)
  • Dynamics organization URL
  • Power Platform Admin Center (PPAC)

Tech stack

• .NET 9 (net9.0-windows10.0.26100.0)
• C# + WinRT COM extension host
• Microsoft.CommandPalette.Extensions
• Microsoft.Identity.Client (MSAL)
• xUnit + FluentAssertions for unit tests

Prerequisites

• Windows with PowerToys Command Palette installed
• .NET 9 SDK
• Windows SDK 10.0.26100 (or compatible with project target)
• PowerShell 7+ (pwsh)

One-time SDK install (if needed):

winget install --id Microsoft.WindowsSDK.10.0.26100

Quick start

1. Restore/build dependencies:

   dotnet restore

2. Run tests:

   dotnet test ./PowerPlatformNavigator.Tests/PowerPlatformNavigator.Tests.csproj --configuration Debug

3. Build, package, install, and refresh Command Palette:

   pwsh -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ./scripts/Deploy-CommandPaletteExtension.ps1 -Platform x64 -Configuration Debug -InstallMissingSdk

VS Code tasks

• Run Tests
• CmdPal: Deploy extension (x64)

These tasks are already configured in the workspace.

Using the extension

1. Open PowerToys Command Palette.
2. Launch Power Platform Navigator.
3. Sign in when prompted.
4. Search and select an environment.
5. Press Enter to open the primary destination (Maker portal), or use context actions for Dynamics/PPAC.

Authentication and discovery details

• Authority: https://login.microsoftonline.com/organizations/
• Public client ID: 51f81489-12ee-4a9e-aaae-a2591f45987d
• Commercial discovery endpoint:
  • https://globaldisco.crm.dynamics.com/api/discovery/v2.0/Instances
• Token cache path:
  • %LOCALAPPDATA%\PowerPlatformNavigator\msal.cache

Cloud base URLs implemented for discovery mapping:

• Commercial: https://globaldisco.crm.dynamics.com
• GCC: https://globaldisco.crm9.dynamics.com
• USG: https://globaldisco.crm.microsoftdynamics.us
• DoD: https://globaldisco.crm.appsplatform.us
• China: https://globaldisco.crm.dynamics.cn

URL generation

Navigation URLs are centralized in PowerPlatformNavigator/Services/PowerPlatformUrlBuilder.cs:

• Maker: https://make.powerapps.com/environments/{environmentId}/home
• PPAC: https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com/environments/{environmentId}/hub
• Dynamics: validated absolute OrganizationUrl

Testing

Run all unit tests:

dotnet test ./PowerPlatformNavigator.Tests/PowerPlatformNavigator.Tests.csproj --configuration Debug

Current test coverage includes:

• Cloud endpoint mappings
• Discovery JSON parsing behavior and fallback handling
• URL builder outputs and null-path behavior
• Navigator page command/subtitle behavior

Local deployment behavior

scripts/Deploy-CommandPaletteExtension.ps1 handles the local deploy loop:

• Validates required Windows SDK
• Creates/reuses local dev signing certificate
• Builds signed MSIX package
• Installs package with Add-AppxPackage
• Restarts Command Palette when possible

The script defaults to a local certificate password of cmdpaldev. Override with CMDPAL_DEV_CERT_PASSWORD if desired.