How to automate a Microsoft Power Platform deployment using GitHub Actions

Low-code has enabled not only developers to deploy code more easily, but it has also lowered the barrier to entry for many others to deploy applications without having to have a large amount of coding knowledge. Low-code has enabled so many to deliver applications and solve problems in their organizations with greater ease.

Microsoft Power Platform is a powerful suite of tools that allows users to build custom solutions for their organization with low-code tools. GitHub, on the other hand, is a powerful web-based platform that allows developers to manage, secure, and deliver their code. In this blog post, we will explore how to automate a Power Platform deployment using the CI/CD capability of GitHub Actions.

What is GitHub Actions

GitHub Actions is a powerful automation tool that allows developers to automate tasks, such as building, testing and deploying code. It is actually more than just a continuous integration and continuous deployment tool. It provides a wide range of pre-built actions, which are reusable units of code that can be combined to create workflows. GitHub Actions also supports custom actions, which can be built and shared across teams and the community.

Why automation

Why automation? Simply, human error. We all make mistakes. We want to increase our efficiency and productivity, all while reducing our human errors. GitHub Actions are an easy to use automation tool that work directly from a GitHub repository, enabling your deployments to occur closer to your code. Also, there are a lot of platform tools from GitHub that you can integrate into your code base, for example, GitHub Advanced Security. It is all about bringing your tools closer to the developer and enabling you to do more with your code.

Automating your Power Platform deployment with GitHub Actions

Automating your Power Platform deployment with GitHub Actions has several benefits:

1. Consistency: automation ensures that each deployment is identical and prescriptive, eliminating the risk of human error.
2. Efficiency: reduces the time and effort required to deploy solutions, allowing you and your teams to deliver more value at an increased rate.
3. Version Control: track your changes with GitHub as your version control provider, allowing you to have full visibility of code changes and the ability to rollback to a previous version if needed, preventing unnecessary downtime.
4. Collaboration: leveraging GitHub to allow your teams to work on the same code simultaneously, increasing communication across your teams.

Watch the video below to follow along with a hands-on tutorial:

In the above video we cover off everything you need to know about deploying your Power Platform deployment with GitHub Actions; follow the links below to jump into each topic:

• Integrate Power Platform development into GitHub Codespaces
• Leverage GitHub Environments to segment your workflow
• Access the Microsoft Power Platform actions lab from a GitHub repository
• Export your Power Platform solution and check it in
• Release your Power Platform solution from a QA environment through to production
• Review your CI/CD deployment in Power Platform

Automating your Power Platform deployments with GitHub Actions can help you save time, reduce errors, and increase productivity. Good luck automating and remember, you can automate so much more than your CI/CD workflows with GitHub Actions!

Useful Resources

• Further documentation for GitHub Actions and Power Platform
• GitHub Marketplace for Power Platform Actions
• Getting started with GitHub Actions
• Learn more about Microsoft Power Platform

Written by

April Yoho

@scubaninja

April is a senior developer advocate and DevOps practice lead at GitHub, specializing in application transformation and DevOps ways of working. Her focus is to take customers of a journey from legacy technology, to serverless and containers, where code comes first, while enabling them to take full advantage of DevOps practices.

In April’s spare time she spends time outdoors hiking, skiing or scuba diving. She is also a triathlete competing in Ironman and Half Ironman triathlons.