Test Dataverse extensions with Test Engine (preview)

This article explains how to create integration tests with Dataverse. This functionality applies the Power Fx capability to connect with Dataverse tables.

Connecting to Dataverse

To enable Dataverse integration, add the enableDataverseFunctions parameter in your testSettings extensionModules :

testSettings:
  extensionModules:
    enable: true
    parameters:
      enableDataverseFunctions: true

When you enable Dataverse integration, you're required to open Azure CLI with a user or service principal that has rights to the Dataverse environment. You can use the command: az login More information: Sign in with Azure CLI.

The Dataverse API URL used for integration is obtained either from the host ___domain name of the pac test run --___domain parameter or by defining an PowerShell environment variable named DATAVERSE_URL.

Enable preview

Currently, all Dataverse extension testing capabilities require using Preview functions. To enable these, add Preview to the allowPowerFxNamespaces list in extensionModules.

testSettings:
  extensionModules:
    enable: true
    allowPowerFxNamespaces:
    - Preview
    parameters:
      enableDataverseFunctions: true

Resetting the current state

Define the onTestCaseStart event handler in your authored test yaml to perform common actions before each test case. For example:

testSuite:
  testSuiteName: Dataverse tests
  testSuiteDescription: Validate Power Fx can be used to run Dataverse integration tests
  persona: User1
  appLogicalName: N/A
  onTestCaseStart: |
    = ForAll(Accounts, Remove(Accounts, ThisRecord))

In this example, the ForAll is used to iterate over a table and perform an action on each record. The Remove function is then used to delete each record from a table to ensure an empty table before each test is executed.

Functions of interest

These functions are useful when working with Dataverse:

• Collect: Adds records to a table.
• CountRows: Returns the number of records in a table.
• First: Returns the first record in a table.
• ForAll: Iterates over a table and performs an action on each record.
• Patch: Update an existing record.
• Remove: Deletes a specific record from a table.

Considerations

Take these considerations into account as you write test steps:

• Defaults isn't supported. As a result Power Fx examples like Patch(Accounts, Defaults(Accounts), {name:"test"}) aren't supported.
• You can use Collect to an alternative to Patch with the Defaults function

Running Dataverse tests

You can use the Power Fx provider (powerfx) to run tests that interact with Dataverse without the need for a canvas or model-driven app interface. This is useful for testing business logic, plugins, flows, and other backend services.

pac test run `
   --provider powerfx `
   --test-plan-file your-testplan.te.yaml `
   --tenant your-tenantid-guid-value `
   --environment-id your-environmentid-guid-value `
   --___domain "https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com"

AI Integration

Using the open source Power Apps Test Engine compiled in Debug mode together with the appropriate test settings will enable the Preview.AIExecutePrompt function in your tests.

Add the following to your test settings to enable AI integration:

testSettings:
  extensionModules:
    enable: true
    parameters:
      enableDataverseFunctions: true
      enableAIFunctions: true

Example usage of the AI function:

Assert("Paris" = Preview.AIExecutePrompt("Country Capital", { Country: "France" }).Text)