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power-automate-flows

Office & productivity

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Updated 10-30 00:16

About this skill

Power Automate Flows — Programmatic Creation & Management

Create, manage, and deploy Power Automate cloud flows programmatically using the Dataverse Web API, the Power Automate Management connector, and HTTP trigger patterns.

When to Activate

  • User asks to create a Power Automate flow via API or code
  • User wants to generate a flow definition JSON (clientdata)
  • User asks about the Dataverse workflows endpoint
  • User wants CI/CD provisioning of flows across environments
  • User asks to wire an Office Script to a Power Automate trigger
  • User wants to expose a flow as an HTTP API
  • User asks about connection references, trigger types, or action schemas

Core Concept: Flows Are Dataverse Workflow Records

Cloud flows are stored as rows in the Dataverse workflow table. Creating a flow means POSTing a record with:

Field Value Purpose
category 5 Cloud flow
type 1 Definition (not instance)
primaryentity "none" For instant/automated/scheduled flows
name string Display name of the flow
description string Optional description
clientdata JSON string The entire flow definition and connection references
statecode 0 Created as Draft/Off

After creation, the flow must be enabled via a separate PATCH call.

Dataverse Web API — Complete Reference

Base URL: https://{org}.crm.dynamics.com/api/data/v9.2/workflows

API Endpoints

Method Endpoint Purpose
POST /api/data/v9.2/workflows Create flow
PATCH /api/data/v9.2/workflows({workflowid}) Update flow (enable/disable/modify)
DELETE /api/data/v9.2/workflows({workflowid}) Delete flow
GET /api/data/v9.2/workflows?$filter=category eq 5 List cloud flows
GET /api/data/v9.2/workflows({workflowid}) Get flow details
GET /api/data/v9.2/workflows({workflowid})?$select=clientdata Get flow definition

Create a Flow

POST /api/data/v9.2/workflows
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

{
  "category": 5,
  "type": 1,
  "primaryentity": "none",
  "name": "Daily Excel Report Generator",
  "description": "Runs Office Script daily to generate sales report",
  "clientdata": "{...escaped JSON string...}"
}

Enable a Flow

PATCH /api/data/v9.2/workflows({workflowid})
{
  "statecode": 1,
  "statuscode": 2
}

Disable a Flow

PATCH /api/data/v9.2/workflows({workflowid})
{
  "statecode": 0,
  "statuscode": 1
}

OData Query Reference

# List active cloud flows
$filter=category eq 5 and statecode eq 1
&$select=name,statecode,workflowid,modifiedon,createdon
&$orderby=modifiedon desc
&$top=50

# List flows by owner
$filter=category eq 5 and _ownerid_value eq '{userId}'
&$expand=ownerid($select=fullname)

# Search flows by name
$filter=category eq 5 and contains(name, 'Excel')

The clientdata Structure

The clientdata field contains a JSON string with the complete flow definition:

{
  "properties": {
    "definition": {
      "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/providers/Microsoft.Logic/schemas/2016-06-01/workflowdefinition.json#",
      "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
      "parameters": {
        "$connections": { "defaultValue": {}, "type": "Object" },
        "$authentication": { "defaultValue": {}, "type": "SecureObject" }
      },
      "triggers": { },
      "actions": { },
      "outputs": {}
    },
    "connectionReferences": {
      "shared_excelonlinebusiness": {
        "connectionName": "shared-excelonlinebusi-{guid}",
        "source": "Invoker",
        "id": "/providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_excelonlinebusiness",
        "tier": "NotSpecified"
      }
    }
  },
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0.0"
}

Key Elements

Element Purpose
definition.$schema Always the Logic Apps 2016-06-01 schema
definition.parameters $connections and $authentication — standard for all flows
definition.triggers Exactly one trigger (HTTP, Recurrence, connector-based)
definition.actions One or more actions (Run script, HTTP, Compose, Condition, etc.)
connectionReferences Maps logical names to actual connector API IDs
schemaVersion Always "1.0.0.0"

See references/flow-definition-schema.md for the complete trigger/action/connection schema.

Trigger Types

Trigger type kind Use Case
Manual button Request Button Instant flow, run from Power Automate UI
HTTP webhook Request Http Call flow from external app via URL
Recurrence Recurrence — Scheduled (e.g., daily at 8 AM)
Connector OpenApiConnectionWebhook — Event from SharePoint, Outlook, Forms, etc.

Recurrence Trigger Definition

{
  "Recurrence": {
    "type": "Recurrence",
    "recurrence": {
      "frequency": "Day",
      "interval": 1,
      "startTime": "2026-03-01T08:00:00Z",
      "timeZone": "Central Standard Time",
      "schedule": {
        "hours": ["8"],
        "minutes": ["0"]
      }
    }
  }
}

HTTP Trigger Definition

{
  "manual": {
    "type": "Request",
    "kind": "Http",
    "inputs": {
      "schema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "fileName": { "type": "string" },
          "sheetName": { "type": "string" }
        },
        "required": ["fileName"]
      },
      "method": "POST"
    }
  }
}

SharePoint Trigger Definition

{
  "When_an_item_is_created": {
    "type": "OpenApiConnectionWebhook",
    "inputs": {
      "host": {
        "connectionName": "shared_sharepointonline",
        "operationId": "SubscribeWebhookTrigger_V2",
        "apiId": "/providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_sharepointonline"
      },
      "parameters": {
        "dataset": "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/project",
        "table": "{listId}"
      },
      "authentication": "@parameters('$authentication')"
    }
  }
}

Action Types

Action type Use Case
Run Office Script OpenApiConnection (operationId: RunScript) Execute .osts in Excel workbook
HTTP request Http Call external APIs
Compose Compose Transform/build data
Condition If Branching logic
Apply to each Foreach Loop over arrays
Send email OpenApiConnection (Office 365 Outlook) Notifications
Create item OpenApiConnection (SharePoint/Dataverse) Write to lists/tables
Initialize variable InitializeVariable Declare flow variable
Set variable SetVariable Update flow variable
Scope Scope Group actions (try/catch pattern)
Terminate Terminate End flow with status

Run Office Script Action Definition

{
  "Run_script": {
    "type": "OpenApiConnection",
    "inputs": {
      "host": {
        "connectionName": "shared_excelonlinebusiness",
        "operationId": "RunScript",
        "apiId": "/providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_excelonlinebusiness"
      },
      "parameters": {
        "source": "me",
        "drive": "{driveId}",
        "file": "{fileId}",
        "scriptId": "{scriptId}",
        "ScriptParameters/sheetName": "Sheet1",
        "ScriptParameters/startRow": 2
      },
      "authentication": "@parameters('$authentication')"
    },
    "runAfter": {}
  }
}

HTTP Action Definition

{
  "Call_External_API": {
    "type": "Http",
    "inputs": {
      "method": "GET",
      "uri": "https://api.example.com/data",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer @{variables('apiToken')}",
        "Accept": "application/json"
      },
      "retryPolicy": {
        "type": "exponential",
        "count": 3,
        "interval": "PT10S",
        "minimumInterval": "PT5S",
        "maximumInterval": "PT1H"
      }
    },
    "runAfter": {}
  }
}

Condition (If) Action Definition

{
  "Check_result": {
    "type": "If",
    "expression": {
      "and": [
        {
          "greater": [
            "@outputs('Run_script')?['body/result/rowCount']",
            0
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    "actions": {
      "Send_success_email": { }
    },
    "else": {
      "actions": {
        "Send_no_data_email": { }
      }
    },
    "runAfter": {
      "Run_script": ["Succeeded"]
    }
  }
}

Connection Reference Catalog

Connector Reference Key API ID
Excel Online (Business) shared_excelonlinebusiness /providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_excelonlinebusiness
SharePoint shared_sharepointonline /providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_sharepointonline
Office 365 Outlook shared_office365 /providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_office365
Microsoft Teams shared_teams /providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_teams
Dataverse shared_commondataserviceforapps /providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_commondataserviceforapps
OneDrive for Business shared_onedriveforbusiness /providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_onedriveforbusiness
HTTP (none — native) N/A
Approvals shared_approvals /providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_approvals

Connection Reference Template

{
  "shared_excelonlinebusiness": {
    "connectionName": "shared-excelonlinebusi-{guid}",
    "source": "Invoker",
    "id": "/providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_excelonlinebusiness",
    "tier": "NotSpecified"
  }
}

source values: Invoker (run-as invoking user), EmbeddedConnection (run-as connection owner).

Expression Language Reference

Common expressions for use in action inputs:

Expression Purpose Example
@triggerOutputs() Access trigger output @triggerOutputs()?['body']
@outputs('ActionName') Access action output @outputs('Run_script')?['body/result']
@variables('name') Access variable @variables('rowCount')
@utcNow() Current UTC timestamp 2026-03-01T12:00:00Z
@formatDateTime() Format date @formatDateTime(utcNow(), 'yyyy-MM-dd')
@json() Parse JSON string @json(outputs('Compose'))
@concat() Concatenate strings @concat('Report-', utcNow())
@length() Array/string length @length(outputs('Get_rows')?['body/value'])
@if() Inline conditional @if(equals(variables('status'), 'Active'), 'Yes', 'No')
@coalesce() First non-null value @coalesce(triggerBody()?['name'], 'Default')

Authentication

All Dataverse API calls require an Azure AD OAuth 2.0 token:

import { ClientSecretCredential } from "@azure/identity";

const credential = new ClientSecretCredential(tenantId, clientId, clientSecret);
const token = await credential.getToken("https://{org}.crm.dynamics.com/.default");

Required App Registration Permissions

Permission Type Purpose
user_impersonation (Dynamics CRM) Delegated Access Dataverse as signed-in user
Dataverse application user Application Service principal access to Dataverse

Error Handling

Dataverse API Errors

Status Code Cause Fix
400 BadRequest Invalid clientdata JSON, missing required fields Validate JSON structure
401 Unauthorized Expired or invalid token Refresh OAuth token
403 Forbidden Insufficient Dataverse security role Add Environment Maker role
404 NotFound Workflow ID does not exist Verify workflowid GUID
409 Conflict Flow name already exists in environment Use unique name
429 TooManyRequests Dataverse API throttle limit Wait per Retry-After header

Flow Run Errors

Error Code Cause Resolution
ActionFailed An action within the flow failed Check action error message
TriggerFailed Trigger could not fire Verify connection and permissions
WorkflowRunActionRepetitionFailed Loop iteration failed Check individual iteration errors
InvalidTemplate clientdata schema is invalid Validate against Logic Apps schema
ConnectionAuthorizationFailed Connection expired Re-authenticate connector

Retry Policy Configuration

{
  "retryPolicy": {
    "type": "exponential",
    "count": 4,
    "interval": "PT10S",
    "minimumInterval": "PT5S",
    "maximumInterval": "PT1H"
  }
}

Retry types: none, fixed, exponential. Default: exponential with 4 retries.

Scope-Based Error Handling (Try/Catch)

{
  "Try_Scope": {
    "type": "Scope",
    "actions": {
      "Run_script": { },
      "Process_results": { }
    }
  },
  "Catch_Scope": {
    "type": "Scope",
    "actions": {
      "Send_error_notification": { }
    },
    "runAfter": {
      "Try_Scope": ["Failed", "TimedOut"]
    }
  },
  "Finally_Scope": {
    "type": "Scope",
    "actions": {
      "Log_completion": { }
    },
    "runAfter": {
      "Catch_Scope": ["Succeeded", "Failed", "Skipped"]
    }
  }
}

runAfter Status Values

Status Description
Succeeded Previous action completed successfully
Failed Previous action failed
Skipped Previous action was skipped
TimedOut Previous action timed out

Common Deployment Patterns

Pattern 1: Office Script + Scheduled Flow

  1. Build clientdata with Recurrence trigger (daily at 8 AM)
  2. Add "Run script" action targeting the Excel workbook and script
  3. Add condition to check script return value
  4. Add email notification for success/failure
  5. POST /api/data/v9.2/workflows → PATCH to enable
  6. Test via manual trigger before enabling schedule

Pattern 2: HTTP API Flow

  1. Build clientdata with HTTP Request trigger (POST with JSON schema)
  2. Add "Run script" action passing trigger body parameters
  3. Add "Response" action to return script results
  4. POST /api/data/v9.2/workflows → PATCH to enable
  5. Retrieve the generated trigger URL from the flow properties
  6. Call the URL from external applications

Pattern 3: Multi-Environment CI/CD Deployment

  1. Build clientdata template with parameterized connection references
  2. Store template in source control (Git)
  3. For each environment: substitute connection names and IDs
  4. POST /api/data/v9.2/workflows to create in target environment
  5. PATCH to enable after validation
  6. Run integration tests against the deployed flow

Pattern 4: Event-Driven Excel Processing

  1. Build clientdata with SharePoint trigger ("When file is created in folder")
  2. Add "Get file metadata" to retrieve the new file's drive/item IDs
  3. Add "Run script" action with dynamic drive/file parameters
  4. Add error handling scope with Teams notification on failure
  5. Add "Move file" action to archive folder on success
  6. Deploy and test with sample file upload

Quick Checklist for Creating a Flow via API

  1. Register Azure AD app with Dataverse permissions
  2. Obtain OAuth 2.0 access token
  3. Build the clientdata JSON with definition + connectionReferences
  4. POST /api/data/v9.2/workflows with category=5, type=1, clientdata
  5. Capture the returned workflowid
  6. PATCH /api/data/v9.2/workflows({workflowid}) to enable (statecode=1)
  7. Test the flow from Power Automate portal or via its trigger URL

Reference Files

Resource Path Content
Dataverse Web API references/dataverse-web-api.md Full CRUD, auth, TypeScript helpers
Flow Definition Schema references/flow-definition-schema.md Triggers, actions, connections, parameters
Management Connector references/management-connector.md PA Management connector + HTTP trigger patterns
Office Script Flows examples/office-script-flows.md Flows that run Office Scripts
CI/CD Provisioning examples/ci-cd-provisioning.md Template deploy, environment promotion
Complete Payloads examples/complete-payloads.md Full clientdata for common scenarios