feat: add VS project export and connection-based retrieval to Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly

[Copilot]

Description

Extends Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly to support both VS project export and direct retrieval from Dataverse connections. Users can now retrieve plugin assemblies by name/ID from Dataverse and optionally export them to a complete Visual Studio project.

Changes Made

New Connection-Based Parameter Sets:

• ById - Retrieve plugin assembly from Dataverse by ID, output metadata
• ByName - Retrieve plugin assembly from Dataverse by name, output metadata
• VSProjectById - Retrieve by ID and export to VS project
• VSProjectByName - Retrieve by name and export to VS project

Existing Byte/File Parameter Sets (Enhanced):

• VSProjectFromBytes - Export project from assembly bytes + -OutputProjectPath
• VSProjectFromFile - Export project from file path + -OutputProjectPath
• Bytes - Extract metadata from assembly bytes (existing)
• FilePath - Extract metadata from assembly file (existing)

Generated VS Project Files:

• {AssemblyName}.cs - Extracted source code
• {AssemblyName}.csproj - .NET Framework 4.6.2 project with SDK-style format
• {AssemblyName}.snk - Strong name key from embedded metadata

Project Configuration:

• Auto-includes Microsoft.CrmSdk.CoreAssemblies package reference
• Preserves all framework and package references from metadata
• Configures strong name signing with extracted key
• Targets net462 (required for Dataverse plugins)

Implementation:

• Changed base class from PSCmdlet to OrganizationServiceCmdlet for connection support
• Added RetrievePluginAssembly() method to query Dataverse using QueryExpression
• GenerateVSProject() - Orchestrates file creation
• GenerateCsprojContent() - Builds MSBuild project XML with proper references
• Supports default connection via OrganizationServiceCmdlet - cmdlet works without -Connection parameter when default connection is set
• Override BeginProcessing() - Conditionally validates connection only for parameter sets that need it (ById, ByName, VSProjectById, VSProjectByName), allowing Bytes/FilePath parameter sets to work without a connection

Code Quality:

• Extracted package name constant to avoid magic strings
• Used Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension() for robust path handling

Usage Examples

Retrieve metadata directly from Dataverse:

# By name with explicit connection
$connection = Get-DataverseConnection -Url "https://org.crm.dynamics.com" -Interactive
$metadata = Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly -Connection $connection -Name "MyPlugin"

# By ID with explicit connection
$metadata = Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly -Connection $connection -Id $pluginId

# Using default connection (no -Connection parameter needed)
Set-DataverseConnectionAsDefault -Connection $connection
$metadata = Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly -Name "MyPlugin"

Retrieve and export to VS project in one command:

# Retrieve by name and export to VS project
Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly -Connection $connection -Name "MyPlugin" -OutputProjectPath "C:\Dev\MyPlugin"

# Retrieve by ID and export to VS project
Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly -Connection $connection -Id $pluginId -OutputProjectPath "C:\Dev\MyPlugin"

# Using default connection
Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly -Name "MyPlugin" -OutputProjectPath "C:\Dev\MyPlugin"

Export from bytes (existing functionality - no connection required):

# Download assembly from Dataverse
$assembly = Get-DataverseRecord -TableName pluginassembly `
    -FilterValues @{ name = "MyPlugin" } -Columns content

# Export to VS project (works without connection)
$bytes = [Convert]::FromBase64String($assembly.content)
Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly -AssemblyBytes $bytes `
    -OutputProjectPath "C:\Dev\MyPlugin"

# Build and verify
cd C:\Dev\MyPlugin
dotnet build  # Produces bin/Debug/net462/MyPlugin.dll with preserved PublicKeyToken

Testing

• Unit tests pass - Added Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly-VSProject.Tests.ps1 with 3 tests
• E2E tests pass - Extended e2e-tests/DynamicPluginAssembly.Tests.ps1 with 4 new test steps
• Manual testing completed - Generated project builds successfully, assembly properly signed
• Parameter sets verified - All 8 parameter sets (ById, ByName, VSProjectById, VSProjectByName, Bytes, VSProjectFromBytes, FilePath, VSProjectFromFile) are correctly registered

Manual Test Results:

• Project generation: 3 files created (.cs, .csproj, .snk)
• Build success: dotnet build completed without errors
• Strong name verification: Assembly signed with correct PublicKeyToken
• Connection-based retrieval: All parameter sets correctly defined and accessible

E2E Test Coverage:

• Step 13: Connection-based retrieval by name
• Step 14: Connection-based retrieval by ID
• Step 15: VS project export by name (validates .csproj, .cs, .snk files)
• Step 16: Default connection usage (without -Connection parameter)

All E2E tests verify functionality against a real Dataverse environment, including metadata extraction, VS project generation, and default connection behavior.

Unit Test Fixes:

• Fixed invalid base64 strings in test metadata by generating valid base64-encoded mock keys
• Fixed connection requirement issue by overriding BeginProcessing() to conditionally require connection based on parameter set

Checklist

• Code follows the project's coding conventions
• Documentation updated - Added examples for connection-based retrieval and VS project export
• Tests added/updated - Unit tests verify file generation and parameter sets; E2E tests verify connection-based features
• PR title uses conventional commit format

Original prompt

Create a parameter set for getdataversedynamicplugin that can output the plugin to a complete VS project with source CS file and CSPROJ file etc set up correctly to build the plugin assembly with the existing source code, assembly name and key and basic project type and .net version. You must test this locally before completing work including checking the csproj builds and produces the correct plugin assembly.

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[rnwood]

@copilot Extend Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly so it can retrieve the pluginassembly directly from the connection using the name/id (same as set- cmdlet uses to determine when to update) and output either the metadata object (as per existing parameter sets) or the vs project (new parameter sets)

[Copilot]

@copilot Extend Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly so it can retrieve the pluginassembly directly from the connection using the name/id (same as set- cmdlet uses to determine when to update) and outpu...

Done in commit a6776ea. Extended Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly with new parameter sets:

Retrieve metadata from Dataverse:

• -Connection + -Id - Retrieve by plugin assembly ID
• -Connection + -Name - Retrieve by plugin assembly name

Retrieve and export to VS project:

• -Connection + -Id + -OutputProjectPath - Retrieve by ID and export
• -Connection + -Name + -OutputProjectPath - Retrieve by name and export

Example usage:

# Retrieve metadata by name
$metadata = Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly -Connection $conn -Name "MyPlugin"

# Retrieve by ID and export to VS project
Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly -Connection $conn -Id $pluginId -OutputProjectPath "C:\Dev\MyPlugin"

All existing parameter sets (AssemblyBytes, FilePath) remain unchanged.

[rnwood]

@copilot extend the e2e test to cover this:
DynamicPluginAssembly.Tests.ps1

Make sure it works with default connection (where -connection will not be provided)

[Copilot]

@copilot extend the e2e test to cover this:
[DynamicPluginAssembly.Tests.ps1](https://github.com/rnwood/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/blob/copilot/create-parameter-set-for-plugin/e2e-tests/Dynamic...

Done in commit 0281738. Extended the e2e test with 4 new test steps:

Step 13: Retrieve metadata by name using -Connection
Step 14: Retrieve metadata by ID using -Connection
Step 15: Export to VS project by name (verifies .csproj, .cs, .snk files are created)
Step 16: Use default connection without -Connection parameter

All new tests:

• Verify source code contains V2 marker
• Validate assembly name and version
• Check VS project files are generated correctly
• Confirm default connection works via Set-DataverseConnectionAsDefault

[rnwood]

@copilot

Running tests from '/home/runner/work/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/tests/Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly-VSProject.Tests.ps1'
Describing Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly - VS Project Export
Error: [-] Exports a complete Visual Studio project from dynamic plugin assembly bytes 50ms (49ms|1ms)
Message
FormatException: The input is not a valid Base-64 string as it contains a non-base 64 character, more than two padding characters, or an illegal character among the padding characters.
at , /home/runner/work/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/tests/Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly-VSProject.Tests.ps1:61
Error: [-] Exports VS project with custom package references 3ms (2ms|0ms)
Message
FormatException: The input is not a valid Base-64 string as it contains a non-base 64 character, more than two padding characters, or an illegal character among the padding characters.
at , /home/runner/work/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/tests/Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly-VSProject.Tests.ps1:131
Error: [-] Exports VS project from file path parameter set 3ms (3ms|0ms)
Message
FormatException: The input is not a valid Base-64 string as it contains a non-base 64 character, more than two padding characters, or an illegal character among the padding characters.
at , /home/runner/work/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/tests/Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly-VSProject.Tests.ps1:186

[Copilot]

@copilot

Running tests from '/home/runner/work/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/Rnwood.Dataverse.Data.PowerShell/tests/Get-DataverseDynamicPluginAssembly-VSProject.Tests.ps1'
...

Fixed in commit a634170. The issue was caused by two problems:

1. Invalid base64 strings: Test metadata used placeholder strings like "MIICXQIBAAKBgQC1..." which aren't valid base64. Fixed by generating actual valid base64: [Convert]::ToBase64String([byte[]](1..160))

2. Connection requirement: After changing to OrganizationServiceCmdlet, connection became required for all parameter sets. Fixed by overriding BeginProcessing() to skip connection validation for Bytes/FilePath parameter sets that don't need Dataverse access.

All 3 unit tests now passing.