D365FO Deploy Portal — New Version: Bidirectional Conversion, License Injection, Parallel Deploy

We're excited to announce a major update to D365FO Deploy Portal — our web-based tool for deploying Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations packages to Power Platform and Dataverse environments.

This release transforms Deploy Portal into a full automation platform — with bidirectional LCS↔Unified conversion, license injection into Unified packages, parallel PAC CLI deployment, Unified package merge, REST API, CLI, and CI/CD pipeline integration.

Why This Update Matters

The original Deploy Portal solved a clear pain point: replacing manual command-line deployment with a browser-based GUI. But teams told us they need more:

• D365FO developers needed bidirectional conversion (LCS→Unified and Unified→LCS), license injection, and package merging for both formats
• DevOps engineers wanted parallel deployment to all environments at once, not sequential
• Release managers needed CI/CD pipeline integration and REST API access
• Technical Delivery Managers needed API-level access and Unified package merge for custom automation

This release addresses all of these needs.

New Feature: Bidirectional Conversion — LCS↔Unified

Both directions are available from:

• Web UI — select a package, click Convert, choose the target format
• REST API — POST /api/packages/{id}/convert with format parameter
• CLI — docker run --rm -v /path:/data vglu/d365fo-deploy-portal:latest convert /data/input.zip /data/output.zip

New Feature: License Injection into Unified Packages

Available via the web UI and REST API — perfect for automating license management in deployment workflows.

New Feature: Parallel PAC CLI Deployment

Real-time log streaming via SignalR shows progress for each environment independently — monitor all parallel deployments from a single dashboard.

New Feature: Unified Package Merge

New Feature: Full REST API with Swagger

Available API operations:

• List packages — GET /api/packages — retrieve all uploaded packages with metadata
• Upload package — POST /api/packages — upload LCS, Unified, or any ZIP package
• Convert LCS→Unified — POST /api/packages/{id}/convert — convert LCS package to Unified format
• Convert Unified→LCS — POST /api/packages/{id}/convert-to-lcs — convert Unified package to LCS format
• Merge packages — POST /api/packages/merge — combine multiple LCS or Unified packages into one
• Inject license — POST /api/packages/{id}/put-license — inject license file into Unified package
• Download package — GET /api/packages/{id}/download — download the original or converted package

Interactive API documentation is available at /swagger — try endpoints directly in the browser, see request/response schemas, copy curl commands.

New Feature: CLI for Headless Conversion

Docker CLI example:

docker run --rm \
-v /path/to/packages:/data \
vglu/d365fo-deploy-portal:latest \
convert /data/MyLcsPackage.zip /data/MyUnifiedPackage.zip

.NET CLI example:

dotnet run -- convert ./MyLcsPackage.zip ./MyUnifiedPackage.zip

This is especially useful for:

• Build agents — convert packages as a pipeline step without running the web server
• Local scripts — quick one-off conversion on a developer's machine
• Automated workflows — chain conversion with other tools in bash/PowerShell scripts

New Feature: CI/CD Pipeline Integration

Azure DevOps pipeline example (conceptual):

# Upload build artifact to Deploy Portal
curl -X POST http://deploy-portal:5000/api/packages \
-F "file=@$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/package.zip"

Convert LCS → Unified
curl -X POST http://deploy-portal:5000/api/packages/{id}/convert

Download converted Unified package
curl -o unified-package.zip http://deploy-portal:5000/api/packages/{id}/download

This pattern works with any CI/CD system — GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Octopus Deploy — any tool that can make HTTP requests.

New Feature: License Management Within Packages

Recap: What D365FO Deploy Portal Does

For those new to Deploy Portal, here's the full picture. Deploy Portal replaces the manual D365FO package deployment pipeline:

Core capabilities:

• Drag-and-drop upload with auto-detection of LCS, Unified, and other package types
• Bidirectional LCS↔Unified converter — convert in both directions from UI, API, or CLI
• License injection — inject license files into Unified packages
• Parallel PAC CLI deployment — deploy to all Dataverse environments simultaneously, in parallel
• Package merging (LCS & Unified) — combine multiple packages of either format into one
• Real-time log streaming via SignalR — watch every PAC CLI line live
• Full deployment history — searchable, filterable audit trail
• Azure AD Service Principal — non-interactive authentication, encrypted secrets
• Bulk environment import — paste Setup-ServicePrincipal.ps1 output to import 10+ environments

Three ways to use it:

1. Web UI — browser-based dashboard for interactive use
2. REST API — integrate from scripts, pipelines, or custom tools (/swagger for docs)
3. CLI — headless conversion via Docker or .NET command line

Who Benefits From This Update

Quick Start

Getting started takes one command:

docker run -d -p 5000:5000 --name d365FOportal vglu/d365fo-deploy-portal:latest

Open http://localhost:5000 — you're in. Add environments, upload packages, and start deploying.

For API documentation, visit http://localhost:5000/swagger.

No Docker? Download the self-contained Windows build — no .NET installation required.

Learn More

Visit the D365FO Deploy Portal product page for complete documentation, API reference, and deployment options.

For licensing, pricing, or a demo:

• 📧 Email: vhlu@sims-service.com
• 🌐 Website: sims-service.com
• 💼 LinkedIn: Connect with us

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D365FO Deploy Portal is proprietary software by SIMS tech. Contact us for licensing and deployment options.