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Create runtime packages for Business Central on-premises

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If you want to distribute extensions, you can generate runtime packages that don't contain AL code, but only the final artifacts used by the server at runtime. Runtime packages thereby allow you to protect the intellectual property represented by your AL source code.

When the runtime package is generated on the server, the developer license is checked for permissions to the used extension IDs. The extension in a runtime package can then be installed on servers that don't have a developer license. The server only needs permissions to run the objects, but not to modify or insert them.

Start using runtime packages

The first step in using runtime packages is to have an extension developed and published to an on-premise instance. Next, use the following PowerShell command to connect to the server, find the extension, and download the runtime package.

Get-NavAppRuntimePackage

For more information about this cmdlet, see Get-NAVAppRuntimePackage cmdlet.

The following example gets the NAV App runtime package with the provided name and version.

Get-NAVAppRuntimePackage -ServerInstance DynamicsNAV -AppName 'Proseware SmartApp' -Version 2.3.4.500 -Path 'Prosware SmartApp_2.3.4.500_runtime.app'

For publishing and installing the package, use the Publish-NavApp and the Install-NAVApp PowerShell cmdlets.

Upgrade considerations

Like any extension, extensions distributed in runtime packages will occasionally have to be upgraded so that they can run on with the latest Business Central version. There are two ways to upgrade a runtime package. Each way provides a different level of upgrade.

Create a new extension version and runtime package

The recommended way to upgrade a runtime package is to build a new version of the extension against the latest platform and application. Then, publish the extension to an on-premise instance, and create a new runtime package version for distribution. Once you have the package, you can then publish it on tenants, and run a data upgrade like with any other extension.

Recompile the existing package

Another way to upgrade the package is to use the Repair-NAVApp cmdlet to recompile the published package against the new platform and Business Central server instance. Once complied, you can reinstall the package on the tenant. Be aware that using the Repair-NAVApp cmdlet doesn't guarantee the extension will work properly. It's not recommended when upgrading to a new version.

The Repair-NAVApp cmdlet requires that the runtime package includes the source code. You can include the source code in two different ways:

  • In the extension's app.json file, set "allowDownloadingSource" or showMyCode to true.
  • When you run the Get-NavAppRuntimePackage cmdlet, use either the -IncludeSourceInPackageFile $true or -ShowMyCode $true parameter.

Limitations

The limitation of runtime packages is that they only work for on-premise installations, so you can't submit them to AppSource. For more information about the extension requirements for AppSource, see Technical Validation Checklist. Moreover, debugging into an extension to view the source code isn't allowed by default; the allowDebugging flag is by default set to false. For more information, see Resource Exposure Policy Setting.

Note

Runtime packages are guaranteed to work only if published to a platform with the same version as the one where they were produced.

Note

If you set the showMyCode flag to true when running the Get-NavAppRuntimePackage cmdlet, you can enable debugging and thereby also allow viewing the source code.

See Also

Publish-NAVApp cmdlet
Install-NAVApp cmdlet