Create and use custom APIs

Use custom APIs to create your own APIs in Dataverse. You can consolidate one or more operations into a custom API that you and other developers can call in their code or from Power Automate. The Microsoft Dataverse connector enables calling actions in Power Automate.

You can use custom API as business events to enable creating new integration capabilities such as exposing a new type of trigger event in the Microsoft Dataverse connector. More information: Microsoft Dataverse business events

Custom APIs are an alternative to custom process actions. Custom process actions provide a no-code way to include custom messages but has some limitations for developers. Custom APIs provide capabilities specifically for developers to define their logic in code with more options. For a full comparison of custom process action and custom API, see Compare custom process action and custom API.

Create a custom API

A custom API can include logic implemented with a plug-in. Using Microsoft Dataverse business events, you can create a custom API without a plug-in to pass data about an event that other subscribers respond to.

However, in other cases you combine a custom API with a plug-in to define some operation that is delegated to Dataverse to compute and return the result.

There are several different ways to create a custom API:

Method link	Benefit
Plug-in registration tool	An easy-to-use GUI tool integrated with tools used to develop plug-ins.
Power Apps	Using forms to enter data. You don't need to install a separate tool, you must create a separate record for each part of the custom API.
With Code	After you understand the data model, you can create custom API quickly using an API Client like Postman or Insomnia. Or you can build your own experience to create custom API.
With solution files	When you use Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) tools, you can create or modify custom API definitions with XML files in a solution that is included in your source code repository. The custom API is created when you import the solution generated from your source code.

Note

Although custom API data is stored in tables, we do not support creating a model-driven app for these tables.

These are some of the tools created and supported by the community to work with custom API:

• Dataverse Custom API Manager
• Custom API Tester
• Custom Action to Custom API Converter

Tools created by the community are not supported by Microsoft. If you have questions or issues with community tools, contact the publisher of the tool.

Custom API Customization

When creating custom API and related request parameters and response properties, it's important to understand that these API definitions are customizable by default. Being customizable allows you to iterate and make changes to these items in your unmanaged solution.

Important

When you ship or deploy your solution, you should use a managed solution and we recommend that you always set the Is Customizable managed property to these components to false. This will prevent people using your managed solution from modifying or deleting these components of your solution. Such changes could break code written for the original definition of the custom API.

Set Is Customizable to false

You can set the Is Customizable managed property from the solution in Power Apps.

You need to set this property for each custom API, Request Parameter, and Response Property individually.

More information Managed properties

Add more request parameters and response properties

Even when you set the Is Customizable managed property to these components to false, new request parameters and response properties can be added to your custom API. However, these request parameters can't be made required. If you choose to allow custom processing steps on your custom API, other plug-ins registered for the message created by your custom API can use them. Because custom request parameters can only be optional, the plug-in you provide for the main operation of the custom API can ignore them and isn't responsible for using any custom request parameters or setting any custom response properties.

Custom API tables/entities

See CustomAPI tables for information about the tables and column values to use when creating custom APIs.

Select a custom processing step type

The following table describes which custom API Custom Processing Step Type (AllowedCustomProcessingStepType) you should use.

Option	When to use
None	When the plug-in set for this custom API using CustomAPI.PluginTypeId is the only logic that occurs when this operation executes. You don't allow other developers to register any more steps that can trigger other logic, modify the behavior of this operation, or cancel the operation. Use this option when the custom API provides some capability that shouldn't be customizable.
Async Only	When you want to allow other developers to detect when this operation occurs, but you don't want them to be able to cancel the operation or customize the behavior of the operation. Other developers can register asynchronous steps to detect that this operation occurred and respond to it after it has completed. This option is recommended if you're using the business events pattern. A business event creates a trigger in Power Automate to you can use when this event occurs. More information: Microsoft Dataverse business events
Sync and Async	When you want to allow other developers to have the ability to change the behavior of the operation, and even cancel it if their business logic dictates. If the operation succeeds, other developers can also detect this event and add logic to run asynchronously. Most Dataverse messages enable extension in this manner. Use this option when your message represents a business process that should be customizable.

Select a Binding Type

Binding is an OData concept that associates an operation to a specific table. The following table describes the custom API Binding Type (BindingType) you should use.

Option	When to use
Global	When the operation doesn't apply to a specific table.
Entity	When the operation accepts a single record of a specific table as a parameter.
EntityCollection	When the operation applies changes to, or returns a collection of a specific table.

Selecting Entity or EntityCollection requires that you use the fully qualified name of the Function or Action when you use the Web API. The fully qualified name is Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.<UniqueName of the custom API>.

When you select Entity, a request parameter named Target with the type EntityReference is created automatically. You don't need to create it. This value is passed to any plug-ins registered for this message.

When you select EntityCollection, no parameter or response property representing the entity collection is included. Setting this binding simply adds the requirement that the operation be invoked appended to the entityset when using the Web API.

Note

These binding types are available for you to use when composing your custom API, but it is not required that you bind to an entity or entity collection. You can compose all your custom API as Global and add whichever request parameters or response properties you need to achieve the same functionality as a bound Function or Action.

More information:

• Actions bound to a table
• Actions bound to a table collection
• Bound functions

When to create a Function

The custom API Is Function property controls whether the custom API is a Function or Action. In OData, a Function is an operation called using HTTP GET request that returns data without making any changes. With a GET request, all the parameters are passed as parameters in the URL when invoking the function.

You can more easily test GET requests using your browser alone, but there's a 32 KB (32,768 characters) limit to the length of the URL you can send. If your custom API has many complex request parameters that could cause the length of the URL to be too long, it's acceptable to create an Action that performs the same operation passing all the parameter data in the body using a POST request.

Note

• Functions must return some data. You must include at least one response property for the custom API to be valid.
  • A function that does not include a response property will not appear within the Web API $metadata service document.
  • If you try to use an invalid function, you will get a 404 Not found error similar to this:
    {"error":{"code":"0x8006088a","message":"Resource not found for the segment 'your_function_name'."}}
• A Function is not allowed when the Enabled for Workflow option is selected. See Use a custom API in a workflow
• Currently the Microsoft Dataverse Connector only enables performing actions. If you need the operation to be performed using Power Automate, you should create your custom API as an Action.

More information: Use Web API functions

When to make your custom API private

By default any custom API you create is available for other developers to discover and use. As the custom API publisher, you have an obligation to maintain the public APIs you create. You shouldn't remove your API or apply any changes that break other consumers.

If you aren't willing to support other developers using your custom API, you should set the custom API Is Private (IsPrivate) property to true before you ship the managed solution containing your custom API.

The Is Private property blocks the custom API from appearing within the $metadata service document and prevent Dataverse code generation tools from creating classes to use the messages for your custom API.

Setting this property doesn't mean that other developers can't use your message if they know about it and are able to compose a request to use it. Setting the Is Private property is a way to indicate that you don't support other developers using your message.

You might want to keep a custom API private until you're sure that you won't need to remove it or introduce some breaking change.

You can leave Is Private set to false in your development environment so you can see the output in the $metadata service document or generate classes for your own use. However, before you ship the custom API in your managed solution, you should set Is Private to true.

More information:

• CSDL $metadata document
• Generate early-bound classes for the SDK for .NET
• Private Messages

Secure your custom API with a privilege

Set the custom API Execute Privilege Name (ExecutePrivilegeName) property to the name of the privilege to require it. There's currently no supported way for developers outside of Microsoft to create new privileges, but an existing privilege can be used. More information: Q: Can I create a new privilege for my custom API?

Use a plug-in to include logic in your custom API

If you don't set the custom API Plugin Type (PluginTypeId) to specify main operation logic you can still invoke the custom API.

You might choose to not include any logic in the plug-in because you're using the custom API as a business event. More information: Microsoft Dataverse business events.

You might not want to add a plug-in as a testing step. Without a plug-in, any output parameter values return the default values for the type because there's no code to set them. Otherwise, see Write a Plug-in for your custom API

Note

You can't pass configuration data to the plug-in specified for the main operation logic. There is a workaround for this.

Use a custom API in a workflow

Set the custom API Enabled for Workflow (WorkflowSdkStepEnabled) to true when you need to enable calling a custom API as a workflow action. However, when this option is selected the following limitations are imposed so that the custom API can be called in the workflow designer:

• The custom API can't be a function. Is Function must be false.

• The custom API can only have request parameter or response property types that workflow supports:

  • Boolean
  • DateTime
  • Decimal
  • EntityReference
    • EntityReference can only be used when the custom API is bound to to an entity.
  • Float
  • Integer
  • Money
  • Picklist
  • String
  • Guid

  The following request parameter or response property types can't be used:

  • Entity
  • EntityCollection
  • StringArray

Invoking custom APIs

A custom API creates a new message that can be invoked via the Web API or Dataverse SDK for .NET just like any other operation.

Invoking custom APIs from the Web API

While testing, you can invoke your API using an API client like Postman or Insomnia. Use the steps described in Use Insomnia with Dataverse Web API to set up a Insomnia environment that generates the access token you need. Then, apply the steps described in Use Web API actions if your API is an action. If it's a function, use the steps in Use Web API functions.

See the following examples:

Unbound Action

This action is named myapi_CustomUnboundAPI. It has a single string request parameter named InputParameter:

POST [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.1/myapi_CustomUnboundAPI
OData-MaxVersion: 4.0
OData-Version: 4.0
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8

{
  "InputParameter": "Value"
}

Function bound to table

This function named myapi_CustomBoundAPI is bound to the account table:

GET [Organization URI]/api/v9.1/accounts(ed5d4e42-850c-45b7-8b38-2677545107cc)/Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.myapi_CustomBoundAPI()
OData-MaxVersion: 4.0
OData-Version: 4.0
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8

Function bound to table collection

This function named myapi_CustomEntityCollectionBoundAPI is bound to the account table collection:

GET [Organization URI]/api/v9.1/accounts/Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.myapi_CustomEntityCollectionBoundAPI()
OData-MaxVersion: 4.0
OData-Version: 4.0
Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8

More information:

• Use Web API actions
• Use Web API functions

Invoking custom APIs from the SDK for .NET

You can choose to use either early-bound or late-bound code to invoke your custom API. Use the pac modelbuilder build tool to generate helper request and response classes to expose the request parameters and response properties of your custom API. Learn more about generating early-bound classes for the SDK for .NET.

For late-bound code, or for a custom API that you have marked as private, create an OrganizationRequest with the unique name of your custom API and add parameters with names matching the unique names of the request properties.

Entity-bound custom APIs have an implicit request property named Target that should be set to an EntityReference of the record to invoke the API on.

You can access response properties from the parameters of the returned response.

In this example, a custom API named myapi_EscalateCase is bound to the incident table to accept a record as the Target parameter together with another option set value request parameter named Priority. It has an EntityReference response property named AssignedTo .

var req = new OrganizationRequest("myapi_EscalateCase")
{
  ["Target"] = new EntityReference("incident", guid),
  ["Priority"] = new OptionSetValue(1)
};

var resp = svc.Execute(req);

var newOwner = (EntityReference) resp["AssignedTo"];

More information: Use messages with the SDK for .NET.

Invoke custom API as a background operation

The logic to be performed using a background operation must be defined as a custom API. More information:Background operations (Preview)

Write a Plug-in for your custom API

Writing a plug-in to implement the main operation for your custom API isn't different from writing any other plug-in, except that you don't use the Plug-in Registration tool to set a specific step and you can't specify configuration data to pass to the plug-in.

You need to know the following information:

• The name of the message
• The names and types of the request parameters and response properties.

The Request Parameter values are included in the InputParameters.

You need to set the values for the Response Properties in the OutputParameters.

The following code is a simple plug-in that reverses the characters in the StringParameter and returns the result as the StringProperty.

using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.ServiceModel;
using Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk;

namespace CustomAPIExamples
{
    public class Sample_CustomAPIExample : IPlugin
    {
        public void Execute(IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
        {
            // Obtain the tracing service
            ITracingService tracingService =
            (ITracingService)serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(ITracingService));

            // Obtain the execution context from the service provider.  
            IPluginExecutionContext context = (IPluginExecutionContext)
                serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(IPluginExecutionContext));

            if (context.MessageName.Equals("sample_CustomAPIExample") && context.Stage.Equals(30)) {

                try
                {
                    string input = (string)context.InputParameters["StringParameter"];
                    
                    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(input)) {
                        //Simply reversing the characters of the string
                        context.OutputParameters["StringProperty"] = new string(input.Reverse().ToArray());
                    }
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                    tracingService.Trace("Sample_CustomAPIExample: {0}", ex.ToString());
                    throw new InvalidPluginExecutionException("An error occurred in Sample_CustomAPIExample.", ex);
                }
            }
            else
            {
                tracingService.Trace("Sample_CustomAPIExample plug-in is not associated with the expected message or is not registered for the main operation.");
            }
        }
    }
}

For more information about writing plug-ins, see Tutorial: Write and register a plug-in. You need to register the assembly, but you don't need to register a step. More information: Use a plug-in to include logic in your custom API

See the example Sample: IsSystemAdmin custom API

After you have registered the assembly, make sure to add the assembly and any types to your solution.

Localized Label values

Custom APIs have some localizable labels. You can localize the label values using the steps documented here: Translate localizable text for model-driven apps and Translating labels and display strings.

This process involves exporting a file that contains the base language values and includes a column for each language enabled. You can then edit the values in Excel. After you complete the process to import the translations, the labels are included in your solution.

The following example shows editing the Excel worksheet to add Japanese translations for the English values.

Tip

If you are editing the solution files to create your custom APIs, you can provide the localized labels directly. More information: Providing Localized Labels with the solution

Setting localized values

If you prefer to set localized labels in code rather than using the manual process described above, you can use the SetLocLabels message using either the Web API SetLocLabels Action or the SDK for .NET SetLocLabelsRequest.

The following example shows how to use the Web API to set the localized labels for the displayname property of a custom API.

Request:

POST [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.1/SetLocLabels HTTP/1.1
Accept: application/json
OData-MaxVersion: 4.0
OData-Version: 4.0
Content-Type: application/json

{
    "EntityMoniker": {
        "@odata.type": "Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.customapi",
        "customapiid": "86bcd12e-2f30-eb11-a813-000d3a122b89"
    },
    "AttributeName": "displayname",
    "Labels": [
        {
            "Label": "例え",
            "LanguageCode": 1041
        },
        {
            "Label": "Beispiel",
            "LanguageCode": 1031
        },
        {
            "Label": "ejemplo",
            "LanguageCode": 1034
        }
    ]
}

Response:

HTTP/1.1 204 No Content

Retrieving localized values

To retrieve the localized labels, use the RetrieveLocLabels message using either the Web API RetrieveLocLabels Function or the SDK for .NET RetrieveLocLabelsRequest class.

The following example shows using the RetrieveLocLabels Function to retrieve the labels for the displayname property of a custom API with the customapiid of 88602189-183d-4584-ba4b-8b60f0f5b89f

Request:

GET [Organization URI]/api/data/v9.1/RetrieveLocLabels(EntityMoniker=@p1,AttributeName=@p2,IncludeUnpublished=@p3)?
@p1={'@odata.id':'customapis(88602189-183d-4584-ba4b-8b60f0f5b89f)'}&
@p2='displayname'&
@p3=false HTTP/1.1

Response:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
OData-Version: 4.0

{
    "@odata.context": "[Organization URI]/api/data/v9.1/$metadata#Microsoft.Dynamics.CRM.RetrieveLocLabelsResponse",
    "Label": {
        "LocalizedLabels": [
            {
                "Label": "Custom API Example",
                "LanguageCode": 1033,
                "IsManaged": null,
                "MetadataId": null,
                "HasChanged": null
            },
            {
                "Label": "カスタムAPIの例",
                "LanguageCode": 1041,
                "IsManaged": null,
                "MetadataId": null,
                "HasChanged": null
            }
        ],
        "UserLocalizedLabel": {
            "Label": "Custom API Example",
            "LanguageCode": 1033,
            "IsManaged": null,
            "MetadataId": null,
            "HasChanged": null
        }
    }
}

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The following represent questions you might have:

Q: Can I create a new privilege for my custom API?

A: While custom API has an Execute Privilege Name (ExecutePrivilegeName) property, there's currently no supported way for you to create a new privilege just for this API. This capability is planned for a future release. In the meantime, there are two options:

• You can use an existing Privilege.Name value.
• You can create a custom entity and use one of the privileges created for that entity. For example, create an entity named new_myaction and privileges for CRUD operations generated for it. For example: prvCreatenew_myaction. You need to include this custom entity with the solution that includes the custom API.

Q: Can I activate or deactivate custom API records?

A: You can't. Although these records have the common Status and Status Reason columns found on most Microsoft Dataverse tables. Setting the values for these columns has no impact on the availability of the custom API, the request parameters, or the response properties.

Q: How can I use my private messages if they aren't included in the Web API $metadata service document?

A: Your private messages work regardless of whether they're advertised in the Web API CSDL $metadata document or not. While you develop your solution, you can leave the IsPrivate value set to false. This way you can refer to the $metadata listing and use code generation tools that depend on this data. However, you should set the CustomAPI.IsPrivate value to true before you ship your solution for others to use. If you later decide that you wish to support other applications to use the message, you can change the CustomAPI.IsPrivate value to false.

More information:

• When to make your custom API private
• Private Messages
• Private messages can't be used in plug-ins

Known issues with custom APIs

Custom APIs are now generally available, but there are still some related capabilities that we expect to change.

Not able to use profiler for debugging

To debug using the Plug-in Registration tool and the Plug-in profiler solution, you need to be able to select a specific plug-in step. The main stage implementation for the plug-in isn't currently available in the Plug-in Registration tool.

Workaround: Register the plug-in type on the PostOperation stage of the message created for the custom API.

Private messages can't be used in plug-ins

If you define your custom API to be private, you can't use that message in a plug-in. More information: Private Messages

Secure and unsecure configuration can't be set for the custom API main operation plug-in

You can't pass secure or unsecure configuration in to the main operation Plugin for the custom API.

Workaround: Rather than associate the plug-in with the custom API, register the plug-in on the PostOperation stage using the Plug-in Registration tool (PRT). This way, you can specify configuration data in the PostOperation plug-in step as you usually do.

To use this workaround, you must configure your custom API to enable Sync and Async custom processing step types when you create the custom api. You can't change this after you create it.

Next Steps

Create a custom API using the plug-in registration tool

See also

Create and use custom APIs
Create a custom API with code
Create a custom API with solution files
Create your own messages
Custom API tables