How to: Connect your code app to data (preview)

Code apps can connect to Power Platform connectors.

Note

Preview features aren’t meant for production use and may have restricted functionality. These features are available before an official release so that customers can get early access and provide feedback.

Use the following steps:

1. Create and set up connections in Power Apps
2. Add a connection to a code app
3. Update the app to call connections

Note

Use these steps after you initialize the app by using pac code init. This step is the third step in how to create a code app from scratch.

Create and set up connections in Power Apps

Start by creating and configuring connections at Power Apps. Copy connection metadata from there for use in later steps.

All connectors are officially supported except the ones listed in the following section.

Connectors that aren't yet supported

• Excel Online (Business)
• Excel Online (OneDrive)

Connectors with known limitations

• Office 365 Groups
• Microsoft Teams
• Office 365 Outlook

Important

For the initial release, you can only configure code apps to use existing connections in Power Apps. You can't create new connections through PAC CLI commands. Support for creating new connections will be added in a future release.

Launch the Power Apps Connections page

Go to Power Apps and navigate to the Connections page from the left-hand navigation.

Example: Create an Office 365 Users connection

Select + New connection and select Office 365 Users. Select Create.

Note

If you already have an Office 365 Users connection, use that connection instead of creating a new one.

(Optional) Create a SQL connection (or a connection for another tabular data source)

Tip

For a step-by-step guide to connecting your code app to Azure SQL, see How to: Connect your code app to Azure SQL.

Get connection metadata for all created connections

Use one of the following methods:

• Use PAC CLI
• Use Power Apps URL

Use PAC CLI

Use the Power Apps CLI to list your available connections and retrieve their IDs by using the pac connection list command.

pac connection list displays a table of all your connections, including the Connection ID and API Name. The API name serves as the appId when you add a data source.

Use Power Apps URL

You can also retrieve this information by using Power Apps. When you view the details of a connection, you can see the URL.

The API name and connection ID appear in the URL:

Copy the API name and the connection ID from PAC CLI to the URL for each connection.

Add a connection to a code app

After you create or identify existing connections to use, and copy the connection metadata from the previous step, add those connections to the app.

When you add the data sources to the app, the process automatically generates a typed TypeScript model and service file in the repo. For example, the Office 365 Users data source produces Office365UsersModel and Office365UsersService files.

Add a nontabular data source

Add a nontabular data source (such as Office 365 Users) to the app by using the PAC CLI pac code add-data-source command.

From a command line, run the following command. Use the API name and connection ID that you collected from previous steps.

pac code add-data-source -a <apiName> -c <connectionId>

For example:

pac code add-data-source -a "shared_office365users" -c "aaaaaaaa000011112222bbbbbbbbbbbb"

Add a tabular data source

SQL or SharePoint are examples of tabular data sources.

Use the same PAC CLI pac code add-data-source command, but include a table ID and dataset name. The schema of your tabular data source specifies these values. If you don't already have these values, see Retrieve a dataset name and table ID.

pac code add-data-source -a <apiName> -c <connectionId> -t <tableId> -d <datasetName> 

For example:

pac code add-data-source `
-a "shared_sql" `
-c "aaaaaaaa000011112222bbbbbbbbbbbb" `
-t "[dbo].[MobileDeviceInventory]" `
-d "paconnectivitysql0425.database.windows.net,paruntimedb"

pac code add-data-source `
-a "shared_sql" `
-c "aaaaaaaa000011112222bbbbbbbbbbbb" `
-t "[dbo].[EmployeeInformation]" `
-d "paconnectivitysql0425.database.windows.net,paruntimedb" 

Retrieve a dataset name and table ID

Important

The following steps to retrieve a dataset name and table ID are a temporary workaround. We plan to add an easier mechanism to get these values.

If you don't already have the table and dataset name, you can get them by running a canvas app and copying the values from the browser network inspector:

1. Create a new canvas app in Studio.

2. Add the connection to the canvas app.

3. Bind the connection to a gallery control.

4. Publish and run the app.

5. Open your browser's Developer Tools, go to the Network tab, and inspect requests made when the app loads. Check the "invoke" request, and go to its response.

6. Find an Azure API Management (APIM) request with the connection ID, dataset name, and table ID, and copy those values.

   Using this example data request URL through APIM, look for the <Connection ID>, <Dataset name>, and <Table ID> values in these places in the URL:

   https[]()://{id value}.01.common.azure-apihub.net/apim/sharepointonline/<Connection ID>/datasets/<Dataset name>/tables/<Table ID>/items
   

Add a SQL stored procedure as a data source

From a command line, run the following command. Use the API name and connection ID that you collected previously.

pac code add-data-source -a <apiId> -c <connectionId> -d <dataSourceName> -sp <storedProcedureName> 

For example:

pac code add-data-source `
–a "shared_sql" `
-c "33dd33ddee44ff55aa6677bb77bb77bb" `
-d "paconnectivitysql0425.database.windows.net,paruntimedb" `
-sp "[dbo].[GetRecordById]" 

Delete data sources

If needed, you can delete data sources after adding them.

From a command line, run the following command. Use the API name and connection ID that you collected previously.

pac code delete-data-source -a <apiName> -ds <dataSourceName> 

For example:

pac code delete-data-source `
-a "shared_sql" `
-ds "MobileDeviceInventory" 

Important

If the schema on a connection changes, no command exists to refresh the typed model and service files. Instead, delete the data source and readd it.

Use connection references to add a data source

Starting in version 1.51.1 of the Power Apps CLI released in December 2025, you can use connection references to add data sources to your code app. A connection reference is a solution component that points to a specific connection for a connector. Instead of binding your app directly to a user-specific connection, bind it to a reference. This approach makes the solution environment-aware and portable across Dev, Test, and Prod environments for smooth application lifecycle management.

Note

This section assumes you have a basic knowledge of solutions in Power Apps and connection references. You should have a solution created already and a connection reference in that solution for your data source. If you don't, follow the steps outlined in the links below to create one.

• Learn about solutions in Power Apps.
• Learn about connection references and what makes them useful to your Power Apps.

Get the solution ID

Use one of the following methods to get the ID of your solution:

Use the PAC CLI solution list command:

1. Open a command prompt or terminal window.

2. Run the following command to get a list of solutions in the environment you're connected to:

   pac solution list --json | ConvertFrom-Json | Format-Table
   

   This command outputs a table to the console with the Id, SolutionUniqueName, and FriendlyName solution properties.

3. Copy the solution Id and save it for later use.

Use the Power Apps solution explorer:

1. Sign in to Power Apps.

2. On the left pane, select Solutions. If the item isn't in the side panel pane, select More and then select the item you want.

3. Find the solution that contains the connection reference for your data source.

4. Select the solution to open it.

5. In the URL of the browser, find the solution ID at the end of the URL. Your URL is of the form:

   https://make.powerapps.com/environments/environmentId/solutions/solutionId
   

6. Copy the solution ID from the URL and save it for later use.

Get the name of the connection reference to your data source

Use one of the following methods to get the connection reference to your data source:

Use the PAC CLI code command to list the connection references in a solution:

1. Open a command prompt or terminal window.

2. Run the following command to get the solution ID and name of the connection reference to your data source:

    pac code list-connection-references -env <environmentURL> -s <solutionID>
   

3. The output includes the display name, logical name, and description of the connection references in the solution.

Use the Power Apps solution explorer to examine the connection references in a solution:

1. Sign in to Power Apps.
2. On the left pane, select Solutions. If the item isn't in the side panel pane, select More and then select the item you want.
3. Find the solution that contains the connection reference for your data source.
4. Select Connection References from the list of Objects in the left pane.

Add the data source to your code app by using the connection reference

From a command line, run the following command. Use the solution ID and connection reference logical name collected from previous steps.

pac code add-data-source -a <apiName> -cr <connectionReferenceLogicalName> -s <solutionID>

The app now uses the connection associated with the connection reference in your Power Apps solution.

Update the app to call connections

After you add connections, update the app to use the generated model and service.

Note

You can also make these changes by using an agent in your IDE. For instance, in Visual Studio Code, you might use GitHub Copilot agent mode to make them for you after you add the data sources.

1. Import required types and services

   When you add a data source, the portal automatically generates model and service files. It places these files in the /generated/services/ folder. For example, if you add Office365Users as a data source, the portal creates the following files:

   • Office365UsersModel.ts – Defines the data model for request and response objects in the Office365Users connector.
   • Office365UsersService.ts – Provides service methods for interacting with the Office365Users data.

   Import and use these files in your code like this:

   import { Office365UsersService } from './generated/services/Office365UsersService';
   import type { User } from './generated/models/Office365UsersModel';
   

2. Update the app to use the nontabular data source (for example, Office 365 Users)

   For the typed connection API, view the generated files under the src/generated/models and src/generated/services folders.

   await Office365UsersService.MyProfile() 
   

   const profile = (await Office365UsersService.MyProfile_V2("id,displayName,jobTitle,id,userPrincipalName")).data; 
      setUser(profile); 
      if (profile?.id || profile?.userPrincipalName) { 
         // Try both id and userPrincipalName for photo 
         let photoData = null; 
         try { 
         photoData = (await Office365UsersService.UserPhoto_V2(profile.id || profile.userPrincipalName)).data; 
         } catch { 
         // fallback to userPrincipalName if id fails 
         if (profile.userPrincipalName) { 
            photoData = (await Office365UsersService.UserPhoto_V2(profile.userPrincipalName)).data; 
         } 
         } 
         if (photoData) setPhoto(`data:image/jpeg;base64,${photoData}`); 
   

3. (Optional) Update the app to use the tabular data source (for example, SQL)

   For the typed connection API, view the generated files under the src/Models and src/Services folders.

   For example:

   await MobileDeviceInventoryService.create(<record>) 
   await MobileDeviceInventoryService.update(id, <record>) 
   await MobileDeviceInventoryService.delete(id) 
   await MobileDeviceInventoryService.get(id) 
   await MobileDeviceInventoryService.getall() 
   

   await MobileDeviceInventoryService.update(assetId, changedFields); 
   setAssets((prevAssets) => 
     prevAssets.map((asset) => { 
       if (asset.id === assetId) { 
   

4. Run the app locally to verify changes

   Use this command in the terminal:

   npm run dev
   

5. Push the app to run on Power Apps

   Use this command in the terminal:

   npm run build | pac code push