Applies to: 
Windows
Linux
macOS
Prerequisites
You must have .NET 10.0 or higher installed.
Use built-in MCP server
The Power Platform CLI (PAC CLI) features an integrated Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed for local development and testing purposes. This server lets you interact with Power Platform in natural language using MCP-compatible tools like Microsoft Visual Studio, VS Code, and Claude Code.
Invoke PAC CLI commands with natural language
It isn't necessary to memorize all the PAC CLI commands and parameters or constantly refer to the help command when you use natural language to invoke PAC CLI commands. It's easier to use the PAC CLI integrated MCP server invoke the commands using natural language.
Before you begin, you need to start the built-in MCP server.
Start the MCP Server
To start the built-in MCP server, use the copilot mcp cli command with the --run option:
pac copilot mcp --run
Or you can start the MCP server with .NET dnx command without installing PAC CLI.
dnx Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI.Tool --yes copilot mcp --run
Learn more about how to use the Power Platform CLI without installing it
Register the MCP Server
After the server is running, register it with your MCP-compatible tool so it can discover and communicate with PAC CLI. Registration points your IDE or editor to the running server. Choose your tool in the following sections for guided steps, or use the manual configuration example.
Visual Studio
To register the MCP server with Visual Studio, follow steps outlined in the Use MCP servers for Visual Studio.
If you're editing mcp.json file manually, MCP server registration should look like this:
{
"servers": {
"pac-mcp": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "dnx",
"args": ["Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI.Tool", "--yes", "copilot", "mcp", "--run"]
},
}
}
Visual Studio Code
To register the MCP server with VS Code, follow steps outlined in the Use MCP servers in VS Code.
Claude Code
To register the MCP server with Claude Code, follow steps outlined in the Connect Claude Code to tools via MCP.
To register the MCP server manually, you can run claude mcp add-json command:
claude mcp add-json pac-cli '{"type":"stdio","command":"dnx","args":["Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI.Tool","--yes","copilot","mcp","--run"]}'
Interact with the MCP Server
Once the MCP server is registered with your MCP-compatible tool, you can start interacting with it using natural language. Here are a couple of examples:
show me AI related tenant settings
Create MD file with table listing all Dataverse environments
See full list of available commands in the Power Platform CLI reference.