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activate-site

This skill should be used when the user asks to "activate site", "provision website", "activate a Power Pages website", "activate portal", "provision portal", "turn on my site", "enable website", or wants to activate/provision a Power Pages website in their Power Platform environment via the Power Platform REST API.

Install with Tessl CLI

npx tessl i github:microsoft/power-platform-skills --skill activate-site
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SKILL.md
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Activate Power Pages Site

Provision a new Power Pages website in a Power Platform environment via the Power Platform REST API.

Prerequisite: This skill expects an existing Power Pages code site created via /power-pages:create-site. Run that skill first if the site does not exist yet.

Core Principles

  • Cloud-aware URL resolution — Never hardcode API base URLs or site URL domains. Always derive them from the Cloud value returned by pac auth who.
  • Token handling — Scripts acquire and refresh Azure CLI tokens internally. The agent only needs to verify the user is logged in to Azure CLI.
  • Confirm before mutating — Always present the full activation parameters to the user and get explicit approval before POSTing to the websites API.

Initial request: $ARGUMENTS

Workflow

  1. Phase 1: Verify Prerequisites — PAC CLI auth + Azure CLI login + activation status check
  2. Phase 2: Gather Parameters — Site name, subdomain, website record ID
  3. Phase 3: Confirm — Present all parameters to user for approval
  4. Phase 4: Activate & Poll — Run activation script (POST + poll provisioning status)
  5. Phase 5: Present Summary — Show site URL, suggest next steps

Phase 1: Verify Prerequisites

Goal: Ensure PAC CLI is installed and authenticated, and verify the user is logged in to Azure CLI (scripts handle token acquisition internally).

Actions

1.1 Verify PAC CLI

Run pac help to check if the PAC CLI is installed and available on the system PATH.

pac help

If the command fails (command not found / not recognized):

  1. Tell the user: "PAC CLI is not installed. You can install it by running:"

    dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI.Tool
  2. If dotnet is also not available, direct the user to https://aka.ms/PowerPlatformCLI for full installation instructions.

  3. After installation, verify by running pac help again.

1.2 Check Authentication

Run pac auth who to check current authentication status.

pac auth who

If authenticated: Extract these values from the output:

  • Environment ID — the GUID after Environment ID:
  • Organization ID — the GUID after Organization ID: (this is the Dataverse org ID)
  • Cloud — the value after Cloud: (e.g., Public, UsGov, UsGovHigh, UsGovDod, China)

If not authenticated: Follow the same authentication flow as deploy-site — ask the user for their environment URL and run pac auth create --environment "<URL>".

1.3 Verify Azure CLI Login

Verify the user is logged in to Azure CLI (the activation scripts acquire tokens internally):

az account show

If az is not installed or not logged in: Instruct the user to install Azure CLI and run az login.

1.4 Check If Already Activated

Before gathering parameters, check whether the site is already activated by running the shared activation status script:

node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/check-activation-status.js" --projectRoot "<PROJECT_ROOT>"

Where <PROJECT_ROOT> is the directory containing powerpages.config.json (use Glob with **/powerpages.config.json to locate it if not already known).

The script reads siteName from powerpages.config.json, looks up the websiteRecordId via pac pages list, queries the Power Platform GET websites API, and matches the response against both the websiteRecordId (exact GUID match) and name (case-insensitive). It outputs a JSON result to stdout.

Evaluate the result:

  • If activated is true: The site is already provisioned. Inform the user: "Your site <siteName> is already activated at <websiteUrl>. No further provisioning is needed." Suggest next steps (Phase 5.3) and stop — do NOT proceed to Phase 2.
  • If activated is false: Proceed to Phase 2.
  • If error is present: The check could not complete. Proceed to Phase 2 (do not block the activation flow due to a failed check).

Output

  • PAC CLI installed and authenticated
  • Environment ID, Organization ID, and Cloud value extracted
  • Azure CLI login confirmed
  • Activation status checked (already activated → stop early, not activated → continue)

Phase 2: Gather Parameters

Goal: Determine the site name, generate or accept a subdomain, and look up the website record ID needed for the activation API call.

Actions

2.1 Read Site Name

Look for powerpages.config.json in the current directory or one level of subdirectories using Glob:

**/powerpages.config.json

Read the file and extract the siteName field. If not found, ask the user for the site name using AskUserQuestion.

2.2 Generate Subdomain Suggestion

CRITICAL — This step is MANDATORY. You MUST ask the user about the subdomain before proceeding. Do NOT skip this step or auto-select a subdomain without user input.

Run the subdomain generator script to create a random suggestion:

node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/activate-site/scripts/generate-subdomain.js"

This outputs a string like site-a3f2b1. Resolve the correct site URL domain from the Cloud value obtained in Phase 1.2:

CloudSite URL Domain
Publicpowerappsportals.com
UsGovpowerappsportals.us
UsGovHighhigh.powerappsportals.us
UsGovDodappsplatform.us
Chinapowerappsportals.cn

Present the generated subdomain to the user and ask them to accept or enter their own using AskUserQuestion:

QuestionHeaderOptions
Your site subdomain will be: <suggestion> (full URL: https://<suggestion>.<siteUrlDomain>). Would you like to use this subdomain or enter your own?SubdomainUse <suggestion> (Recommended), Enter a custom subdomain

If custom: The user provides their own subdomain via "Other" free text input. Validate it is lowercase, alphanumeric with hyphens only, and 3-50 characters.

2.3 Get Website Record ID

Run pac pages list to get the website record ID:

pac pages list

Parse the output to find the website record that matches the site name. Extract the Website Record ID (GUID). If pac pages list returns no results or the command is not available, set websiteRecordId to $null — the API will create a new website record.

Output

  • Site name determined (from config file or user input)
  • Subdomain chosen (generated or custom)
  • Website record ID resolved (GUID or null)

Phase 3: Confirm

Goal: Present all activation parameters to the user and get explicit approval before making the API call.

Actions

Present all activation parameters to the user using AskUserQuestion:

QuestionHeaderOptions
Ready to activate your Power Pages site with these settings:\n\n- Site name: <siteName>\n- Subdomain: <subdomain>.powerappsportals.com\n- Environment ID: <environmentId>\n\nProceed with activation?ActivateYes, activate the site (Recommended), No, cancel

If "No": Stop the skill and inform the user they can re-run it later.

If "Yes": Proceed to Phase 4.

Output

  • User has explicitly approved the activation parameters

Phase 4: Activate & Poll

Goal: POST to the Power Platform websites API to start provisioning, poll until completion, and report the result.

Actions

4.1 Run Activation Script

Run the shared activation script, passing all parameters gathered in Phases 1–2:

node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/activate-site/scripts/activate-site.js" --siteName "<siteName>" --subdomain "<subdomain>" --organizationId "<organizationId>" --environmentId "<environmentId>" --cloud "<cloud>" --websiteRecordId "<websiteRecordId>"

Omit --websiteRecordId if it is null/empty.

The script acquires an Azure CLI token, POSTs to the websites API, extracts the Operation-Location header, and polls every 10 seconds for up to 5 minutes (refreshing the token periodically). It outputs a JSON result to stdout.

Note: This script may run for up to 5 minutes while polling. Use a Bash timeout of at least 360 seconds (6 minutes).

4.2 Handle Results

Evaluate the JSON output:

status valuestatusCode / errorCodeAction
SucceededProvisioning complete. The result includes siteUrl. Proceed to Phase 5.
Failed400 + SubdomainConflict (or error message mentions subdomain)Subdomain already taken. Loop back to Phase 2 action 2.2 for a new subdomain, then re-run the script.
Failed401Token expired. Ask the user to run az login and retry.
Failed403Insufficient permissions. Inform user they need the "Power Pages site creator" or "System Administrator" role.
Failed409Website already exists. Inform user and suggest using /power-pages:deploy-site instead.
Failed429 or 5xxThrottling or server error. Wait 5 seconds and re-run the script once.
FailedotherPresent the error to the user and help troubleshoot.
RunningProvisioning still in progress after 5 minutes. Inform the user it may take up to 15 minutes and suggest checking the Power Platform admin center.
error fieldPrerequisite failure (missing args, no token). Present the error and help troubleshoot.

Output

  • Provisioning status resolved (Succeeded with siteUrl, Failed with error details, or Running with timeout advisory)

Phase 5: Present Summary

Goal: Show the user the final site URL and suggest next steps.

Actions

5.1 Show Results

Present the activation summary using the siteUrl from the script output:

Power Pages site activated successfully!

  Site Name:  <siteName>
  Site URL:   <siteUrl>
  Environment: <environmentName> (<environmentId>)
  Status:     Provisioned

The script already resolves the correct cloud-specific site URL domain, so use the siteUrl value directly.

5.2 Record Skill Usage

Reference: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/skill-tracking-reference.md

Follow the skill tracking instructions in the reference to record this skill's usage. Use --skillName "ActivateSite".

5.3 Suggest Next Steps

After the summary, suggest:

  • Set up the data model: /power-pages:setup-datamodel
  • Add sample data: /power-pages:add-sample-data
  • View the site in the browser at the provisioned URL (note: it may take a few minutes for DNS to propagate)

Output

  • Activation summary presented with site URL
  • Next steps suggested to the user

Important Notes

Progress Tracking

Use TaskCreate at the start to track progress through each phase:

TaskDescription
Phase 1Verify Prerequisites — PAC CLI auth, Cloud detection, Azure CLI login, activation status check
Phase 2Gather Parameters — site name, subdomain, website record ID
Phase 3Confirm — user approval of activation parameters
Phase 4Activate & Poll — run activation script, handle result
Phase 5Present Summary — show site URL and next steps

Mark each task complete with TaskUpdate as you finish each phase.

Key Decision Points

  • Phase 1.2: If not authenticated, must authenticate before proceeding — cannot skip.
  • Phase 1.4: If site is already activated, stop early — do NOT proceed to Phase 2.
  • Phase 2.2: User may accept the generated subdomain or provide a custom one — validate custom input.
  • Phase 3: User must explicitly approve activation. If declined, stop the skill entirely.
  • Phase 4.2: On 400 (subdomain taken), loop back to Phase 2 action 2.2 and re-run the script — do not abort.
  • Phase 4.2: On 409 (site already exists), redirect user to /power-pages:deploy-site instead.
  • Phase 4.2: On timeout (still Running after 5 minutes), do not treat as failure — advise user to check admin center.

Begin with Phase 1: Verify Prerequisites

Repository
microsoft/power-platform-skills
Last updated
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