What is CLI ?

A command-line interface, it is a text-based user interface used to run programs, manage computer files and interact with the computer.

CLIs accept as input commands athat are entered by keyboard.

What is the Power Platform Cli ?

A CLI created by Microsoft and designed for advanced users who want to ineract with the power platform via the command line.

Empowers developers and ISVs to perform various operations in the Microsoft Platform .

The Power Platform CLI is cross platform and can be installed in Windows or MacOs.

There are different installation methods, either as a VS Code Extension or local commands.

Open Visual Studio Code.
Select the Extensions icon from the Activity panel. In the search bar, enter Power Platform Tools.
Select Install. Once the installation is finished, restart Visual Studio Code to see the extension within the Terminal window.

Basically, from your command line, run the following command:

dotnet tool install --global Microsoft.PowerApps.CLI.Tool

This table lists some of the common commands used in the PAC CLI.

Command	Description
pac admin	Commands for environment lifecycle features.
pac auth	Commands to connect to your environment.
pac application	Commands to install AppSource applications that are prerequisites for the solution work in the target environment (Preview).
pac canvas	Commands for working with canvas app source files (Preview).
pac org	Commands for working with Dataverse environments.
pac package	Commands for working with solution packages.
pac paportal	Commands for working with Portals support for Microsoft Power Platform CLI.
pac pcf	Commands for working with Power Apps component framework.
pac plugin	Command to create a plug-in project.
pac solution	Commands for working with Dataverse solution projects.
pac telemetry	Manages the telemetry settings.