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Need Help with Setting Up Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Using Git and GitHub Actions

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Hello,

I am currently facing challenges in setting up, configuring, and maintaining a Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations instance. I need to manage this process entirely through code, with a focus on using Git for version control instead of TFS, and prefer utilizing GitHub Actions for continuous integration and deployment over Azure Pipelines.

My primary objective is to establish a local instance of Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations and also deploy it to the cloud. However, I'm unable to find comprehensive resources or documentation that guide through this specific setup using Git and GitHub Actions. The standard documentation and online resources seem to focus more on Azure DevOps and TFVC, which doesn't align with my requirements.

Here's what I'm looking for guidance on:

Initial Setup and Configuration: How do I set up a Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations project from scratch using Git as the version control system? This includes the initial repository setup, branch strategy, and necessary configurations in Visual Studio.
Local Development Environment: What are the best practices for configuring the local development environment for Dynamics 365 F&O when using Git? This includes any specific folder structures, .gitignore configurations, and handling of Metadata and Projects folders.
CI/CD with GitHub Actions: How can I configure GitHub Actions for continuous integration and deployment of my Dynamics 365 F&O instance? I'm looking for a workflow that supports build automation, testing, and deployment processes, both for local instances and cloud deployments.
Challenges and Workarounds: Are there any known limitations, challenges, or necessary workarounds when using Git and GitHub Actions with Dynamics 365 F&O? For instance, I've read about Dynamics Lifecycle Services requiring a TFVC repository for deploying build environments. How can I manage such constraints?
Community Insights and Experiences: If you have personally set up or managed Dynamics 365 F&O using Git and GitHub Actions, I would greatly appreciate hearing about your experiences, challenges faced, and how you overcame them.

Any guidance, resources, or personal anecdotes you can share would be immensely helpful.

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Best regards,

Osama

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Martin Dráb 230,370 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Need Help with Setting Up Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Using Git and GitHub Actions

To me, your question looks extremely broad, making it almost impossible to answer. It's covers many topics and many of them are very wide by themself and/or doesn't have a single answer. For example, we can spend of lot of time discuss possible branching strategies for Git, but there is no single best one you should use. Also, this topic is already covered at other places, so maybe we shouldn't even try to duplicate it here.

It would be better if you don't try to cover everything at once. I suggest you split it to smaller thread and ask more specific questions. When you say something like "initial repository setup", it's not really clear what you need from us. Does it mean that you don't how to create a git repository at all? Or does it mean that you have a problem specific to F&O, but you didn't explain what it is?

In general, you need to decide where you'll host your Git repository. If you want to use GitHub actions, you'll probably want to use GitHub, but it's not strictly necessary. How to create a repository then depends on the hosting system (GitGub, Azure DevOps...), therefore you must make the decision first.

An example of the repository structure, using symbolic links etc. can be found in articles like X++ And Git: A Basic Setup.

Regarding GitHub actions, I'm not aware of any resources covering GitHub Actions for F&O. You've decided to use that, so it's up to you to develop it. But you don't have to start from scratch. There are examples of build and release pipelines for Azure DevOps, which will help you when building your GitHub actions. Often the actual job is done by .exe or .ps1 files executed by pipelines and you'll be able to do the same in GitHub actions.

I'm not aware of any dependency of package deployment on TFVC. A source control system is involved when getting code for a deployable package, but the deployable package is the same regardless of where the code was located, and the package isn't stored in source control. You deploy the file to LCS.
Community member 5 on at

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Need Help with Setting Up Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Using Git and GitHub Actions

Man, I feel insulted! I can also go and ask ChatGPT, which will give me that response, and it doesn’t answer my question at all!
Community member 2 on at

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Need Help with Setting Up Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Using Git and GitHub Actions

infopulsepro @ Go to your GitHub repository, navigate to the "Actions" tab. You should see your workflow being triggered.

Notes:

Ensure that sensitive information (like connection strings, credentials, etc.) is handled securely. GitHub Secrets can be used for this purpose.

Customize the workflow according to your specific build and deployment requirements.

Integrate additional steps for testing, deployment, and other CI/CD activities based on your project needs.
Community member 5 on at

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Need Help with Setting Up Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Using Git and GitHub Actions

Thank you Kevin, I have seen these articles but they are at best scratching the surface of my question. My focus is not on getting started, but rather on tackling full CI/CD and deployment of the full environment using GitHub Actions.
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Kevin Xia Microsoft Employee on at

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Need Help with Setting Up Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations Using Git and GitHub Actions

Hi,

You can refer to this official documentation: Get started with Git and Visual Studio - Azure Repos | Microsoft Learn. Get started with developing your code using Azure Repos and Git repositories. You can use Visual Studio or Git commands to clone a repository, define local branches, commit and push changes, and sync with others. Or you can refer to this official document: X++ in Git - Finance & Operations | Dynamics 365 | Microsoft Learn. This article introduces the concept of X++ code management in Git and outlines key considerations for teams that want to use Git tools for X++ development.

Best regards,

Kevin