/integrate-backend

name: integrate-backend
description: >-
  Analyzes the user's business problem and recommends the right backend integration approach
  — Web API, AI Web API (generative summaries / grounded search), Server Logic, Cloud Flows,
  or a combination — for a Power Pages site, then routes to the appropriate specialized skill.
  Use when the user wants to add backend integration, connect to data, add AI summaries, or
  needs help deciding which backend approach to use.
user-invocable: true
argument-hint: describe what your backend needs to do
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, AskUserQuestion, Skill, Task, TaskCreate, TaskUpdate, TaskList
model: opus

> **Plugin check**: Run `node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/check-version.js"` — if it outputs a message, show it to the user before proceeding.

Backend Integration

Analyze the user's business problem and recommend the right backend integration approach — **Web API**, **AI Web API**, **Server Logic**, **Cloud Flows**, or a combination — then route to the appropriate skill(s) to implement the solution.

Core Principles

• **Understand the problem first**: Never jump to a technology choice. Analyze the user's intent, data flow, security needs, and performance requirements before recommending.
• **Recommend the simplest approach that works**: Web API for straightforward Dataverse CRUD, AI Web API for generative summaries or grounded search over existing data, Server Logic when server-side processing is needed, Cloud Flows for async background work. Don't over-engineer.
• **Secure actions belong on the server**: When a write depends on a business rule that must be tamper-proof (state transitions, approval workflows, computed values), the server logic must validate AND execute the write — not just validate and leave the write to a client-side Web API call. See the **Secure Action Principle** in the decision framework.
• **AI Web API sits on top of Web API**: The Data Summarization and Case-preset endpoints read through the same `_api` layer as regular Web API, so they inherit the same table permissions, column permissions, and `Webapi/<table>/*` site settings. When a plan has both a Web API item and an AI Web API item for the same table, the AI item depends on (and goes in a later phase than) the Web API item. Search Summary has no per-table prereqs and can stand alone.
• **Combinations are normal**: Many real scenarios need more than one approach. Recommend combinations when justified, but explain why each piece is needed.
• **Route, don't implement**: This skill recommends and invokes the right skill(s). It does not create backend files itself.

**Initial request:** $ARGUMENTS

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Workflow

1. **Verify Site Exists** — Locate the Power Pages project and check prerequisites 2. **Understand the Business Problem** — Analyze what the user needs and why 3. **Recommend Integration Approach** — Present the recommendation with reasoning 4. **Route to Skill(s)** — Invoke the appropriate backend skill(s) to implement

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Phase 1: Verify Site Exists

**Goal**: Locate the Power Pages project root and confirm prerequisites

**Actions**:

1. Create todo list with all 4 phases (see [Progress Tracking](#progress-tracking) table)

1.1 Locate Project

Look for `powerpages.config.json` in the current directory or immediate subdirectories.

**If not found**: Tell the user to create a site first with `/create-site`.

1.2 Explore Current State

Use the **Explore agent** to quickly scan the site for existing backend integrations:

> "Analyze this Power Pages SPA site for existing backend integrations: > 1. Check `.powerpages-site/server-logic/` — list any existing server logic endpoints > 2. Check `.powerpages-site/cloud-flow-consumer/` — list any registered cloud flows > 3. Search frontend code (`src/**/*.{ts,tsx,js,jsx,vue,astro}`) for calls to `/_api/` (Web API) and `/_api/serverlogics/` (Server Logic) and `/_api/cloudflow/` (Cloud Flows) > 4. Check for existing service layers or API utilities in `src/services/`, `src/shared/`, or similar > 5. List available web roles from `.powerpages-site/web-roles/*.webrole.yml` > Report what backend integrations already exist so we can build on them."

1.3 Discover Dataverse Custom Actions

Check whether the user's Dataverse environment has existing custom actions that could be leveraged in the integration:

node "${PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/list-custom-actions.js" "<ENV_URL>"

The script returns Custom APIs (modern) and Custom Process Actions (legacy) with their names, descriptions, binding types, and parameters. If custom actions are found, note them — they will be factored into the recommendation in Phase 3.

**Output**: Project root confirmed, existing backend integrations identified, Dataverse custom actions discovered

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Phase 2: Understand the Business Problem

**Goal**: Analyze the user's request to understand the underlying business problem, not just the technical ask

**Actions**:

2.1 Analyze the Request

From the user's request and the existing site state, determine:

• **What is the user trying to accomplish?** (business outcome, not technology)
• **What data is involved?** (Dataverse tables, external systems, user input)
• **Who triggers the operation?** (user action, form submit, page load, scheduled)
• **Does the user need an immediate response?** (real-time UI update vs. background processing)
• **Are external services involved?** (payment gateways, email, Graph, SharePoint, third-party APIs)
• **Are credentials or secrets involved?** (API keys, client secrets, tokens)
• **Must logic be hidden from the browser?** (pricing rules, validation algorithms, business rules)
• **Is this a simple data operation or complex business logic?** (CRUD vs. multi-step processing)
• **Does any write depend on a business rule that must be tamper-proof?** (state transitions, approval conditions, computed values) — if yes, the server logic must validate AND execute the write