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Power Platform Coauthoring in Codex

Setup guidance for using Power Platform coauthoring in Codex.

Reviewed Thu Jul 23 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) · Owner: Ro Garrett · Sensitivity: internal

#Prerequisites

  • Coauthoring turned on in the environment/application.

  • Microsoft Power Platform skills and plugins installed.

  • MCP enabled in the environment.

  • Power Platform CLI (PAC) installed on your machine. Install it with the .NET tool (requires .NET; .NET 10 is recommended):

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

#Configuring Codex

From a Codex prompt:

  1. Add the marketplace for Microsoft Power Platform skills on GitHub:

    /plugin marketplace add microsoft/power-platform-skills

  2. Add the plugins and skills:

    /plugin add power-pages@power-platform-skills
/plugin add model-apps@power-platform-skills
/plugin add mcp-apps@power-platform-skills
/plugin add code-apps-preview@power-platform-skills
/plugin add mobile-app@power-platform-skills
/plugin add canvas-apps@power-platform-skills
/plugin add power-automate@power-platform-skills

  3. Make sure you have registered the Power Platform MCP with Codex.

  4. Create a login session with Power Platform CLI. This is best done in your terminal:

    pac auth create

  5. In Codex, type:

    /configure-canvas-mcp

  6. When prompted, copy the full Maker portal editor URL from the browser address bar while the app is open in Power Apps Designer. It should include canvas/?action=edit&app-id=..., for example:

    https://make.powerapps.com/e/<environment-id>/canvas/?action=edit&app-id=<app-id>

    Keep this browser tab open for the entire coauthoring session. The Canvas Authoring MCP server uses the live editor session to make and synchronize changes.

#Current Scope

Canvas Authoring MCP is focused on AI-assisted authoring of Canvas Apps during an active Power Apps Studio session.

It currently supports:

  • Creating and modifying screens, controls, layouts, and Power Fx formulas
  • Bulk refactoring (for example, renaming controls or applying consistent themes)
  • Compiling and validating the app
  • Synchronizing changes with the live Power Apps Studio session

These capabilities are especially valuable for repetitive development tasks, such as applying consistent themes, renaming controls with meaningful names, updating formulas across multiple screens, and making other bulk UI changes.

Canvas Authoring MCP currently focuses on app authoring and does not expose operations for:

  • Saving or publishing Canvas Apps
  • Solution management
  • Deploying apps across environments (DEV/UAT/PROD)

Publishing and application lifecycle management (ALM) continue to follow Microsoft's standard Power Platform practices using Solutions, Power Platform CLI (PAC), Power Platform Pipelines, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or the Maker Portal.

#Creating a New Canvas App in Codex

Start a coauthoring session using the setup above, then use Codex to plan the app before creating its first draft.

#Plan the app

  1. In Codex, select Plan mode.
  2. Describe the app's purpose, users, screens, data, and required behavior. Include constraints such as accessibility, responsive behavior, security roles, and environment variables.
  3. Ask Codex to propose the screen structure, navigation, data model, controls, formulas, and open questions. Review and refine the plan until the scope is clear.

Example planning prompt:

Plan a Canvas app for employees to submit and track equipment requests. Include the screens, Dataverse tables, navigation, security roles, validation, and error handling. Design it for mobile use and Section 508 accessibility. Do not create the app yet; ask any questions needed to finalize the plan.

#Build the initial draft

Once the plan is ready, switch Codex to Build mode and ask it to use the connected Canvas app coauthoring session to create the initial draft.

Use the approved plan to create the initial draft of the Canvas app in the connected coauthoring session. Create the screens, navigation, data connections, and core controls. Keep the app responsive and accessible, then summarize what was created and what remains to be completed.

Review the draft in Power Apps as Codex creates it. Continue with focused changes in the same coauthoring session. For example:

Change all the button colors on the main page from blue to red.

State the exact screen or controls affected when a change should not apply throughout the app. Check the live app after each significant change.

[!NOTE] Review AI-generated changes in Power Apps Studio after significant edits. Canvas Authoring MCP accelerates development but does not replace developer validation or the standard Power Platform ALM process.

#Use Codex goals for larger app work

For a larger, well-defined body of work, create a Codex goal instead of sending a series of small instructions. Define the intended outcome, constraints, and clear success criteria, then let Codex work through the tasks in the connected coauthoring session.

Example goal:

Create the first usable version of the equipment request Canvas app. It must include request submission, a user's request history, request detail, and status updates. Use Dataverse, responsive containers, meaningful control names, accessible labels, and validation with user-friendly errors. The work is complete when each screen is connected, the main flows can be tested, and outstanding decisions are documented.

Use goals when the work has multiple dependent steps. Review the resulting app and Codex's summary before moving on to the next goal.

#References

power-platformcoauthoringcodexmcp