How I Recreated the Extension Upload Experience in Business Central
A custom app recreates the deprecated in-product extension upload functionality by calling the Business Central admin center API from AL. It provides a familiar interface for managing extensions with deployment scheduling, schema sync options, and comprehensive logging of all installation operations.
"Microsoft has deprecated the in-product upload on the Extension Management page and the Automation API extensionUpload endpoint."
Key points
- In-product extension upload and the extensionUpload API are deprecated and will be removed in 2027 release wave 1 (version 30)
- The PTE Extension Management app provides an upload page with deployment scheduling, schema sync control, and uninstall capabilities
- Setup requires creating an Azure app registration, configuring API permissions, and registering the app in Business Central with the Exten. Mgt. - Admin permission set
- The app includes an Installation Status tracker, Scheduled Installs view, and a Deployment Log showing all attempts with user, status, operation ID, and response details
Quotes
- “Microsoft has deprecated the in-product upload on the Extension Management page and the Automation API extensionUpload endpoint.” (Critical change notification that the current extension upload method will no longer be available after 2027 release wave 1)
- “The supported replacement is the Business Central admin center API so I built an app that calls it from AL.” (Explains the recommended path forward and demonstrates how to implement it using an AL-based solution)
- “Deployment Log - every attempt, with user, environment, HTTP status, operation ID, and the raw response body.” (Highlights the comprehensive auditing and troubleshooting capability built into the custom solution)
AL objects mentioned
As named in the post. A name that matches one object page by exact type and name links to it; the others stay as named.
- page 2500 “Extension Management”
- page “Installed Extensions (Admin Center)”
- page “Installation Status”
- page “MPA Deploy Setup”
- page “Microsoft Entra Applications”
Not found in BC28-30: page “Installed Extensions (Admin Center)”, page “Installation Status”, page “MPA Deploy Setup”, page “Microsoft Entra Applications”.
Context
- Features: extension upload, deployment scheduling, schema sync, uninstall with data deletion, installation status tracking, scheduled installs, deployment logging, admin center api integration
- Versions: 30
Source: Mohana’s Dynamics NAV & BC blog, community blog. Summary, key points and quotes are derived (CONTENT-NOTICE.md); read the original for the full text.