Ppds Metadata

PPDS Metadata — schema as a first-class surface

Exact flags: [references/cli-metadata.md](references/cli-metadata.md), [references/cli-schema.md](references/cli-schema.md), [references/cli-views.md](references/cli-views.md), [references/cli-forms.md](references/cli-forms.md).

Surface routing: browsing is CLI or MCP; schema authoring is one of the few places MCP is unusually strong — the released server ships typed authoring tools (ppds_metadata_create_table, ppds_metadata_add_column, ppds_metadata_update_column, ppds_metadata_create_relationship, ppds_metadata_create_choice, ppds_metadata_create_key, ppds_metadata_add_option_value, and update variants). In a terminal the CLI equivalents live under the ppds metadata subgroups: entity, attribute, relationship, key, optionset.

Browsing schema

ppds metadata entities -f json                  # all tables
ppds metadata entity account                    # full metadata for one table
ppds metadata attributes account                # columns, types
ppds metadata relationships account             # 1:N, N:1, N:N
ppds metadata keys account                      # alternate keys
ppds metadata optionsets                        # global choices
ppds metadata optionset 

MCP equivalents: ppds_metadata_entities, ppds_metadata_entity, ppds_data_schema (per-entity field list with option values).

Authoring schema (mutations — safety model applies)

The authoring verbs hang off the noun subgroups; see [references/cli-metadata.md](references/cli-metadata.md) for each subcommand's exact flags before generating a command — column/table creation has many typed options.

ppds metadata entity create --help        # check real flags first
ppds metadata attribute create --help
ppds metadata relationship create --help
ppds metadata key create --help

After metadata changes, publish: ppds metadata publish (alias for ppds publish --type entity).

Note: the table, column, and choice subgroups are deprecated aliases of entity, attribute, and optionset — prefer the canonical names.

Cross-environment schema comparison

ppds schema compare --help                # compare environments / data packages

Use this before solution import to spot drift between source and target.

Views and forms (maker-portal gap fillers)

Saved queries (views) and system forms are editable from the CLI — column layout, sort, filter, raw FetchXML on views; tabs/sections/fields on forms. These write systemquery/systemform records: unmanaged-layer mutations, so confirm the environment first, and managed components will refuse edits (View.ManagedComponentNotEditable).

ppds views list --entity account
ppds views set-filter --entity account --view "Active Accounts" --filter-file ./filter.xml
ppds forms list --entity account

Common mistakes (do not invent these)

| Wrong | Correct | |-------|---------| | ppds metadata list-entities | ppds metadata entities | | ppds metadata entity account --attributes | ppds metadata attributes account | | ppds metadata create-table | ppds metadata entity create ... (check --help for flags) | | Editing managed views/forms | edit in the unmanaged source environment instead | | Forgetting publish | metadata edits need ppds metadata publish (or ppds publish) to take effect in apps |

Skill boundaries

| Need | Use instead | |------|-------------| | The data inside the tables | ppds-query (reads/DML), ppds-data (bulk) | | Ship schema changes to another environment | ppds-solutions-alm | | Web resource files referenced by forms | ppds-webresources | | Auth, environment selection, error codes | ppds-core |

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: joshsmithxrm
• Source: joshsmithxrm/ppds-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.