Skill: Environment Admin — Bulk Delete, Retention, Org Settings, OrgDB, Recycle Bin

⚠️ Critical safety rules — read first

1. Bulk delete is irreversible and bypasses the recycle bin. pac data bulk-delete schedule without --fetchxml deletes every record in the table. Refuse to run until the user explicitly says ALL (or ALL RECORDS) and the entity logical name — e.g., "yes, delete ALL records in contact". Bare "yes" rejected. Empty-filter FetchXML does NOT bypass this gate. See Bulk Delete Commands for the full rule and disambiguation flow.
2. Settings allowlist is hard. Only the 37 PPAC toggles in Allowed settings may be read or updated. Any other setting must be refused: "That setting is out of scope for dv-admin. Use the Power Platform admin center."
3. Recycle bin disable is PATCH, never DELETE. PATCH statecode=1, statuscode=2, isreadyforrecyclebin=false. DELETE enqueues async opt-out and orphans per-entity configs — see references/recycle-bin.md.
4. System tables warning. Unfiltered bulk delete on systemuser, businessunit, organization, or role breaks the environment. Warn additionally before running.

Four mechanisms — pick based on where the setting lives:

ERP batch admin: see references/erp-batch.md. Planning-only ERP requests may read skills/references, but make no environment calls or file writes.

Do NOT write Python scripts for operations PAC CLI can handle. Do NOT mix mechanisms (e.g., don't hand-PATCH an org column that PAC CLI already covers).

Skill boundaries

Use dv-data for record CRUD and sample data, dv-metadata for tables / columns / relationships, dv-query for reading records, dv-solution for solution export/import, dv-security for roles and self-elevate, pac admin --help for tenant governance (DLP, env lifecycle).

Allowed settings — hard allowlist

The 37 PPAC toggles below are the only ones this skill may read or update (35 unique backend keys — SearchAndCopilotIndexMode and auditretentionperiodv2 each cover two toggles). Examples that are out of scope and must be refused per the safety rule above: sessiontimeoutinmins, isautosaveenabled, IsShadowLakeEnabled, IsArchivalEnabled. Do not run pac org list-settings without --filter, and do not dump the whole orgdborgsettings XML for a non-allowlisted setting.

Organization entity columns — use PAC CLI (14)

Use pac org list-settings --filter <column> to read, pac org update-settings --name <column> --value <value> to write. PAC CLI accepts any column on the organization entity — not just the legacy audit ones.

OrgDB XML keys — use Python SDK on orgdborgsettings blob (17)

PascalCase is significant (IsMCPEnabled, not IsMcpEnabled). Full key list with PPAC labels and types lives in references/orgdb-settings.md. Notable keys: IsMCPEnabled, IsMCPPreviewEnabled, SearchAndCopilotIndexMode, IsLinkToFabricEnabled, IsFabricVirtualTableEnabled, ShowDataInM365Copilot, EnableWorkIQ, IsLockdownOfUnmanagedCustomizationEnabled, EnableSecurityOnAttachment, EnableTDSEndpoint, AllowAccessToTDSEndpoint, EnableOwnershipAcrossBusinessUnits, CreateOnlyNonEmptyAddressRecordsForEligibleEntities, EnableDeleteAddressRecords, BlockDeleteManagedAttributeMap, EnableSystemUserDelete, IsExcelToExistingTableWithAssistedMappingEnabled.

SearchAndCopilotIndexMode is one int (0–3) that encodes two UI toggles — Dataverse search × M365 Copilot search:

recyclebinconfigs entity — use Python SDK (2, org-level only)

Two toggles operate on the org-level recyclebinconfigs row (filtered by the organization entity's MetadataId): on/off (statecode + statuscode + isreadyforrecyclebin) and cleanup days (cleanupintervalindays). Per-table toggles are out of scope — refuse requests like "enable recycle bin for contact only". Full lifecycle in references/recycle-bin.md.

settingdefinition + organizationsettings — use Python SDK (2)

Two allowlisted toggles, both bool stored as string: PowerAppsAppLevelSecurityRolesEnabled (canvas apps), PlanShareSecurityRolesEnabled (plan designer). Read default from settingdefinition, CREATE/PATCH organizationsettings for the override. Full Python in references/settings-overrides.md.

Preview Before Running

• Destructive / stateful (bulk delete schedule/cancel/pause/resume, settings updates, recycle bin toggle, role assignment, self-elevate, retention set) — preview in prose: what's changing, new value, target environment(s). Use placeholders (<ENV_URL>) for unknowns and ask for missing values in the same turn. Skip the raw CLI block.
• Read-only (list-settings, show job, read OrgDB / recycle bin status) — one-sentence prose preview is enough.

The user must be able to evaluate the action from your first response. A bare "which environment?" fails; a one-line prose preview passes.

Examples

Pause bulk delete (destructive, ID supplied):

• ❌ "The command requires approval. Please confirm to pause the job."
• ✅ "I'll pause bulk delete job <job-id> on the active environment. Confirm to proceed."

Audit status across N environments (read-only, multi-call):

• ❌ Sequential pac org fetch per env, or starting with Python/SDK because it "feels like a query."
• ✅ "I'll run pac org list-settings --filter audit in parallel across all N environments (one &-batch, single wait)."

How to Read or Update Org Settings

Org settings always go through pac org list-settings / pac org update-settings — never raw Web API, FetchXML, PowerShell, or Python for org columns. Use --filter <substring> for category reads in one call. Multi-environment work runs in parallel via & + wait in ONE bash call.

Single setting:

pac org list-settings --filter isauditenabled --environment <url>

Category read (returns every match, e.g. all audit settings in one call):

pac org list-settings --filter audit --environment <url>

Multi-environment — parallel in ONE bash call:

pac org list-settings --filter audit --environment <url1> &
pac org list-settings --filter audit --environment <url2> &
pac org list-settings --filter audit --environment <url3> &
wait

If pac org list-settings fails for a setting, that setting is NOT an org column — check the mechanism routing in the four-mechanism table at the top, then use the appropriate Python pattern. Do NOT fall back to Web API, PowerShell, FetchXML, or pac org fetch for org columns.

Prerequisites

• PAC CLI latest .NET Framework build — pac data bulk-delete/pac data retention are only in the .NET Framework build (not the dotnet tool version). Check pac help; if it shows .NET 10/.NET 8, run pac install latest && pac use latest.
• Authenticated (pac auth create), active profile (pac auth list), and System Administrator privilege on the target environment.
• Headless hosts: SDK handles most settings (they are organization records); service principal for PAC-only ones. See dv-connect/references/headless-hosts.md.

Multi-Environment Operations — Always Parallel

The same & + wait pattern from list-settings applies to every multi-env operation (update-settings, bulk-delete, etc.) — N backgrounded calls in ONE bash call, never sequential or for loops.

Common Mistakes — Do NOT Use These

These flags do not exist. Using them will produce errors.

Bulk Delete

Retention

Org Settings

Bulk Delete Commands

Schedule a Bulk Delete Job

pac data bulk-delete schedule --entity activitypointer \
    --fetchxml "<fetch><entity name='activitypointer'><filter><condition attribute='createdon' operator='lt' value='2024-01-01'/></filter></entity></fetch>"
pac data bulk-delete schedule --entity email \
    --fetchxml "<fetch><entity name='email'><filter><condition attribute='createdon' operator='lt' value='2024-06-01'/></filter></entity></fetch>" \
    --job-name "Cleanup old emails" --recurrence "FREQ=DAILY;INTERVAL=1"

Hard stop: no --fetchxml means ALL records

pac data bulk-delete schedule without --fetchxml targets every record in the table and is irreversible (does not go through recycle bin). Required gate:

1. Refuse until the user explicitly acknowledges with the word ALL (or ALL RECORDS) and the entity logical name — e.g., "yes, delete ALL records in contact". Bare "yes" rejected.
2. Disambiguate vague asks ("clean up old emails") — propose a FetchXML filter with date / statecode / owner conditions before showing any command.
3. Empty-filter FetchXML doesn't bypass the gate — <filter/> or <filter><condition><value/></condition></filter> still targets every record.
4. Scope: applies to bulk-delete schedule only. cancel, pause, resume, show, list don't need it.

For system tables (systemuser, businessunit, organization, role), additionally warn that unfiltered bulk delete breaks the environment.

Manage Jobs

pac data bulk-delete list --environment https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com
pac data bulk-delete show --id <job-id>
pac data bulk-delete pause --id <job-id>
pac data bulk-delete resume --id <job-id>
pac data bulk-delete cancel --id <job-id>

Retention / Archival Commands

Data retention moves old records to long-term storage without permanently deleting them.

Agentic Flow

Step 1: pac data retention enable-entity --entity activitypointer
Step 2: pac data retention list
Step 3: pac data retention set --entity activitypointer --criteria "<fetchxml>..."
Step 4: pac data retention show --id <config-id>

Commands

pac data retention enable-entity --entity activitypointer --environment https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com
pac data retention set --entity activitypointer \
    --criteria "<fetch><entity name='activitypointer'><filter><condition attribute='createdon' operator='lt' value='2023-01-01'/></filter></entity></fetch>"
pac data retention list --environment https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com
pac data retention show --id <config-id>
pac data retention status --id <operation-id>

Retention vs Bulk Delete

Organization Settings Commands

List Settings

pac org list-settings --environment https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com
pac org list-settings --filter isauditenabled --environment https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com

Update a Setting

pac org update-settings --name isauditenabled --value true --environment https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com
pac org update-settings --name plugintracelogsetting --value 2 --environment https://myorg.crm.dynamics.com

Args: --name <column> (required), --value <value> (required; true/false for bool, int for option sets), --environment <url> (optional). Allowed columns are the 14 listed in Allowed settings — anything else is out of scope.

Batch workflow: pac admin list → filter targets → confirm → run all update-settings calls in parallel (& + wait) → render summary table.

Advanced Settings (Python SDK — PAC CLI Cannot Handle These)

OrgDB, recycle bin, and settings-definition overrides each need raw Web API or the Python SDK — PAC CLI does not cover them. The four-mechanism routing table at the top of this skill (§ Skill) maps each setting to its mechanism. Sub-sections below summarise the patterns and link to the references for full Python.

OrgDB Settings (orgdborgsettings XML)

OrgDB settings live as PascalCase XML elements inside the orgdborgsettings column of the organizations entity. PAC CLI cannot read or write these — use raw Web API.

Quick reference: GET /organizations?$select=organizationid,orgdborgsettings → parse XML with xml.etree.ElementTree → modify or SubElement → PATCH /organizations({id}) with the serialized XML.

For the read / update / remove Python patterns and the 17-key allowlist, see references/orgdb-settings.md. Keys are case-sensitive (IsMCPEnabled, not IsMcpEnabled).

Recycle Bin Configuration

Recycle bin settings live in the recyclebinconfigs entity (NOT orgdborgsettings). PAC CLI cannot manage them — use raw Web API.

Quick reference: filter recyclebinconfigs by _extensionofrecordid_value eq <ORG_ENTITY_METADATA_ID> (the org-level metadata ID is a system constant: e1bd1119-6e9d-45a4-bc15-12051e65a0bd).

• Enable: PATCH statecode=0, statuscode=1, isreadyforrecyclebin=true (or POST a new config). isreadyforrecyclebin: true is required to force the synchronous opt-in path.
• Disable: PATCH statecode=1, statuscode=2, isreadyforrecyclebin=false. Do NOT DELETE — it enqueues async opt-out and orphans per-entity configs.
• Drain in-flight ProcessRecycleBin async jobs (operationtype eq 50, statecode ne 3) before any second toggle.

For the full Python lifecycle (read / enable / disable / async-drain helper), the cache-vs-DB race explanation, and the per-table out-of-scope rule, see references/recycle-bin.md.

Settings-Definition Overrides (app/plan security roles)

Two allowlisted toggles (PowerAppsAppLevelSecurityRolesEnabled, PlanShareSecurityRolesEnabled) live in a join: settingdefinition (defaults) + organizationsettings (overrides). PAC CLI doesn't manage these.

Quick reference: look up the settingdefinitionid by uniquename, then either CREATE an organizationsettings row with value (string "true"/"false") or PATCH the existing row. DELETE on the override row reverts to the default.

For the read + idempotent CREATE/PATCH Python and the gating notes, see references/settings-overrides.md.

Operational confirmation rules

The four rules in the safety callout at the top of this file cover the irreversible / destructive cases. The rules below cover the non-destructive but still impactful operations:

• Confirm before changing org settings that affect all users.
• For multi-environment updates, show the list of target environments and get confirmation first.
• For OrgDB settings, warn that incorrect values can break environment features.
• For recycle bin cleanup interval changes, warn that reducing the interval permanently deletes recycled records sooner.
• For recycle bin enable/disable specifically: always set isreadyforrecyclebin explicitly (true on enable, false on disable), and drain any in-flight ProcessRecycleBin async jobs before any second toggle. Omitting these can produce EntityBinUpdateAction called for entity <x> which is not enabled for RecycleBin on unrelated platform operations.