Set up a dev → test → prod deployment pipeline

Use three environments

A clean ALM setup uses a Dev environment (where you build), a Test/UAT environment (where you validate) and a Production environment (what users run). You never edit directly in production.

Everything that defines the app — tables, forms, the canvas app, flows — travels between environments inside a solution, not by manual copy.

Package your app in a solution

1. 1In the Dev environment, create a solution and add your app, tables, flows and other components to it.
2. 2Use a publisher with a custom prefix so your components are clearly namespaced.
3. 3Keep Dev as the only place you author; treat Test and Prod as read-only targets.

Promote with Power Platform Pipelines

1. 1Enable Power Platform Pipelines (in the admin center) and define the Dev → Test → Prod path.
2. 2From the solution, run the pipeline to deploy Dev → Test as a managed solution, validate, then Test → Prod.
3. 3For automation, the same can be driven by the pac CLI or Azure DevOps / GitHub Actions (export solution, import to target).

Managed vs unmanaged

Author in unmanaged (Dev). Deploy managed to Test and Prod so the downstream environments are locked and cleanly layered — this is the Microsoft-recommended ALM pattern.