PowerPlatform - Flow Generation Skill

Generate Power Automate flows from natural language descriptions using connector schemas exported from your work environment.

Examples

Example: Simple notification flow

User: "Create a flow that sends me a Teams message when I get an email with 'urgent' in the subject" -> Reads Office365/Teams connector schemas -> Generates flow JSON with email trigger + Teams action -> Outputs solution ZIP to work repo

Example: Approval workflow

User: "Make a flow for document approval - when a file is added to SharePoint, start an approval, then move to approved/rejected folder" -> Uses SharePoint trigger + Approvals + SharePoint actions -> Includes conditional branching -> Outputs deployable solution

Architecture

Work Repo (schemas) PAI (this skill) ~/Projects/work/scripts/ ~/.claude/skills/PowerPlatform/ power-platform/ ├── connectors/ ──reads──> ├── SKILL.md │ ├── shared_teams.json ├── templates/ │ ├── shared_outlook.json ├── reference/ │ └── ... └── examples/ ├── manifest.json └── generated/ <──writes── [Solution ZIPs]

Workflow

1. Check Available Connectors

Before generating, read the manifest to see what connectors are available:

cat ~/Projects/work/scripts/power-platform/manifest.json

If manifest.json doesn't exist or is stale, inform user to run the export script at work.

2. Parse User Request

Extract from natural language:

• Trigger: What starts the flow (email arrives, file created, scheduled, manual)

• Actions: What the flow does (send message, create item, update record)

• Conditions: Any branching logic (if/then, switch)

• Data flow: What data passes between steps

3. Generate Flow Definition

Create the flow JSON following Power Automate schema. Key structure:

{ "properties": { "definition": { "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/providers/Microsoft.Logic/schemas/2016-06-01/workflowdefinition.json#", "triggers": { ... }, "actions": { ... } }, "connectionReferences": { ... } } }

4. Package as Solution

Wrap in solution structure for import:

solution/ ├── [Content_Types].xml ├── customizations.xml ├── solution.xml └── Workflows/ └── {flow-guid}-{flow-name}.json

5. Output

Save to: ~/Projects/work/scripts/power-platform/generated/

Connection References

Flows use connection references that map to actual connections in the target environment. Use placeholder IDs that will be resolved on import:

"connectionReferences": { "shared_teams": { "connectionName": "shared_teams", "source": "Embedded", "id": "/providers/Microsoft.PowerApps/apis/shared_teams", "tier": "NotSpecified" } }

On import, Power Platform prompts user to map these to their actual connections.

Expression Syntax

Power Automate uses a specific expression language. Common patterns:

Dynamic Content References

@{triggerOutputs()?['body/subject']} # Email subject from trigger @{body('Get_item')?['Title']} # Field from previous action @{items('Apply_to_each')?['name']} # Current item in loop

Functions

@{utcNow()} # Current timestamp @{concat('Hello ', triggerBody()?['name'])} # String concatenation @{if(equals(1,1),'yes','no')} # Conditional @{length(body('Get_items')?['value'])} # Array length @{formatDateTime(utcNow(),'yyyy-MM-dd')} # Date formatting

Conditions

"expression": { "and": [ { "contains": ["@triggerOutputs()?['body/subject']", "urgent"] }, { "equals": ["@triggerOutputs()?['body/importance']", "high"] } ] }

See reference/expressions.md for full syntax guide.

Common Triggers

Trigger Connector Use Case

When_a_new_email_arrives

Office365 Email automation

When_a_file_is_created

SharePoint Document workflows

When_an_item_is_created

SharePoint List automation

When_a_row_is_added

Dataverse Database triggers

Recurrence

Schedule Scheduled jobs

manual

Manual Button-triggered

When_a_HTTP_request_is_received

HTTP Webhook/API trigger

Common Actions

Action Connector Use Case

Send_an_email

Office365 Email notifications

Post_message_in_a_chat_or_channel

Teams Team notifications

Create_item

SharePoint Add list items

Update_item

SharePoint Modify list items

Start_and_wait_for_an_approval

Approvals Approval workflows

Create_a_row

Dataverse Database writes

HTTP

HTTP External API calls

Templates

Pre-built patterns in templates/ :

• approval-flow.json

• Standard approval workflow

• notification-flow.json

• Event-triggered notifications

• scheduled-report.json

• Scheduled data collection

• form-processing.json

• Forms response handling

• file-sync.json

• Cross-system file operations

Generation Process

When asked to create a flow:

Read available schemas:

ls ~/Projects/work/scripts/power-platform/connectors/ cat ~/Projects/work/scripts/power-platform/manifest.json

Load relevant connector schemas for the requested functionality

Select appropriate template or build from scratch

Generate flow JSON with:

• Unique GUID for flow

• Proper trigger configuration

• Action sequence with correct operation IDs

• Connection references for all connectors used

• Expression syntax for dynamic content

Create solution package using tools/package-solution.sh

Save to generated folder and inform user

Limitations

• Cannot deploy directly - User must import at work

• Connection mapping required - User maps connections on import

• Premium connectors - Some require premium licenses

• Custom connectors - Not supported without schema export

• Schema freshness - Depends on export frequency at work

Files Reference

File Purpose

templates/*.json

Pre-built flow patterns

reference/expressions.md

Expression syntax guide

reference/triggers.md

Trigger configurations

reference/actions.md

Action configurations

examples/*.json

Working example flows

tools/package-solution.sh

Solution packager script