AL Development Collection
AI-Native toolkit for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central development
Overview
Transform your AL development with 37 Agent Primitives implementing the AI Native-Instructions Architecture. Get systematic AI assistance through auto-applied coding standards, intelligent workflows, and specialized AI agents.
✨ Key Highlights
- 📦 Easy Installation: Install from Command Palette in seconds
- 🤖 AI-Powered: 37 specialized primitives guide GitHub Copilot
- 🏭️ Multi-Agent System: TDD orchestration with quality gates
- 🔧 Complete Toolkit: Agents, instructions, and workflows included
- 📚 Zero Config: Works immediately after installation
🏗️ Framework Architecture
This extension implements the AI Native-Instructions Architecture with three systematic layers:
Layer 1: Markdown Prompt Engineering
Structured instructions using semantic markdown (headers, lists, links) that guide AI reasoning for predictable, repeatable results.
- Instructions (9) - Auto-applied coding standards via
applyTo patterns
- Workflows (18) - Complete task execution processes
- Agents (6) - Role-based specialists with MCP tool boundaries
- Orchestra (4) - Multi-agent TDD coordination
Layer 3: Context Engineering
Strategic LLM context window management through modular loading, selective activation, and AGENTS.md compilation readiness.
Perfect for: AL developers using GitHub Copilot for Business Central extensions, ISV solutions, and enterprise projects.
How It Works
Access all toolkit features directly from VS Code's Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P). Simply search for "AL Collection" to find all available commands including installation, updates, validation, and documentation.
The installation process copies all necessary files (agents, instructions, prompts) to your workspace .github directory, making them immediately available to GitHub Copilot.
Features
🚀 Installation Features
| Feature |
Description |
| Command Palette |
Install toolkit directly from VS Code Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) |
| Quick Setup |
Complete toolkit installation in seconds to .github/ directory |
| Smart Updates |
Merge mode preserves your customizations while adding new features |
| Validation |
Comprehensive checks ensure complete and correct installation |
🔧 Instructions (9 primitives)
Auto-applied coding standards that guide Copilot suggestions:
- Code style and formatting
- Naming conventions
- Performance optimization patterns
- Error handling strategies
- Event-driven development
- Testing guidelines
🎯 Agentic Workflows (18 primitives)
Complete task execution processes invoked with @workspace use:
- al-initialize - Project & environment setup
- al-diagnose - Debugging & troubleshooting
- al-build - Build, package & deploy
- al-events - Event subscriber implementation
- al-performance - CPU profiling & optimization
- al-permissions - Permission set generation
- al-copilot-generate - AI-powered code generation
- ...and 11 more specialized workflows
💬 Agents (6 primitives)
Role-based AI specialists with MCP tool boundaries:
- al-architect 🏗️ - Solution architecture design
- al-developer 💻 - Tactical implementation
- al-debugger 🐛 - Deep diagnosis & troubleshooting
- al-tester ✅ - Testing strategy & TDD
- al-api 🌐 - RESTful API development
- al-copilot 🤖 - AI feature development
🎭 Orchestra System (4 primitives)
Multi-agent TDD orchestration for medium/high complexity:
- al-conductor - Main orchestration agent
- al-planning-subagent - Research specialist
- al-implement-subagent - TDD-focused implementation
- al-review-subagent - Code quality validation
📋 Requirements
- Visual Studio Code: 1.85.0 or higher
- Node.js & npm: For toolkit installation (v14.0.0+)
- GitHub Copilot: Recommended for full AI assistance features
- AL Language Extension: For Business Central development
🚀 Installation
Option 1: VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)
- Open VS Code Extensions (
Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
- Search for "AL Development Collection"
- Click Install
- Open an AL project → Get auto-installation prompt
Option 2: Install VSIX File
- Download
.vsix from GitHub Releases
- In VS Code:
Ctrl+Shift+P → "Extensions: Install from VSIX..."
- Select downloaded file
- Reload VS Code
Option 3: CLI Installation
Use npm package directly without VS Code extension:
# Install CLI globally
npm install -g al-development-collection
# Or use directly with npx
npx al-development-collection install
💡 Quick Start
1️⃣ Install the Extension
Open VS Code Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X) → Search "AL Development Collection" → Click Install
On first activation, you'll see a welcome message:
- Click "Install Now" for immediate setup
- Or use Command Palette:
Ctrl+Shift+P → Type "AL Collection: Install Toolkit to Workspace"
Toolkit installs to your workspace .github/ directory in seconds.
3️⃣ Start Using AI-Powered Development
Option A: Design with al-architect, Build with al-conductor
Use al-architect mode
"Design a customer loyalty points system"
# Then implement with TDD
Use al-conductor mode
"Implement the loyalty system designed by al-architect"
Option B: Simple Coding (Auto-Applied Guidelines)
// Just start coding - instructions apply automatically
table 50100 "Customer Loyalty" {
// Copilot suggests proper structure, naming, data classification
}
Option C: Use Specific Workflows
@workspace use al-initialize # Setup new project
@workspace use al-build # Build & deploy
@workspace use al-events # Event implementation
@workspace use al-permissions # Generate permissions
4️⃣ Learn the System
Read .github/copilot-instructions.md in your workspace for:
- Complete list of 37 Agent Primitives
- Workflow examples
- Agent capabilities
- Best practices
🎯 Usage Examples
Auto-Applied Instructions (No Action Needed)
While coding *.al files, instructions activate automatically:
// You type this...
table 50100 MyTable {
field(1; Name; Text[100]) { }
}
// Copilot suggests (following al-code-style.instructions.md):
table 50100 "My Table"
{
DataClassification = CustomerContent;
Caption = 'My Table';
fields
{
field(1; Name; Text[100])
{
Caption = 'Name';
DataClassification = CustomerContent;
}
}
keys
{
key(PK; Name)
{
Clustered = true;
}
}
}
// ✅ Proper formatting, naming, data classification - all automatic!
Agentic Workflows (Explicit Invocation)
Use workflows for specific tasks:
# Initialize new project
@workspace use al-initialize
# Debug runtime issue
@workspace use al-diagnose
# Build and deploy
@workspace use al-build
# Generate permissions
@workspace use al-permissions
# Profile performance
@workspace use al-performance
# Create specification
@workspace use al-spec.create
Strategic Agents (Mode Switching)
Switch to specialized agents for consulting:
# Design architecture
Use al-architect mode
"Design a multi-tenant SaaS extension"
# Implement feature
Use al-developer mode
"Create sales order validation logic"
# Debug complex issue
Use al-debugger mode
"Report performance degrades with 10k+ records"
# API development
Use al-api mode
"Expose customer data via REST API"
# AI features
Use al-copilot mode
"Add Copilot-powered document summarization"
Complete Feature Development Example
Scenario: Build customer loyalty points system
Phase 1: Architecture Design (al-architect - 20 min)
User: "Design a customer loyalty points system with purchase tracking"
Agent: Analyzes requirements → 🟡 MEDIUM complexity
✅ Event-driven design (no base object modifications)
✅ Data model: 2 tables + 3 extensions
✅ Integration: Sales Order posting event
✅ UI: Customer card extension + list page
Phase 2: TDD Implementation (al-conductor - 90 min)
✅ al-planning-subagent: Researches BC objects, events
✅ Conductor creates 6-phase plan
✅ al-implement-subagent: Executes RED → GREEN → REFACTOR
Phase 1: Loyalty Points table
Phase 2: Customer extension
Phase 3: Sales integration (event subscriber)
Phase 4: Points calculation codeunit
Phase 5: UI pages
Phase 6: Test coverage
✅ al-review-subagent: Validates code quality
Phase 3: Documentation & Deployment
✅ Auto-generated docs in .github/plans/
✅ @workspace use al-permissions → Security
✅ @workspace use al-build → Deploy
✅ Result: 10 AL objects, 63 tests, production-ready
Total Time: ~2 hours (vs 2 days manual)
⚙️ Configuration
Configure via VS Code Settings (Ctrl+, → Search "AL Collection"):
al-collection.autoInstall
- Type:
boolean
- Default:
false
- Description: Automatically install toolkit when AL project detected (no notification)
{
"al-collection.autoInstall": true
}
al-collection.installPath
- Type:
string
- Default:
".github"
- Description: Installation directory relative to workspace root
{
"al-collection.installPath": ".github"
}
📂 What Gets Installed
The toolkit installs to your workspace .github/ directory (~500 KB):
- agents/ - 6 role-based AI specialists
- instructions/ - 9 auto-applied coding standards
- prompts/ - 18 workflow automation tasks
- references/ - Framework documentation
- copilot-instructions.md - Master guide (read this first!)
Via Extension (Recommended)
- Open Command Palette:
Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P
- Run:
AL Collection: Update Toolkit
- Merge Mode: Preserves your customizations, adds new files only
Via CLI
npx al-development-collection update
What Happens During Update:
- ✅ New files added automatically
- ✅ Existing files preserved (no overwrite)
- ✅ Manual merge prompts for conflicts
- ✅ Backup created before update
✅ Validating Installation
Via Extension
- Open Command Palette:
Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P
- Run:
AL Collection: Validate Installation
- Review output panel for validation report
Via CLI
npx al-development-collection validate
Validation Checks:
- ✅ All 37 primitives present
- ✅ Required directory structure
- ✅ File integrity (correct content patterns)
- ✅ Framework compliance (AGENTS.md ready)
- ✅ Detailed report with success/warning/error counts
📚 Resources
Author
Official Links
Framework & Standards
Microsoft Documentation
🔧 Troubleshooting
Extension Commands Not Appearing
Problem: Commands don't show in Command Palette
Solutions:
- Reload VS Code window:
Ctrl+Shift+P → "Developer: Reload Window"
- Check extension is enabled: Extensions panel → Search "AL Development Collection"
- Verify extension is activated: Check status bar or extension panel
- Check activation logs: Extensions panel → AL Development Collection → "Extension Host" logs
Installation Fails with npm Error
Problem: "npm command not found" or "ENOENT"
Solutions:
- Install Node.js: https://nodejs.org/ (includes npm)
- Restart VS Code after Node.js installation
- Verify installation: Open terminal →
node --version and npm --version
- Windows: Add npm to PATH environment variable
Installation Path Issues
Problem: Toolkit installs in wrong directory
Solutions:
- Check setting:
al-collection.installPath (default: .github)
- Verify workspace root: Extension uses
vscode.workspace.workspaceFolders[0]
- Multi-root workspace: Extension prompts for folder selection
- Manual override: Use CLI with explicit path:
npx al-development-collection install /path/to/workspace
Copilot Not Following Guidelines
Problem: Suggestions don't follow instructions
Solutions:
- Verify installation: Run
AL Collection: Validate Installation
- Check file type: Instructions apply to
*.al files (via applyTo frontmatter)
- Reload window:
Ctrl+Shift+P → "Developer: Reload Window"
- Reference explicitly: In chat, say "Follow al-code-style patterns"
- Check GitHub Copilot: Ensure subscription is active
Update Doesn't Add New Files
Problem: After update, missing new primitives
Solutions:
- Check merge mode: Update preserves existing files by design
- Force reinstall: Delete
.github/ directory, run AL Collection: Install Toolkit
- Manual download: Get latest from GitHub repository
- Verify version: Check
al-development.md for version number
Validation Reports Errors
Problem: Validation shows missing/incorrect files
Solutions:
- Review detailed report in output panel
- Missing files: Run
AL Collection: Update Toolkit
- Corrupted files: Delete affected file, run update
- Custom modifications: Validation warnings are expected if you customized primitives
- Complete reinstall: Delete
.github/, run install command
📖 Documentation & Resources
Framework & Standards
Microsoft Business Central
Project Resources
📋 Release Notes
See CHANGELOG.md for complete version history.
2.9.0 - Initial VS Code Extension Release (2025-01-10)
New Features:
- ✨ Command Palette integration (4 commands)
- ✨ Manual installation via Command Palette
- ✨ Welcome message on first activation
- ✨ Smart update with merge mode (preserves customizations)
- ✨ Comprehensive validation with detailed reports
- ✨ Getting Started guide integration
- ✨ Configuration settings (installPath)
Improvements:
- 🔧 Hybrid architecture (thin extension wrapper + npm CLI core)
- 🔧 Zero code duplication (extension delegates to npm package)
- 🔧 Proper workspace root installation
- 🔧 MCP tool boundaries for agent security
Based on npm package v2.9.0:
- Auto-detection with recursive app.json search
- Interactive directory selection prompts
- Enhanced help system with color-coded output
- Validation framework with 47 compliance checks
Technical Details:
- Extension: ~300 lines of JavaScript
- Templates: Packaged within VSIX (agents, instructions, prompts)
- VSIX Size: ~268 KB (includes all templates)
- Activation: On startup with welcome message
📄 License
MIT License - See LICENSE file for details.
🤝 Support & Contributing
Get Help
Contribute
- ⭐ Star the repository if you find it useful
- 📝 Submit bug reports and feature requests
- 🔧 Contribute code via pull requests
- 📢 Share with AL developer community
Show Your Support
If this extension improves your AL development workflow:
- ⭐ Star the GitHub repository
- ✍️ Review on VS Code Marketplace
- 🐛 Report issues or suggest features
- 📢 Share with your team and community
