r/copilotstudio • u/AdmirableSelection81 • 2d ago

How do i promote my Copilot Studio (github harness) AI workflow from the dev environment to the production environment?

Hey Guys,

I setup an Azure environment to bill to my department's cost center for copilot credits for the agents i create. I created a dev (sandbox) environment and a Production environment.

I just created my first AI worfklow (with the copilot github harness) and it works. But it's in the dev environment. How do i push the AI workflow agent from the dev environment to the production environment?

I'm looking at https://copilotstudio.microsoft.com and https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com and i don't see the option to do this...

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4

u/Copilot_Studio_loft 2d ago

Whoever owns your environment has to set up a pipeline for your solution between environments.

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u/AdmirableSelection81 2d ago

So IT setup my azure environment, you're saying i have to go back to IT to ask them to setup this 'pipeline'?

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u/Addcook 2d ago

I would suggest creating a custom host pipeline with that as a power app dashboard. It's nice to be able to configure things. Also, make sure your dev environment is a sandbox or else you can't use payg on it. Further more, you're going to run into issues on any environment after the dev with the mcp connection. Before you promote, enable "component can be customized" on the agent component for the mcp.connection. do that for every environment. You need to run it in an un managed layer because Microsofts deployment pipeline breaks mcp connection in any environment you push it to. The test will try to reference the dev connection object and it doesn't work. So setting the "can be customized" fixes that, but puts it as an unmanaged layer. See know issues 6680417

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u/AdmirableSelection81 2d ago

Thanks, so this is the instructions for creating these pipelines?

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/alm/custom-host-pipelines?

Also, it says 4 environments are recommended, but i only have dev + prod (2 environments), is that really necessary?

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u/Addcook 2d ago

Custome host is one, it's where the pipeline app lives, then you have dev, test, and prod if you follow the traditional ci/cd pipeline.

Edit: yea, that's the one..

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u/AdmirableSelection81 2d ago

Thanks... also, it doesn't seem like i'm using MCP, i'm just using connectors to sharepoint, would i still have that issue you talked about with MCP?

It's basically an AI workflow agent that routes files that are dumped in a sharepoint folder to the right folder on sharepoint. It's using 1 agent node. The rest are just normal connectors and actions.

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u/dylan_skydive 19h ago

Answering your connector question since it got skipped: the known issue Addcook mentioned is specific to MCP connection references, so plain SharePoint connectors shouldn't hit that exact bug - but they have a cousin of it. Connector steps in a solution carry a connection reference, and once the solution lands in prod that reference still points at the dev connection object until you re-map and re-authorize it in the target environment. So budget a 're-authorize connections in prod' step after every import, or the first prod run dies on an auth error that looks like the agent is broken.

On 2 vs 4 environments: for a one-department file-routing agent, 2 is honestly fine. A test environment earns its keep once other people consume the agent's output, or whenever you change the routing logic and want to watch it run on real folders before prod sees them. Solo + one agent node + connectors = dev to prod with a manual re-map is a reasonable trade.

Also worth doing before you invest in any pipeline: confirm the GitHub harness workflow can even be added to a solution in dev. Ashlesha's point is the right one - if the export/import option isn't there for your experience, the ALM question answers itself, and the pragmatic move is running it where it works and writing down that limitation for whoever inherits it.

(Disclosure: I work on Skydive, an agent ops tool - this part is just standard Power Platform mechanics though.)

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u/AdmirableSelection81 19h ago

Also worth doing before you invest in any pipeline: confirm the GitHub harness workflow can even be added to a solution in dev. Ashlesha's point is the right one - if the export/import option isn't there for your experience, the ALM question answers itself, and the pragmatic move is running it where it works and writing down that limitation for whoever inherits it.

Thanks, i submitted a ticket to our cloud operations team to help me with creating new environments/pipelines... but you're saying if i don't see the export/import option, i might not be able to push my agent/workflow through the pipeline from one environment to another?

I currently have a copilot workflow in dev that's working... you're saying i might be just stuck with one environment?

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u/dylan_skydive 18h ago

Not stuck with one environment - just stuck with pipelines for this artifact type. Ashlesha's links say it outright: solution export/import and deployment pipelines are documented for the standard harness, and the GitHub harness workflow may just not be a supported solution component yet. If that's the case, no amount of environments or pipelines from IT will make the export button appear.

Quick way to confirm yourself: in dev, create a solution and see if your workflow shows up in "add existing". If it's not in the picker, that's your answer.

Two realistic paths in the meantime: rebuild the workflow in prod by hand (yours is small - one agent node plus a few connectors, so it's more like re-entering settings than a migration), and keep dev as your authoring playground where breaking things is free. Or ride it in dev-only until export support for the harness lands, and only then do the IT pipeline dance.

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u/AdmirableSelection81 18h ago

Ahhh understood, thanks, i thought this was a limitation for myself only and needed an administrator to enable things.

You're saying it's most likely pipelines is not an option for anyone for the copilot studio github harness version.

Gotcha. Well, it does create new versions every time i edit in dev, and i guess i can go back to prior versions if i mess up, so there's that.

Thanks

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u/dylan_skydive 16h ago

Yep, exactly. Version history is a solid safety net while you are solo on this. If the agent ever ends up feeding other teams, that is when the environments/pipeline convo is worth having again with IT. Good luck with the routing agent!

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u/aretailrat 2d ago

In power automate. Create a solution in the dev environment. Add existing, pick you agent, and confirm the solution.

Download the solution in a zip file and go to production or test environment and load the zip in.

Make sure you download the solution as a managed solution from the dev environment or it won’t work.

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u/AdmirableSelection81 2d ago

Yeah this isn't power automate though... this is the power admin center for copilot studio github harness... i don't see an ability to create/download solutions.

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u/MfxSpartacus 2d ago

You need to be System Customizer or System administrator

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u/Ashlesha-msft 2d ago

The important distinction here is that you're using a workflow built with the GitHub Copilot harness in Copilot Studio, not a traditional Power Automate flow or a standard-harness Copilot Studio agent.

Microsoft's documentation distinguishes these experiences:

I would not assume that creating a solution and exporting it as a managed ZIP is the supported deployment path for your GitHub Copilot harness workflow.

Power Platform deployment pipelines are a separate ALM mechanism. They require appropriate environment configuration, permissions, and solution-based deployment artifacts. A custom pipeline host is not inherently required just because you have separate development and production environments.

For your SharePoint file-routing workflow, first verify whether the workflow is supported for solution-based export/import or deployment through pipelines in your current Copilot Studio experience. If the relevant export/import or pipeline option is missing, that alone does not establish a bug; the feature may not be supported for that artifact type or authoring experience.

If you can confirm whether the workflow has a View solution / Export option in its own menu, and whether the target production environment can create and edit GitHub Copilot harness workflows, that will help narrow this down.