By now in our series, we’ve covered how to:
- Design fast-loading forms
- Structure productive, task-focused UIs
- Avoid blocking client-side scripts with async calls
- Debug with the
consoleAPI, safely and smartly
Now, it’s time to introduce your performance safety net: Power Apps Checker.
Whether you’re building model-driven apps, customizing ribbons, writing plug-ins, or adding JavaScript web resources, Power Apps Checker helps automate code quality and surface hidden issues before they reach production.
🛠️ What is Power Apps Checker?
Power Apps Checker is a static analysis tool that scans your solutions for:
- Performance issues
- Design anti-patterns
- Security risks
- Accessibility gaps
- Deprecated API usage
It works on both client-side artifacts (like JavaScript and form XML) and server-side code (like custom plugins).
You can run it in:
- Power Apps Maker Portal (manually)
- Visual Studio (with plug-in projects)
- CI/CD pipelines (via Power Platform Build Tools or GitHub Actions)
🎯 Why It Matters for Performance
Even experienced makers can accidentally:
- Fetch too many columns in a query
- Trigger synchronous calls
- Overuse ribbon refreshes or form reloads
- Forget to dispose of memory-heavy scripts
Power Apps Checker flags these issues early with actionable guidance, not just generic warnings.
🧪 Example Performance Rules
Here are some real rules that the checker surfaces:
| Rule ID | Description |
|---|---|
il-specify-column | Avoid select * query only required columns |
web-use-async | Don’t use synchronous web requests in JavaScript |
web-avoid-ui-refreshribbon | Avoid refreshRibbon() in form OnLoad or enable rules |
il-unnecessary-retrieve | Avoid fetching data that’s not used in logic |
These aren’t just theoretical—they translate directly into slower forms, laggy experiences, or scalability issues when ignored.
🧭 How to Run It
🔹 In Power Apps Maker Portal:
- Go to Solutions
- Select your solution → More Commands (⋯) → Run Checker
- Review the list of issues and their severity
- Follow guidance to fix, suppress, or validate
🔹 In Visual Studio (for plug-ins):
Use the Power Platform Tools extension, or export your assembly and run the checker via command line or build tool.
🔹 In CI/CD:
Use Power Platform CLI (pac solution checker) or set up pipelines using Azure DevOps or GitHub with the Power Platform Build Tools.
🚨 Interpreting Results: Don’t Just Ignore Warnings
Each flagged issue includes:
- Rule name + severity (Critical / Warning / Info)
- File and line reference (where possible)
- Suggested remediation
- Link to documentation for deeper context
Prioritize Critical issues that affect:
- Load times
- Data volume
- Unsupported behavior
- Deprecated APIs
Warnings and info-level rules can help you gradually raise code quality over time.
💡 Tips to Get the Most from Power Apps Checker
- 🔄 Run after every major change – don’t wait until just before release
- ✅ Fix or justify each flagged issue – don’t blindly suppress
- 🧰 Use
solution checkerresults to drive backlog tech debt tasks - 📦 Include checker in PR validation to block bad patterns early
- 🧩 Combine with
Solution PackagerandpacCLI for robust DevOps workflows
📝 Summary: Performance Starts in the Dev Environment
✅ Power Apps Checker ensures scalable, performant solutions
✅ It scans both low-code and pro-code artifacts
✅ It surfaces common performance traps before they affect end users
✅ It integrates into modern dev workflows for continuous quality
If you’re not already using Power Apps Checker you’re flying blind. Make it part of your build-test-deploy process and sleep better knowing your performance won’t collapse under load.
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