Getting Started

Getting Started

XrmGhost runs your Dynamics plugins and tests on your machine. This page takes you from nothing installed to a first local run.

It’s three steps: install the CLI, set up the runtime host, run.

Prerequisites

XrmGhost has two runtime dependencies. Both must be present before you start.

Requirement	Why
.NET 9 runtime	Runs the xg CLI itself.
.NET Framework 4.7.2	Runs the host that executes your plugins, matching the Dataverse server-side runtime.

Check what you have:

dotnet --list-runtimes

You want a Microsoft.NETCore.App 9.x line for the CLI, and .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or later) available on the machine for the host. On Windows 10/11 the 4.7.2 framework is almost always already there; on a clean build agent it may not be.

1. Install the CLI

XrmGhost ships as a .NET global tool:

dotnet tool install -g XrmGhost.Cli

Confirm it’s on your PATH:

xg --help

If xg isn’t found right after install, open a new shell — the dotnet tool PATH entry is picked up on shell start.

To update later:

dotnet tool update -g XrmGhost.Cli

2. Set up the runtime host

The CLI is light. The component that actually executes your plugins is the host — a .NET Framework 4.7.2 process that mirrors the Dataverse server-side runtime. The CLI fetches and installs it for you; you just trigger it once:

xg setup host --update

This pulls the matching host version and registers it locally. Run the same command again whenever you update the CLI — it keeps the host in sync with it.

You only do this once per machine (and after upgrades). After that, every xg run uses the installed host directly.

3. Run

With CLI and host in place, you’re ready. From a project that contains your plugins:

xg --help

From here the command set covers running plugins locally, building and replaying test scenarios, and inspecting what happened. The CLI Reference is the full map.

Where to go next

• Overview — the product-level introduction to XrmGhost.
• How It Works — the public explanation of the local-first execution model.
• Editions — see how Standard and Pro differ and which one fits your needs.
• CLI Reference — every command, flag, and what it does.
• Attributes — how you mark up plugins and scenarios for XrmGhost to pick up.
• Architecture — how the CLI, host, and Dataverse runtime fit together.
• Community — report bugs, request features, and open discussions.
• Contributing — working on XrmGhost itself.