Bulk delete is irreversible and bypasses the recycle bin. pac data bulk-delete schedule without --fetchxml deletes every record in the table. Refuse until the user explicitly says ALL (or ALL RECORDS) and names the entity logical name, e.g. "yes, delete ALL records in contact". A bare "yes" is rejected. Empty-filter FetchXML does not bypass this gate. See Bulk delete.
The settings allowlist is hard. Only the 37 toggles in Allowed settings may be read or updated. Refuse anything else with: "That setting is out of scope for dataverse-admin. Use the Power Platform admin center."
Disable the recycle bin with PATCH, never DELETE. PATCH statecode=1, statuscode=2, isreadyforrecyclebin=false. DELETE enqueues an async opt-out and orphans per-entity configs. See references/recycle-bin.md.
System tables. Unfiltered bulk delete on systemuser, businessunit, organization, or role breaks the environment. Warn explicitly before running.

Also:

Confirm before changing org settings that affect all users.
For multi-environment updates, list the target environments and get confirmation first.
For OrgDB settings, warn that incorrect values can break environment features.
When reducing the recycle bin cleanup interval, warn that recycled records are purged sooner.
On recycle bin enable/disable, always set isreadyforrecyclebin explicitly (true on enable, false on disable) and drain in-flight ProcessRecycleBin async jobs before any second toggle. Skipping this can cause EntityBinUpdateAction called for entity <x> which is not enabled for RecycleBin on unrelated platform operations.

When to use

Need	Use instead
Record CRUD or sample data	`dataverse-data`
Tables, columns, relationships	`dataverse-metadata`
Reading records	`dataverse-query`
Solution export/import	`dataverse-solution`
Security roles, self-elevate	`dataverse-security`
Tenant governance (DLP, environment lifecycle)	`pac admin --help`

Prerequisites

PAC CLI .NET Framework build (latest). pac data bulk-delete and pac data retention exist only in that build, not in the dotnet tool version. If pac help reports .NET 10 or .NET 8, run pac install latest && pac use latest.
Authenticated (pac auth create) with an active profile (pac auth list).
System Administrator privilege on the target environment.

Pick the mechanism

Mechanism	Covers	How
PAC CLI (`pac org list-settings` / `update-settings`)	Columns on the `organization` entity: audit, plugin trace, typeahead, quick find, canvas/flow solution defaults, email validation, audit retention	`--name <column> --value <value>`; accepts any org column
Python SDK: OrgDB XML	Keys in the `orgdborgsettings` XML blob: MCP, search, Fabric, Work IQ, TDS endpoint, attachment security, ownership, address records, unmanaged lockdown, user delete, Excel AI mapping	Read XML, parse, modify, write the whole blob back to `organization`
Python SDK: `recyclebinconfigs`	Recycle bin on/off and cleanup days	CREATE or PATCH the org-level config record
Python SDK: `settingdefinition` + `organizationsettings`	App-level and plan-level security role toggles	Look up the definition by `uniquename`, CREATE or PATCH the override row

Do not write Python for anything PAC CLI handles, and do not mix mechanisms (for example, hand-PATCHing an org column that PAC CLI covers).

Allowed settings (hard allowlist)

37 toggles, 35 backend keys: 15 toggles on 14 organization columns, 18 toggles on 17 OrgDB keys, 2 recycle bin toggles, and 2 settings-definition toggles. auditretentionperiodv2 and SearchAndCopilotIndexMode each back two UI toggles.

Out of scope and refused, for example: sessiontimeoutinmins, isautosaveenabled, IsShadowLakeEnabled, IsArchivalEnabled. Never run pac org list-settings without --filter, and never dump the whole orgdborgsettings XML to look for a non-allowlisted setting.

Organization columns: PAC CLI (14 columns, 15 toggles)

#	Admin center label	Column	Type
1	Start Auditing	`isauditenabled`	bool
2	Audit user access (Log access)	`isuseraccessauditenabled`	bool
3	Start Read Auditing (Read logs to Purview)	`isreadauditenabled`	bool
4	Plugin trace log setting	`plugintracelogsetting`	int: `0` Off, `1` Exception, `2` All
5	Single table search option	`tablescopeddvsearchinapps`	bool
6	Prevent slow keyword filter for quick find terms	`allowleadingwildcardsinquickfind`	int: `0` prevent, `1` allow (UI "prevent = On" maps to `0`)
7	Quick Find record limits	`quickfindrecordlimitenabled`	bool
8	Use quick find view for searching on grids/subgrids	`usequickfindviewforgridsearch`	bool
9	Canvas apps in Dataverse solutions by default	`enablecanvasappsinsolutionsbydefault`	bool
10	Cloud flows in Dataverse solutions by default	`enableflowsinsolutionbydefault`	bool (`solution` is singular)
11	Enable email address validation (preview)	`isemailaddressvalidationenabled`	bool
12	Minimum number of characters to trigger typeahead	`lookupcharactercountbeforeresolve`	int (0 to MAX_INT; null = feature off)
13	Delay between character inputs that trigger a search	`lookupresolvedelayms`	int ms (default 250)
14	Audit log retention policy / Custom retention period (days)	`auditretentionperiodv2`	int days (`-1` = forever; presets 30/90/180/365/730/2555; max 365000)

OrgDB XML keys: Python SDK (17 keys, 18 toggles)

Keys are PascalCase and case-sensitive (IsMCPEnabled, not IsMcpEnabled): IsMCPEnabled, IsMCPPreviewEnabled, SearchAndCopilotIndexMode, IsLinkToFabricEnabled, IsFabricVirtualTableEnabled, ShowDataInM365Copilot, EnableWorkIQ, IsLockdownOfUnmanagedCustomizationEnabled, EnableSecurityOnAttachment, EnableTDSEndpoint, AllowAccessToTDSEndpoint, EnableOwnershipAcrossBusinessUnits, CreateOnlyNonEmptyAddressRecordsForEligibleEntities, EnableDeleteAddressRecords, BlockDeleteManagedAttributeMap, EnableSystemUserDelete, IsExcelToExistingTableWithAssistedMappingEnabled. Labels, types, and code: references/orgdb-settings.md.

SearchAndCopilotIndexMode is one int that encodes two UI toggles:

Value	Dataverse search	M365 Copilot search
`0`	Off	On
`1`	On	On
`2`	Off	Off
`3`	On	Off

Recycle bin: Python SDK (2 toggles, org level only)

On/off (statecode + statuscode + isreadyforrecyclebin) and cleanup days (cleanupintervalindays) on the org-level recyclebinconfigs row. Per-table toggles are out of scope; refuse requests like "enable recycle bin for contact only". See references/recycle-bin.md.

Settings-definition overrides: Python SDK (2 toggles)

PowerAppsAppLevelSecurityRolesEnabled (canvas apps) and PlanShareSecurityRolesEnabled (plan designer), both bool stored as string. See references/settings-overrides.md.

Preview before running

Destructive or stateful (bulk delete schedule/cancel/pause/resume, settings updates, recycle bin toggle, retention set): describe in prose what changes, the new value, and the target environment(s). Use placeholders like <ENV_URL> for unknowns and ask for missing values in the same turn. Skip the raw CLI block.
Read-only (list-settings, show job, OrgDB or recycle bin status): a one-sentence preview is enough.

The user must be able to evaluate the action from your first response. A bare "which environment?" fails; a one-line preview passes.

Situation	Bad	Good
Pause a bulk delete job (ID given)	"The command requires approval. Please confirm to pause the job."	"I'll pause bulk delete job `<job-id>` on the active environment. Confirm to proceed."
Audit status across N environments	Sequential `pac org fetch` per environment, or starting with Python	"I'll run `pac org list-settings --filter audit` in parallel across all N environments."

Org settings (PAC CLI)

Org columns always go through pac org list-settings / pac org update-settings. Never use raw Web API, FetchXML, PowerShell, Python, or pac org fetch for them.

# Single setting
pac org list-settings --filter isauditenabled --environment <url>

# Category read: every match in one call
pac org list-settings --filter audit --environment <url>

# Update
pac org update-settings --name isauditenabled --value true --environment <url>
pac org update-settings --name plugintracelogsetting --value 2 --environment <url>

--name and --value are required. Use true/false for bool and integers for option sets. If list-settings fails for a setting, it is not an org column: route it through the mechanism table instead.

Multi-environment: always parallel

Run every multi-environment operation (list-settings, update-settings, bulk-delete, ...) as backgrounded calls with a single wait in one shell call. Never run them sequentially or in a for loop.

pac org list-settings --filter audit --environment https://contoso-dev.crm.dynamics.com &
pac org list-settings --filter audit --environment https://contoso-test.crm.dynamics.com &
pac org list-settings --filter audit --environment https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com &
wait

Batch rollout: pac admin list, filter targets, confirm with the user, run all update-settings calls in parallel, then render a summary table.

Bulk delete

pac data bulk-delete schedule --entity activitypointer \
    --fetchxml "<fetch><entity name='activitypointer'><filter><condition attribute='createdon' operator='lt' value='2024-01-01'/></filter></entity></fetch>"

pac data bulk-delete schedule --entity email \
    --fetchxml "<fetch><entity name='email'><filter><condition attribute='createdon' operator='lt' value='2024-06-01'/></filter></entity></fetch>" \
    --job-name "Cleanup old emails" --recurrence "FREQ=DAILY;INTERVAL=1"

Argument	Alias	Required	Description
`--entity`	`-e`	Yes	Table logical name
`--fetchxml`	`-fx`	No	FetchXML filter. If omitted, ALL records are deleted (see gate below)
`--job-name`	`-jn`	No	Descriptive job name
`--start-time`	`-st`	No	ISO 8601 start time; defaults to now
`--recurrence`	`-r`	No	RFC 5545 pattern, e.g. `FREQ=DAILY;INTERVAL=1`
`--environment`	`-env`	No	Target environment URL

Hard stop: no `--fetchxml` means ALL records

Refuse until the user explicitly acknowledges with the word ALL (or ALL RECORDS) and the entity logical name, e.g. "yes, delete ALL records in contact". A bare "yes" is rejected.
Disambiguate vague requests ("clean up old emails"): propose a FetchXML filter with date, statecode, or owner conditions before showing any command.
Empty-filter FetchXML does not bypass the gate. <filter/> or <filter><condition><value/></condition></filter> still targets every record.
Scope: applies to bulk-delete schedule only. list, show, pause, resume, and cancel do not need it.

For systemuser, businessunit, organization, or role, also warn that an unfiltered delete breaks the environment.

Manage jobs

pac data bulk-delete list --environment https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com
pac data bulk-delete show --id <job-id>
pac data bulk-delete pause --id <job-id>
pac data bulk-delete resume --id <job-id>
pac data bulk-delete cancel --id <job-id>

Retention and archival

Retention moves old records to long-term storage instead of deleting them.

Scenario	Use
Data no longer needed; delete permanently	Bulk delete
Data must be preserved for compliance	Retention (archive)

Flow: enable the table, list policies, set criteria, check the result.

pac data retention enable-entity --entity activitypointer --environment https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com
pac data retention list --environment https://contoso.crm.dynamics.com
pac data retention set --entity activitypointer \
    --criteria "<fetch><entity name='activitypointer'><filter><condition attribute='createdon' operator='lt' value='2023-01-01'/></filter></entity></fetch>"
pac data retention show --id <config-id>
pac data retention status --id <operation-id>

Argument	Alias	Required	Description
`--entity`	`-e`	Yes	Table logical name
`--criteria`	`-c`	Yes	FetchXML selecting records to archive
`--start-time`	`-st`	No	ISO 8601 start time; defaults to now
`--recurrence`	`-r`	No	RFC 5545 recurrence pattern
`--environment`	`-env`	No	Target environment URL

Flags that do not exist

Command	Wrong	Correct
Bulk delete	`--filter`, `--query`, `--where`, `--condition`	`--fetchxml`
Bulk delete	`--date`, `--before`, `--older-than`	Date `<condition>` inside FetchXML
Bulk delete	`--job-id`	`--id`
Bulk delete	`--all`, `--purge`, `--truncate`	Omit `--fetchxml` (behind the ALL gate)
Retention	`--fetchxml`, `--filter`, `--query`, `--policy`	`--criteria` (same FetchXML format)
Retention	`--enable`, `--activate`	`pac data retention enable-entity`
Retention	`--table`	`--entity`
Retention	`--operation-id`, `--job-id`, `--guid`	`--id`
Org settings	`--enable-audit`, `--audit`	`--name isauditenabled --value true`
Org settings	`--trace`, `--plugin-trace`, `--logging`	`--name plugintracelogsetting --value 2`
Org settings	`--setting`, `--key`, `--flag`	`--name`
Org settings	`"all"`, `"enabled"` for option sets	Integers: `0`, `1`, `2`

Advanced settings (Python SDK)

PAC CLI cannot read or write these. Use the Python client set up by dataverse-connect:

import os, sys
sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.getcwd(), "scripts"))
from auth import get_client

client = get_client()

OrgDB settings. PascalCase elements inside the orgdborgsettings column of organization. Read the column, parse with xml.etree.ElementTree, update or SubElement, and write the whole serialized blob back with client.records.update("organization", org_id, {...}). Code: references/orgdb-settings.md.

Recycle bin. Lives in recyclebinconfigs, not orgdborgsettings. Filter by _extensionofrecordid_value eq e1bd1119-6e9d-45a4-bc15-12051e65a0bd (the organization entity's MetadataId, identical in every environment).

Enable: PATCH statecode=0, statuscode=1, isreadyforrecyclebin=true, or CREATE a config. isreadyforrecyclebin: true forces the synchronous opt-in path.
Disable: PATCH statecode=1, statuscode=2, isreadyforrecyclebin=false. Never DELETE.
Drain in-flight ProcessRecycleBin jobs (operationtype eq 50 and statecode ne 3) before and after each toggle.

Full lifecycle and the cache-vs-database race: references/recycle-bin.md.

Settings-definition overrides. Look up settingdefinitionid by uniquename, then CREATE or PATCH an organizationsetting row with a string value ("true"/"false"). Deleting the override reverts to the default. Code: references/settings-overrides.md.

References

Reference	When to load
references/orgdb-settings.md	Reading or changing any of the 17 allowlisted OrgDB keys
references/recycle-bin.md	Checking, enabling, or disabling the recycle bin, or changing cleanup days
references/settings-overrides.md	App-level or plan-level security role toggles

dataverse-admin

Dataverse Admin

Safety rules