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Setting Up the Integration Solution in Visual Studio

How to create a single Visual Studio solution that combines the iPaaS.com Integration Template and the Development Utility, ready for integration development.

Every iPaaS.com integration is built from two publicly available projects that work together:

  • iPaaS.Integration.Template — the starting point for your integration. You rename this project after your third-party system and write your integration code inside it.

  • iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility — a console tool used to debug, test, and upload your integration to the iPaaS.com platform. It is added to the solution unchanged.

This guide walks you through creating a blank Visual Studio solution, adding both projects to it, and completing the initial configuration. At the end you will have a solution that builds and is ready for integration development.

Naming convention

The solution is always named after the third-party system you are integrating, followed by .Data. Throughout this guide the placeholder 3rdpartysystemName.Data stands for your real name — for example NetSuite.Data, Xero.Data, or BigCommerce.Data. Wherever you see 3rdpartysystemName.Data, substitute your own solution name.

Prerequisites

  • Visual Studio 2022 (any edition) with the .NET desktop development workload installed. Both projects target .NET 8, which is included with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8 or later.

  • A local copy of both repositories. On each GitHub page, click Code → Download ZIP and unzip the archives somewhere convenient (for example your Downloads folder):

  • Access to the iPaaS.com Staging portal with your integration already created in the Integrator view configurator. You will need the exact integration name in Step 16.

Note: When you unzip a GitHub download, the extracted folder is named after the branch — for example iPaaS.Integration.Template-main. You will rename these folders in Steps 8 and 9.

Part A — Create the blank solution

Step 1 — Open Visual Studio

Launch Visual Studio 2022. The start window opens with the Get started options on the right.

Step 2 — Select Create a new project

Click Create a new project in the Get started panel.

Step 3 — Choose the Blank Solution template

In the search box at the top, type Blank Solution. Select the Blank Solution template (described as “Create an empty solution containing no projects”) and click Next.

Step 4 — Name the solution and choose its location

Enter the solution name using the naming convention, for example NetSuite.Data. Choose a location on your machine where you keep your source code, then click Create.

Visual Studio creates a folder with the solution name inside the location you selected. This folder is referred to as the solution folder for the rest of this guide.

Step 5 — Confirm the empty solution

Visual Studio opens with your new solution. Solution Explorer shows Solution '3rdpartysystemName.Data' (0 projects). This is expected — the projects are added next.

Part B — Add the project folders

Step 6 — Open the solution folder in File Explorer

In Solution Explorer, right-click the solution node and choose Open Folder in File Explorer. Alternatively, browse to the location you selected in Step 4.

Step 7 — Copy both unzipped projects into the solution folder

The solution folder initially contains only a .vs folder and the 3rdpartysystemName.Data.sln file. Copy the two folders you unzipped earlier — the Integration Template and the Integration Development Utility — into this same folder, alongside the .sln file.

Step 8 — Check the folder names

After copying, remove any branch suffix (such as -main) from the folder names so that they match exactly:

  • iPaaS.Integration.Template

  • iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility

Step 9 — Rename the Template folder to match the solution name

Rename the iPaaS.Integration.Template folder to your solution name, for example NetSuite.Data. Leave the iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility folder as it is.

Step 10 — Remove the redundant solution and source-control files

Each downloaded project ships with its own solution file. Because both projects now live in your new solution, these extra files must be deleted to avoid confusion. Delete the following:

  • From the 3rdpartysystemName.Data folder (the renamed Template folder): Integration.Template.sln

  • From the iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility folder: IntegrationDevelopmentUtility.slnx and IntegrationDevelopmentUtility.csproj.vspscc

Do not delete the .csproj files — these are the project files you will add to the solution in the next part.

Expected result: Your solution folder now contains .vs, 3rdpartysystemName.Data.sln, the 3rdpartysystemName.Data folder, and the iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility folder, with a single .csproj file inside each project folder.

Part C — Add the projects to the solution

Step 11 — Add an existing project

Return to Visual Studio. In Solution Explorer, right-click the solution node, hover over Add, and select Existing Project…

Step 12 — Add the Template project

In the file dialog, open the 3rdpartysystemName.Data folder inside your solution folder, select Integration.Template.csproj, and click Open.

Step 13 — Add the Development Utility project

Repeat Step 11. This time open the iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility folder, select IntegrationDevelopmentUtility.csproj, and click Open.

Step 14 — Verify both projects and rename the Template project

Solution Explorer now shows Solution '3rdpartysystemName.Data' (2 of 2 projects) with Integration.Template and IntegrationDevelopmentUtility beneath it.

Right-click the Integration.Template project, choose Rename (or press F2), and rename it to match your solution name, for example NetSuite.Data. Visual Studio renames the .csproj file for you.

Part D — Initial configuration

Step 15 — Keep appsettings.json out of version control

The appsettings.json file in the IntegrationDevelopmentUtility project holds sensitive information, including your Staging environment credentials. It must never be committed to version control.

Before you create a Git repository for the solution, confirm that appsettings.json is ignored:

  • Open the .gitignore file in the iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility folder and confirm it contains a line reading appsettings.json. The downloaded project includes this entry; do not remove it.

  • If you add a .gitignore at the solution root, add appsettings.json to that file as well.

  • After your first commit, check that appsettings.json does not appear in the Git Changes window or in your remote repository.

⚠️ Warning: Never commit, share, or paste the contents of appsettings.json anywhere. If credentials are accidentally committed, treat them as compromised and rotate them in the Staging portal immediately.

Step 16 — Set the AppName to match your integration

Open Interface/MetaData.cs in your renamed Template project. Locate the Identity class and change the value of AppName from "Integration" to the exact name of your integration as you created it in the Integrator view configurator on the Staging portal.

For example, if the integration was created as NetSuite on the portal, the line becomes:

public static string AppName = "NetSuite";

Important: The value must match the portal name exactly, including capitalization and spacing. The platform uses this name to identify your integration.

Verification checklist

Before you begin development, confirm each of the following:

  • Solution Explorer shows Solution '3rdpartysystemName.Data' (2 of 2 projects).

  • The Template project has been renamed to your solution name; the Development Utility project keeps its original name.

  • The solution folder contains only one .sln file (yours), and no .slnx or .vspscc files.

  • appsettings.json is listed in .gitignore and does not appear in Git Changes.

  • Identity.AppName in Interface/MetaData.cs matches the integration name on the Staging portal.

  • Build → Build Solution completes without errors.

Expected folder structure

3rdpartysystemName.Data\
├── .vs\
├── 3rdpartysystemName.Data.sln
├── 3rdpartysystemName.Data\   (renamed Template folder)
│   ├── Interface\
│   ├── IPaaSApi\
│   ├── Models\
│   ├── Utilities\
│   ├── Constants.cs
│   └── 3rdpartysystemName.Data.csproj
└── iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility\
    ├── DocumentationGenerator\
    ├── iPaaSModels\
    ├── Utilities\
    ├── ValidationTester\
    ├── appsettings.json   (never committed)
    ├── Program.cs
    └── IntegrationDevelopmentUtility.csproj
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