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

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

Both projects are public on GitHub:

💡 Prefer the full Visual Studio IDE? See the companion guide Setting Up the Integration Solution in Visual Studio. This article covers the same result using Visual Studio Code and the .NET CLI.

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.

💡 Tip: Every command in this guide runs from the terminal built into Visual Studio Code, so you never need to leave the editor.

Launch Visual Studio Code. On the Welcome page, under Start, click Open Folder… (or use File ▸ Open Folder…).

Navigate to the location where you keep your source code and select the folder for this integration. Create it first if it does not exist yet, and name it using the convention above, for example NetSuite.Data. Click Select Folder.

📝 Note: The folder you select here becomes the root of your solution. Every later command runs from inside it.

The folder now appears in the Explorer on the left. Open the built-in terminal by clicking Terminal ▸ New Terminal in the menu bar (shortcut Ctrl+Shift+`).

A terminal panel opens at the bottom of the window. Check that the prompt shows the path of the folder you selected in Step 2. If it shows a different path, close the terminal and repeat Step 3.

In the terminal, create a new empty solution named after your folder:

The Explorer should now show 3rdpartysystemName.Data.sln, and the terminal should report that the Solution File template was created successfully.

The two projects are downloaded from GitHub as ZIP archives and copied next to the solution file. This part is done in your browser and your operating system's file manager.

Open each repository page below, click the green Code button, and choose Download ZIP.

You will get two files, iPaaS.Integration.Template-main.zip and iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility-main.zip.

Extract both archives. The unzip creates an outer folder named after the ZIP; inside it is a second folder that also ends in -main. Navigate one level into each extracted archive and rename that inner folder so the suffix is removed:

⚠️ Why this matters: The folder names become the project paths in your solution and in the commands below. Leaving -main in place will work, but every path in this guide would then be wrong for you.

Copy the two renamed folders into the folder that contains 3rdpartysystemName.Data.sln (the folder from Step 2). The result should match the tree in Expected folder structure at the end of this guide.

Each downloaded project ships with its own solution file, which would conflict with the one you just created. Delete the following:

⚠️ Careful: Do not delete 3rdpartysystemName.Data.sln in the root folder. That is the solution you created in Step 5 and the one you will keep working in. Do not delete the .csproj files either; you add those to the solution next.

Back in the Visual Studio Code terminal (still pointing at the solution folder), register each project with the solution file.

The terminal responds with Project ...Integration.Template.csproj added to the solution.

💡 Finding a project's path: If you prefer a full path, right-click the .csproj file in the Explorer and choose Copy Path.

The Explorer should now show the solution file and both project folders side by side. You can also list the projects registered in the solution:

Before the first build, point the template at the integration you registered on the staging portal.

In the Explorer, open iPaaS.Integration.Template\Interface\MetaData.cs. Near the top of the file, inside the Identity class, you will find:

Replace "Integration" with the exact name you gave the integration when you set it up under the Integrator view configurator on the staging portal, then save the file. For example:

⚠️ Why this matters: A few lines further down, LoadMetaData() builds the integration file name ({AppName}.Data.dll), its namespace ({AppName}.Data.Interface), and its display name from this one value, so it must match the name the platform expects for your integration, including capitalization and spacing.

From the solution folder, build everything. The first build restores NuGet packages, so it can take a minute:

The terminal must end with Build succeeded and 0 Error(s). Warnings are acceptable. If there are errors, check that the .NET 8 SDK is installed and that both .csproj paths in Steps 11–12 were correct.

Whenever you want to debug your integration or upload it to Staging, start the utility with:

ℹ️ Before you start: The utility signs in to Staging when it launches, so appsettings.json in the iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility project must contain your Staging credentials (see Before you commit anything below).

If the utility loaded successfully you will see a prompt like:

Type /? or HELP and press Enter to list all available commands. For a detailed description of any single command, type its name followed by /?, for example:

🛠️ Troubleshooting: If the window closes immediately or shows a login error, check the credentials in appsettings.json and confirm that the integration exists on the Staging portal under the name you set in Step 14.

⚠️ Sensitive data: iPaaS.Integration.DevelopmentUtility\appsettings.json holds your staging environment credentials and must never be checked into version control. The project's .gitignore already excludes it. Keep it that way, and if you initialise a new repository at the solution root, confirm with git status that the file is not listed before your first commit. If credentials are accidentally committed, treat them as compromised and rotate them in the Staging portal immediately.

Before you begin development, confirm each of the following: