How to See What's Inside a Power Platform Solution Zip File

An exported solution is an ordinary zip file. Listing what's inside shows what you're about to share: its version, whether it's managed, and anything that shouldn't travel with it, such as your environment variables' values. This guide does it in a terminal on macOS, Linux and Windows.

What a Solution Zip Holds

These are the files you'll meet in a solution that has a canvas app, environment variables or a cloud flow:

File or folder	What it is
solution.xml	The solution's description: its unique name, version, publisher, and Managed (1 for managed, 0 for unmanaged)
customizations.xml	The components' settings, such as connection references and the app's data sources
CanvasApps/…msapp	The canvas app itself
Workflows/…json	One JSON file per cloud flow (Export a solution)
environmentvariabledefinitions/<name>/environmentvariabledefinition.xml	An environment variable: its name, description, type and, if it has one, its default value
environmentvariabledefinitions/<name>/environmentvariablevalues.json	That variable's current value in the environment you exported from, when it's included
[Content_Types].xml	The zip format's list of file types

Microsoft's environment variables article confirms the last two: values are separated into separate JSON files within the exported solution.zip file (Environment variables overview).

Prerequisites

• An exported solution zip. How to Export a Solution in Power Apps makes one. The examples use the Career Development Plan series' exports, in a folder called exported.
• A terminal. macOS and most Linux systems include unzip. On Windows, use PowerShell, which reads zips with .NET.

Step 1: List the Files

macOS / Linux

Terminal

unzip -l exported/CareerDevelopmentPlan_1_0_0_0_managed.zip

Windows (PowerShell)

PowerShell

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem
$zip = [System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::OpenRead((Resolve-Path exported/CareerDevelopmentPlan_1_0_0_0_managed.zip))
$zip.Entries.FullName
$zip.Dispose()

unzip -l lists each file with its size; the PowerShell lines list the names. Add-Type loads the zip classes, which Windows PowerShell 5.1 needs and PowerShell 7 already has. Dispose() closes the file again.

Output

Archive:  exported/CareerDevelopmentPlan_1_0_0_0_managed.zip
  Length      Date    Time    Name
---------  ---------- -----   ----
     4891  10-29-2026 05:31   customizations.xml
     4488  10-29-2026 05:31   solution.xml
    14684  10-29-2026 05:31   CanvasApps/dewiride_careerdevelopmentplan_c64b8_BackgroundImageUri
   131656  10-29-2026 05:31   CanvasApps/dewiride_careerdevelopmentplan_c64b8_DocumentUri.msapp
     7288  10-29-2026 05:31   CanvasApps/dewiride_careerdevelopmentplan_c64b8_AdditionalUris0_identity.json
      170  10-29-2026 05:31   environmentvariabledefinitions/dewiride_RoleCompetenciesList/environmentvariablevalues.json
      870  10-29-2026 05:31   environmentvariabledefinitions/dewiride_RoleCompetenciesList/environmentvariabledefinition.xml
      197  10-29-2026 05:31   environmentvariabledefinitions/dewiride_CareerDevelopmentPlanSite/environmentvariablevalues.json
      785  10-29-2026 05:31   environmentvariabledefinitions/dewiride_CareerDevelopmentPlanSite/environmentvariabledefinition.xml
      170  10-29-2026 05:31   environmentvariabledefinitions/dewiride_CompetencyResponsesList/environmentvariablevalues.json
      891  10-29-2026 05:31   environmentvariabledefinitions/dewiride_CompetencyResponsesList/environmentvariabledefinition.xml
      456  10-29-2026 05:31   [Content_Types].xml
---------                     -------
   166546                     12 files

This solution has one canvas app and three environment variables, each with its value. A solution with a cloud flow looks like this instead (the GUID in the file name is masked):

Output

$ unzip -l exported/CareerDevelopmentPlanSetup_1_0_0_0_managed.zip
Archive:  exported/CareerDevelopmentPlanSetup_1_0_0_0_managed.zip
  Length      Date    Time    Name
---------  ---------- -----   ----
     2445  10-29-2026 05:35   customizations.xml
     4463  10-29-2026 05:35   solution.xml
    22976  10-29-2026 05:35   Workflows/CreateCareerDevelopmentPlanLists-00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000.json
      258  10-29-2026 05:35   [Content_Types].xml
---------                     -------
    30142                     4 files

Step 2: Read the Version and the Package Type

solution.xml says which solution, which version, and managed or not:

macOS / Linux

Terminal

unzip -p exported/CareerDevelopmentPlan_1_0_0_0_managed.zip solution.xml | grep -E "<(UniqueName|Version|Managed)>"

Windows (PowerShell)

PowerShell

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem
$zip = [System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::OpenRead((Resolve-Path exported/CareerDevelopmentPlan_1_0_0_0_managed.zip))
$reader = [System.IO.StreamReader]::new($zip.GetEntry('solution.xml').Open())
[xml]$solution = $reader.ReadToEnd()
$reader.Dispose()
$zip.Dispose()
$solution.ImportExportXml.SolutionManifest | Select-Object UniqueName, Version, Managed

unzip -p prints a file from the zip without extracting it, and grep keeps the three lines you want. In PowerShell, [xml] reads the file as XML, so you can ask for the three values by name.

Output (macOS)

    <UniqueName>CareerDevelopmentPlan</UniqueName>
    <Version>1.0.0.0</Version>
    <Managed>1</Managed>
      <UniqueName>Dewiride</UniqueName>

Output (PowerShell)

UniqueName            Version Managed
----------            ------- -------
CareerDevelopmentPlan 1.0.0.0 1

Managed 1 is a managed solution. The second UniqueName in the macOS output is the publisher's.

Step 3: Check for Environment Variable Values

If you're sharing a solution with another organization, it shouldn't carry your values (How to Keep Environment Variable Values Out of an Exported Solution). Look for value files:

macOS / Linux

Terminal

unzip -l exported/CareerDevelopmentPlan_1_0_0_0.zip | grep environmentvariablevalues

Windows (PowerShell)

PowerShell

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem
$zip = [System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::OpenRead((Resolve-Path exported/CareerDevelopmentPlan_1_0_0_0.zip))
($zip.Entries | Where-Object FullName -like '*environmentvariablevalues.json').FullName
$zip.Dispose()

Output

      170  10-29-2026 05:33   environmentvariabledefinitions/dewiride_RoleCompetenciesList/environmentvariablevalues.json
      197  10-29-2026 05:33   environmentvariabledefinitions/dewiride_CareerDevelopmentPlanSite/environmentvariablevalues.json
      170  10-29-2026 05:33   environmentvariabledefinitions/dewiride_CompetencyResponsesList/environmentvariablevalues.json

Three files: this export carries all three values. A zip without them prints nothing, or 0 if you count them instead, with grep -c or PowerShell's .Count:

Output

$ unzip -l release/CareerDevelopmentPlan_1_0_0_0.zip | grep -c environmentvariablevalues
0

Common Mistakes

Mistake	What happens	Do this instead
Judging a zip by its file name	A renamed file can say _managed and not be	Read Managed in solution.xml
Sharing a zip without looking inside	Your environment's values go with it	Check for environmentvariablevalues.json first
Editing files inside the zip by hand	The solution may not import	Change the solution in Power Apps, or use the Solution Packager

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
unzip: command not found	The Linux system has no unzip	Install it with your package manager, or use PowerShell 7
PowerShell says it can't find type System.IO.Compression.ZipFile	Windows PowerShell 5.1 without Add-Type	Run the Add-Type line first
grep prints nothing	Nothing matches, which is the answer	For value files, that means there are none

FAQ

Can I just open the zip in Finder or File Explorer?

Yes, to look. The terminal commands are quicker to repeat for every release and show the same files.

Is there anything private in the other files?

customizations.xml describes the app's data sources, so it can contain the addresses the app was built with. Read it before you share a solution outside your organization.

Conclusion

unzip -l or PowerShell's ZipFile lists a solution's files, solution.xml tells you its version and whether it's managed, and any environmentvariablevalues.json is an environment variable value travelling with it. Look before you share.

Additional Resources

• Environment variables for Power Platform overview: where values are stored in the zip.
• SolutionPackager tool: unpacking a solution into its files.
• Export a solution (Power Automate): flows in the Workflows folder.

Related

• How to Export a Solution in Power Apps (Managed or Unmanaged)
• How to Keep Environment Variable Values Out of an Exported Solution