Download Symbols from NuGet Feed in Business Central (New AL Feature) V28.0

Download Symbols from NuGet Feed in Business Central

Microsoft has introduced a powerful new feature in Business Central AL development that allows developers to download symbols directly from NuGet feeds — including Microsoft’s public feeds and custom feeds.

This improves flexibility when working with localized apps, external apps and partner solutions.

What is “Download Symbols from Global Sources”?

A new command in Visual Studio Code:

AL: Download Symbols from Global Sources

This command allows developers to download app packages (symbols) directly from:

• Microsoft’s built-in public NuGet feeds

• Custom NuGet feeds (if configured)

This removes dependency limitations and makes symbol management more flexible in complex development scenarios.

How to Use It

• Open Visual Studio Code

• Press Ctrl + Shift + P to open the Command Palette

• Search and select: AL: Download Symbols from Global Sources

• The AL extension (VSIX) will download symbols based on your configuration settings.

Country/Region-Specific Symbol Packages

This feature supports localized app packages.

You can define the country/region using: al.symbolsCountryRegion

Supported Format:

• ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes (e.g., us, de, dk)

• w1 for Worldwide version

If not specified, you will be prompted during the download process.

This is especially useful when developing for:

• Localized Business Central versions

• Multi-country deployments

• ISV solutions

Configure Custom NuGet Feeds

You can now configure custom public NuGet feeds in your VS Code, settings.json

Add Custom Feeds

"al.nugetFeeds": [

"https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json",

"https://your-custom-feed-url/v3/index.json"

]

These feeds are searched after Microsoft’s built-in feeds by default.

Use Only Custom Feeds (Optional)

If you want to ignore Microsoft’s built-in feeds:

"al.useOnlyCustomFeeds": true

When set to true:

• Only feeds defined in al.nugetfeeds are used

• Microsoft feeds are ignored

Complete Settings Example

Here’s a sample settings.json

{

"al.symbolsCountryRegion": "us",

"al.nugetFeeds": [

"https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json"

],

"al.useOnlyCustomFeeds": false

}

Important Notes

• Built-in Microsoft feeds are used by default

• Country codes must follow ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 format or W1

• Custom feeds must be public, use NuGet v3 format & no require authentication

The AL: Download Symbols from Global Sources feature modernizes symbol handling in Business Central development. It aligns AL development more closely with standard NuGet-based dependency management practices. If you’re building apps for multiple countries or working with external extensions, this feature is definitely worth exploring.