BCCL

Business Central Command Line

Service Tasks

Service Tasks provide a user interface for creating, running, and monitoring BCCL tasks when BCCL is running as a service.
They allow administrators to manage data movement without working directly in the command line.

Overview

When BCCL is started in service mode, it runs continuously in the background and can accept tasks.
Service Tasks are instructions sent to the running service, which executes them on your behalf.

Key benefits:

  • No need for manual command-line operations

  • Centralized management from within Business Central

  • Support for multiple agents (servers)

  • Logging and monitoring of all task executions

Prerequisites

  • BCCL 3.0 or later installed

  • BCCL service configured and running

  • At least one agent (a BCCL instance) connected and available

  • Destination connections (SQL, FTP, etc.) defined

Accessing Service Tasks

Once BCCL is running as a service:

  1. Open the BCCL Service Tasks page in Business Central.

  2. The page displays all available tasks and their current status.

  3. The connected agent(s) appear in the agent list.

Creating a Service Task

To create a new task:

  1. Select New Task.

  2. Enter a Task Name (e.g., Customer Change Log).

  3. Choose a Task Type (e.g., Change Log, Export, Import).

  4. Configure the task parameters:

    • Source (e.g., Business Central table ID = 18 for Customer)

    • Mapping File (JSON file defining field mappings)

    • Destination (SQL connection string, FTP details, etc.)

    • Target Table or File (e.g., SQL table name Customer)

  5. Assign an Agent (server instance) to run the task.

Running a Task

  • Select the task from the list.

  • Choose Start.

  • The task is queued and executed by the assigned agent.

  • Refresh (F5) to see the updated status and results.

Execution results include:

  • Start and end time

  • Records inserted, updated, deleted

  • Any skipped operations

  • Error messages (if any)

Monitoring Tasks

The Service Tasks page provides:

  • Current status (Running, Completed, Failed)

  • Last run timestamp

  • Agent assignment

  • Execution logs for troubleshooting

Using Service Tasks with Automations

Service Tasks can be converted into Automations for repeated execution:

  • Automations save the task definition and can be run multiple times.

  • Tasks can be configured to only process changes since the last run.

  • Automations can be scheduled via the Business Central Job Queue.

Example: Creating a Change Log Replication Task

  1. Create a new Service Task called Customer Change Log → SQL.

  2. Select Change Log as the task type.

  3. Set:

    • Table: 18 (Customer)

    • Mapping: customer.json

    • Destination: SQL connection string

    • Output table: Customer

  4. Assign the task to your running agent.

  5. Start the task.

  6. Monitor the results in the Service Tasks log.

Best Practices

  • Assign tasks to the correct agent when multiple servers are available.

  • Use descriptive task names to make management easier.

  • Check logs regularly to ensure tasks are running as expected.

  • Convert frequently used tasks into automations to reduce manual execution.