SPFx ACE: My First Build & Tips

Key insights

• SPFx ACE
  Adaptive Card Extensions let you build interactive cards for Viva Connections and SharePoint. They work on desktop and mobile and support images, buttons, and custom actions for richer dashboards.
• Demo & presenter
  Lukas Bänsch demonstrated building his first ACE from a zero-coding background. He created a Viva Connections card that dynamically links users to department pages and used Copilot to speed development.
• Key 2025 updates
  Microsoft added new card shapes and improved Quick View flexibility. The SPFx CLI and tooling are faster and easier to upgrade. Note: domain isolated web parts retire on April 2, 2026, so plan migration to standard web parts.
• Build steps
  Set up the SPFx development environment and scaffold an ACE project. Choose a card template, connect to data sources, define layout with Adaptive Card JSON, then package and deploy to your tenant.
• Data & integration
  ACEs can pull from SharePoint lists, Microsoft Graph, or external APIs and support Power Automate for scheduled updates. Use interactive actions to surface relevant content like locations or department links.
• Resources & best practices
  Start from sample ACE projects, test across Viva Connections desktop and mobile, prefer standard web parts for future compatibility, and use Copilot or community tooling to shorten the learning curve.

The Microsoft-published YouTube demo featuring Lukas Bänsch captures a practical, approachable path into building a first Adaptive Card Extension for Viva Connections. In the video from the SharePoint Framework community call on 18 September 2025, Bänsch, who describes starting from a zero-coding background, shows how to assemble a working card that dynamically links users to department pages. Consequently, the presentation blends hands-on steps, tool choices, and the creative reasoning behind interface decisions. As a result, the demo serves both newcomers and experienced SPFx developers looking for fresh ideas and practical techniques.

What the demo showed

In the session, Bänsch demonstrates an Adaptive Card Extension, or ACE, that pulls list data to route users to department pages within Viva Connections. He emphasizes a simple user flow that uses Adaptive Card JSON to render content and interactive actions, while also incorporating Copilot to speed up routine coding tasks. The flow highlights how ACEs can present contextual, actionable information on desktop and mobile clients. Thus, the demo illustrates a real-world scenario that combines SharePoint list data, SPFx scaffolding, and AI-assisted development.

Technical approach and tools

Bänsch uses the standard SPFx toolchain—updated CLI tooling, a generator to scaffold the project, and the usual TypeScript and React stack—to build the extension and its Quick View experiences. He connects the card to SharePoint lists for content, and demonstrates how scheduled processes such as Power Automate flows can keep that content current, which is useful for dynamic items like menus or department listings. Additionally, he shows how Copilot can suggest code snippets or adjust Adaptive Card JSON, reducing boilerplate work but still requiring human review. Therefore, the demo makes clear that a blend of proven tools and AI support can shorten development time while preserving control over implementation details.

Design choices and tradeoffs

The presentation stresses tradeoffs between simplicity and feature richness: a minimal card loads faster and requires less maintenance, whereas a richer Quick View improves user engagement but increases complexity. For example, adding images, media links, or location selection enhances usefulness, but also raises the cost of data management, network usage, and testing across devices. Moreover, while Copilot accelerates routine coding, authors must balance convenience with careful validation to avoid subtle logic or security mistakes introduced by autogenerated code. Overall, teams must weigh speed against long-term maintainability and governance demands.

Another important tradeoff concerns security and future-proofing. Microsoft’s tooling updates in 2025 include better dependency management and faster upgrades, yet the community also faces the impending retirement of domain isolated web parts on April 2, 2026. Consequently, developers need to choose between quick wins and migration-aware designs that align with long-term tenant policies. In short, planning migrations and selecting appropriate architectures early reduces technical debt and operational risk.

Challenges for new developers

Although the demo frames the work as accessible to beginners, several challenges remain for those new to SPFx and ACEs. Debugging Adaptive Card JSON and ensuring consistent rendering across the Viva Connections desktop and mobile clients require careful iteration and testing. Additionally, managing permissions, tenant app deployment, and integration with Microsoft Graph or external APIs introduces governance and security considerations that administrators must address. Therefore, getting support from the community and following established patterns helps new developers avoid common pitfalls.

Community context and support

The session reinforces the value of community calls and shared samples for accelerating learning, and it encourages developers to present or reuse examples in subsequent calls. Microsoft’s growing sample galleries and community-driven repositories provide templates such as image card samples and prebuilt Quick Views that reduce startup friction. Moreover, community dialogs make it easier to discuss migration strategies, accessibility practices, and testing approaches, which in turn improves solution quality across tenants. Thus, the communal ecosystem plays a key role in helping teams adopt ACEs safely and productively.

Implications for organizations and next steps

For organizations, Bänsch’s demo suggests a pragmatic path: start with focused, lightweight ACEs that solve clear user problems, then iterate toward richer experiences as governance and testing mature. Administrators should plan migrations away from deprecated patterns well before the April 2026 deadline and establish review processes for Copilot-assisted code to ensure security and compliance. Finally, teams should pilot cards in controlled groups, gather feedback, and measure performance to strike the right balance between innovation and operational stability.

In conclusion, the Microsoft-hosted demo captures a practical, upbeat approach to building an initial Adaptive Card Extension with modern SPFx tooling and AI assistance. While Copilot and improved CLI tools shorten the path from idea to prototype, responsible development and clear migration plans remain essential. Consequently, this session provides a useful blueprint for teams that want to experiment confidently while preparing for long-term maintainability and governance.

Keywords

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