Why would I build an app?

The primary use case of apps is integration with 3rd party tools, such as Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems, translation services and deployment platforms. You can learn more about apps on this page.

An app can also be specific to your organization. You can create an app that connects to your intranet, calls custom backends or helps editors with their tasks.

If you're unsure if creating an app is the right choice for you, contact us!

What's the difference between apps and UI extensions?

UI extensions are low-level building blocks for extending the editing interface (the Contentful web app). An app can do everything a UI extension can do and more:

• Implement its own custom configuration screen for ease of installation
• Access and manage its own state and parameters
• Be easily shared across all spaces and environments of an organization

We recommend creating apps instead of UI extensions.

Apps will soon be able to act on their own (as opposed to acting on behalf of a user) and can be configured to receive app-specific webhook notifications.

For more information on migrating an extension to an app, please click here.

How can I enforce validations before an app is installed?

There is a step between the user clicking "Install" and an app being installed when the app can validate its state and potentially abort the installation while providing a validation error message to the user. s Read the SDK reference for more details.

How can I share feedback about my experience building apps?

Please contact us.