App Lifecycle Management

Quick Reference

Command	Purpose	When to Use
`bench new-app`	Scaffold new app	Starting a new project
`bench get-app URL`	Clone from Git	Installing existing app
`bench --site SITE install-app`	Install on site	After get-app or new-app
`bench --site SITE remove-app`	Uninstall from site	Removing app from site
`bench remove-app`	Remove from bench	Removing app entirely
`bench --site SITE migrate`	Run patches + sync	After code changes
`bench build`	Compile assets	After JS/CSS changes
`bench --site SITE console`	Python REPL	Debugging
`bench start`	Start dev server	Development
`bench setup production`	Configure nginx+supervisor	Deploying to production

1. Scaffolding: bench new-app

bench new-app my_custom_app

Interactive prompts:

App Title → Human-readable name
App Description → One-line summary
App Publisher → Company/author name
App Email → Contact email
App Icon → Default: octicon octicon-file-directory
App Color → Default: grey
App License → Default: MIT

Generated Directory Structure

apps/my_custom_app/
├── MANIFEST.in              # Files included in Python package
├── README.md                # Project readme
├── license.txt              # License file
├── requirements.txt         # Python dependencies
├── dev-requirements.txt     # Dev-only Python deps (v15+)
├── package.json             # Node.js dependencies
├── setup.py                 # Python package config (v14)
├── pyproject.toml           # Python package config (v15+)
├── my_custom_app/
│   ├── __init__.py          # App version string
│   ├── hooks.py             # Framework integration hooks
│   ├── modules.txt          # List of app modules
│   ├── patches.txt          # Migration patches list
│   ├── config/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── desktop.py       # Desktop/workspace config
│   │   └── docs.py          # Documentation config
│   ├── public/              # Static assets → /assets/my_custom_app/
│   │   ├── css/
│   │   └── js/
│   ├── templates/           # Jinja templates
│   └── www/                 # Portal pages (URL = path)

What Each Core File Does

File	Purpose	NEVER Forget
`__init__.py`	Defines `__version__`	ALWAYS update before release
`hooks.py`	ALL framework integration	Entry point for everything
`modules.txt`	Declares app modules	ALWAYS add new modules here
`patches.txt`	Migration patch registry	ALWAYS add patches in order
`requirements.txt`	Python deps installed on setup	Add pip packages here
`public/`	Static files served by nginx	Accessible at `/assets/app_name/`
`www/`	Portal pages	Filename = URL path

2. Development Cycle

Code → Migrate → Build → Test → Commit

Step-by-Step

# 1. Make code changes (DocTypes, reports, APIs, etc.)

# 2. Migrate — sync DocType schema + run patches
bench --site mysite migrate

# 3. Build — compile JS/CSS assets
bench build --app my_custom_app

# 4. Test — run Python tests
bench --site mysite run-tests --app my_custom_app

# 5. Commit
git -C apps/my_custom_app add -A && git -C apps/my_custom_app commit -m "feat: add feature"

ALWAYS run bench migrate after modifying DocType JSON files. ALWAYS run bench build after modifying JS/CSS files.

3. Getting Apps from Git

# Public repo
bench get-app https://github.com/org/my_app

# Specific branch
bench get-app https://github.com/org/my_app --branch develop

# Private repo via SSH
bench get-app git@github.com:org/private_app.git

# Private repo via token (v15+)
bench get-app https://TOKEN@github.com/org/private_app.git

After get-app, ALWAYS install on the target site:

bench --site mysite install-app my_app

get-app clones to apps/ and adds to apps.txt. install-app creates database tables and runs after_install hooks.

4. Installing and Removing Apps

Installation Order Matters

Apps are installed in order listed in apps.txt. If App B depends on App A, App A MUST be listed first.

# Install
bench --site mysite install-app my_app

# Verify
bench --site mysite list-apps
# Output: frappe, erpnext, my_app

# Remove from site (keeps code in apps/)
bench --site mysite remove-app my_app

# Remove from bench entirely (deletes code)
bench remove-app my_app

App Dependencies (v14+)

Declare in hooks.py:

required_apps = ["frappe", "erpnext"]

Frappe ALWAYS checks required_apps during installation and blocks if dependencies are missing.

5. Debugging with bench console

bench --site mysite console

Opens an IPython REPL with Frappe context:

# Query data
frappe.db.sql("SELECT name, status FROM `tabSales Invoice` LIMIT 5", as_dict=True)

# Get a document
doc = frappe.get_doc("Sales Invoice", "SINV-00001")
print(doc.grand_total)

# Test a whitelisted method
from my_app.api import my_function
result = my_function(param="value")

# Check configuration
frappe.get_site_config()

# Auto-reload on code changes (v15+)
# Start with: bench --site mysite console --autoreload

ALWAYS use bench console for debugging — NEVER modify production data with raw SQL.

6. Development Mode vs Production Mode

Development Mode

# Enable
bench set-config -g developer_mode 1

# Start dev server (Procfile: web + worker + redis + socketio)
bench start

Development mode enables:

DocType editing in Desk
"Is Standard" option for reports/scripts
Auto-reload on Python file changes
Detailed error tracebacks in browser
dev-requirements.txt dependencies installed

Production Mode

# Disable developer mode
bench set-config -g developer_mode 0

# Setup production (nginx + supervisor)
sudo bench setup production USERNAME

# Restart
sudo supervisorctl restart all
# or
sudo systemctl restart supervisor

Production mode:

Serves via nginx (port 80/443)
Background workers via supervisor
Static files served directly by nginx
Errors logged to files, not browser
NEVER enable developer_mode on production sites

7. Asset Building

v15+ (esbuild)

# Build all apps
bench build

# Build specific app
bench build --app my_custom_app

# Watch mode (auto-rebuild on changes)
bench watch

v14 (build.json)

v14 uses build.json in the app root to map source files to bundles:

{
    "css/my_app.css": [
        "public/css/style.css"
    ],
    "js/my_app.js": [
        "public/js/main.js"
    ]
}

Asset Include in hooks.py

# Desk (backend UI)
app_include_js = "my_app.bundle.js"      # v15+ bundle syntax
app_include_css = "my_app.bundle.css"

# Portal (website)
web_include_js = "my_app_web.bundle.js"
web_include_css = "my_app_web.bundle.css"

# v14 legacy syntax
app_include_js = "/assets/my_app/js/my_app.js"
app_include_css = "/assets/my_app/css/my_app.css"

ALWAYS run bench build after changing JS/CSS files. ALWAYS run bench clear-cache if assets are not updating.

8. App Versioning

Version String in init.py

# my_custom_app/__init__.py
__version__ = "1.2.0"

ALWAYS use semantic versioning: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

MAJOR: Breaking changes
MINOR: New features (backward compatible)
PATCH: Bug fixes

The version is read by bench version, displayed in Desk, and used by the Marketplace.

Checking Versions

bench version
# frappe 15.23.0
# erpnext 15.18.0
# my_custom_app 1.2.0

9. Patches: Data Migrations

Writing a Patch

# my_app/patches/v1_2/update_customer_status.py
import frappe

def execute():
    frappe.reload_doc("module_name", "doctype", "customer_extension")

    frappe.db.sql("""
        UPDATE `tabCustomer Extension`
        SET status = 'Active'
        WHERE status IS NULL
    """)
    frappe.db.commit()

Registering in patches.txt

# patches.txt — v14+ supports sections

[pre_model_sync]
my_app.patches.v1_1.fix_old_data
my_app.patches.v1_2.rename_field_before_schema

[post_model_sync]
my_app.patches.v1_2.update_customer_status
my_app.patches.v1_2.migrate_settings

Section timing (v14+):

[pre_model_sync] — Runs BEFORE DocType schema changes are applied
[post_model_sync] — Runs AFTER schema changes (new fields available)
No section header — Runs in [pre_model_sync] by default

Patch Rules

ALWAYS add new patches at the END of their section
Patches run ONCE — tracked in tabPatch Log
To re-run a patch, append a comment: my_app.patches.v1_2.fix #2025-03-20
ALWAYS call frappe.reload_doc() before accessing new/modified DocTypes
ALWAYS use [post_model_sync] for patches that need new fields
One-liner patches: execute:frappe.delete_doc("Page", "old-page", ignore_missing=True)

Testing a Patch

# Run all pending patches
bench --site mysite migrate

# Run a specific patch manually in console
bench --site mysite console
>>> from my_app.patches.v1_2.update_customer_status import execute
>>> execute()
>>> frappe.db.commit()

10. Publishing to Frappe Marketplace

Prerequisites Checklist

App hosted on public GitHub repository
setup.py or pyproject.toml with correct metadata
Valid __version__ in __init__.py
README.md with installation instructions
All tests passing

setup.py (v14)

from setuptools import setup, find_packages

setup(
    name="my_custom_app",
    version="1.0.0",
    description="My Custom App for ERPNext",
    author="Your Name",
    author_email="you@example.com",
    packages=find_packages(),
    zip_safe=False,
    include_package_data=True,
    install_requires=["frappe"],
)

pyproject.toml (v15+)

[project]
name = "my_custom_app"
dynamic = ["version"]
requires-python = ">=3.10,<3.13"
dependencies = ["frappe"]

[build-system]
requires = ["flit_core >=3.4,<4"]
build-backend = "flit_core:buildapi"

Publishing Steps

Create account at https://frappecloud.com/marketplace
Add your GitHub repository
Configure supported versions (v14, v15)
Submit for review
After approval, app appears in Marketplace

11. App Update Lifecycle on Client Sites

# Pull latest code
bench update --pull

# Or update specific app
cd apps/my_custom_app && git pull origin main && cd ../..

# Then migrate (runs patches + syncs schema)
bench --site mysite migrate

# Rebuild assets
bench build --app my_custom_app

# Restart workers
bench restart

The bench update command wraps: backup → pull → requirements → migrate → build → restart.

ALWAYS take a backup before running bench update on production. ALWAYS test updates on staging before applying to production.

frappe-ops-app-lifecycle