upstream-twenty/packages/twenty-docs/getting-started/core-concepts/apps.mdx

---
title: Apps
icon: "cube"
description: Extend Twenty with code — custom objects, server-side logic, UI components, and AI agents, all as TypeScript packages.
---


Most CRMs give you a config panel. Twenty gives you a platform. Apps are how developers extend Twenty beyond what the UI offers — defining data models, server-side logic, UI components, and AI capabilities as code, then deploying them to one or more workspaces.

## Why apps exist

Workflows cover no-code automation. But some things need code: a custom pricing engine, a proprietary enrichment pipeline, a compliance check that runs on every record update, a custom UI panel that pulls data from an internal tool.

Apps let you build these as first-class extensions — not brittle scripts talking to an API from outside, but code that runs on the platform with full access to the type system, permission model, and UI.

## What an app can define

An app is a TypeScript package that declares **entities** using the `twenty-sdk`:

| Entity | What it does |
|--------|-------------|
| **Objects & Fields** | New data tables and fields on existing objects — same treatment as built-in ones |
| **Logic Functions** | Server-side TypeScript triggered by HTTP routes, cron schedules, or database events |
| **Front Components** | Sandboxed React components that render inside Twenty's UI (side panel, widgets, command menu) |
| **Skills & Agents** | AI capabilities — reusable instructions and autonomous assistants |
| **Views & Navigation** | Pre-configured list views and sidebar menu items |

Everything is detected via AST analysis at build time — no config files, no registration boilerplate. Put a `export default defineObject(...)` in any `.ts` file and the SDK picks it up.

## How they run

- **Logic functions** execute in isolated Node.js processes, sandboxed from the host. They access data through a typed API client scoped to the app's role permissions.
- **Front components** run in Web Workers using Remote DOM — sandboxed from the main page but rendering native DOM elements (not iframes).
- **Permissions** are enforced at the API level. An app only sees what its role allows.

## The developer experience

You write your app as a TypeScript project on your machine. The CLI watches your source files and live-syncs them to a running Twenty server — edit a file, see the change in the UI within a second. The typed API client regenerates automatically when the schema changes. When you're ready, `yarn twenty app:publish --private` pushes to a production server, or `yarn twenty app:publish` lists your app on npm and the Twenty marketplace.

<Card title="Build your first app" icon="arrow-right" href="/developers/extend/apps/getting-started/quick-start">
  Three-phase walkthrough — scaffold, run a local server, sync your changes.
</Card>