/platform-custom-application-generate

name: platform-custom-application-generate
description: "Use this skill when users need to create or configure tab-based Salesforce Custom Applications with navigation, branding, and action overrides. Trigger when users mention custom apps, application metadata, app navigation, or organizing tabs into applications. Use when users want to create app containers for tabs and pages. Do NOT use when the goal is hosting a React UI bundle in the App Launcher — use experience-ui-bundle-custom-app-generate for that case."
metadata:
  version: "1.0"
  domains: ["Platform"]
  minApiVersion: "60.0"
  relatedSkills:
    - "experience-ui-bundle-custom-app-generate"

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create Lightning applications
• Organize tabs and features into focused apps
• Configure application navigation and branding
• Set up custom page layouts for objects
• Troubleshoot deployment errors related to custom applications

CustomApplication (Lightning App) Metadata Specification

Overview

Custom applications (Lightning Apps) that group tabs and functionality to provide a focused user experience for specific business processes. Always configured for Lightning Experience.

Purpose

• Organize related functionality into focused applications
• Group tabs and components for specific user roles
• Provide tailored user experiences
• Control access to specific features and data
• Use Standard navigation for general business applications or Console navigation for specialized service/support workflows requiring multi-tab workspaces
• Create professional, branded application identity with custom colors and branding
• Override standard actions with custom Lightning pages for enhanced user experience
• Enable profile-specific experiences through profile action overrides

Required Properties

Core Application Properties

• **fullName**: API name of the application
• **label**: Display name of the application
• **uiType**: Always "Lightning" for modern apps
• **navType**: CRITICAL - Choose based on user requirements and workflow patterns
• "Standard": DEFAULT for general business applications (e.g., sales, marketing, operations)
• "Console": ONLY when workflow requires managing multiple records simultaneously with split-view or multi-tab workspace (e.g., customer service, call centers, support operations)
• **formFactors**: Array of form factors (["LARGE"] for desktop, ["SMALL"] for mobile, or both)

Optional Properties

• **description**: Brief description of the application's purpose
• **tabs**: Array of tab names to include
• **utilityBar**: API name of the Utility Bar configuration
• **brand**: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Branding configuration object (headerColor, shouldOverrideOrgTheme, footerColor)
• **actionOverrides**: REQUIRED when custom record pages exist - Action override configuration (actionName, content, formFactor, type, pageOrSobjectType)
• **profileActionOverrides**: Profile-specific action overrides (actionName, content, formFactor, pageOrSobjectType, type, profile)
• **isNavAutoTempTabsDisabled**: Navigation behavior setting (default: false)
• **isNavPersonalizationDisabled**: Personalization setting (default: false)
• **isNavTabPersistenceDisabled**: Tab persistence setting (default: false)

Application Configuration

Navigation Type Selection (CRITICAL)

**Decision Criteria for navType:**

**Choose "Standard" (DEFAULT) for:**

• General business applications and most workflows
• Single-record focus or linear navigation patterns
• Standard tab-based navigation is sufficient

**Choose "Console" ONLY when workflow requires:**

• Managing multiple related records simultaneously in split-view
• Multi-tab workspace for handling complex, interconnected data
• Contextual information from multiple sources visible at once
• Examples: customer service operations, support desks, call centers

**When in doubt:** Default to "Standard" for most general business use cases

Navigation Settings

• **isNavAutoTempTabsDisabled**: Controls automatic temporary tab creation
• **isNavPersonalizationDisabled**: Controls user personalization features
• **isNavTabPersistenceDisabled**: Controls tab persistence across sessions

Tab Management

• **tabs**: Array of tab names to include in the application
• **formFactors**: Device-specific configurations (Large for desktop, Small for mobile)

Utility Bar

• **utilityBar**: Reference to Lightning utility bar (appears at bottom of Lightning Experience)

Branding (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - DO NOT SKIP)

**IMPORTANT**: Provide branding configuration to create a professional, visually distinct application identity.

• **brand.headerColor**: Header bar color in hex format (e.g., "#0070D2") - RECOMMENDED
• **brand.shouldOverrideOrgTheme**: Override organization theme (true/false) - Default: false
• **brand.footerColor**: Footer color in hex format

Action Overrides (CRITICAL - DO NOT SKIP)

**IMPORTANT**: Action overrides MUST be created for every custom object tab that has a record page generated by flexipage expert.

• **actionOverrides.actionName**: Action to override ("View" or "Tab")
• **actionOverrides.content**: Page/component name (FlexiPage, Visualforce, Lightning component)
• For "View" action: Reference record pages generated by flexipage expert
• For "Tab" action: Reference home/app pages generated by flexipage expert
• **actionOverrides.formFactor**: Device type ("Large" or "Small")
• **actionOverrides.type**: Override type ("Default", "Visualforce", "Flexipage", "LightningComponent", "Scontrol")
• Recommended: Use "Flexipage" for Lightning record/home pages generated by flexipage expert
• **actionOverrides.pageOrSobjectType**: Object API name the override applies to
• **actionOverrides.comment**: Optional description (max 1000 characters)
• Auto-generated comment: "Action override created by Lightning App Builder during activation."
• **actionOverrides.skipRecordTypeSelect**: Skip