/frappe-syntax-customapp

name: frappe-syntax-customapp
description: >
  Use when building Frappe custom apps from scratch. Covers app structure,
  pyproject.toml configuration, module creation, patches, and fixtures
  for v14/v15/v16. Prevents common mistakes with app scaffolding and
  module organization. Keywords: custom app, bench new-app, pyproject.toml,
  patches, fixtures, modules, app structure,
  app boilerplate, bench new-app example, module setup, patch example.
license: MIT
compatibility: "Claude Code, Claude.ai Projects, Claude API. Frappe v14-v16."
metadata:
  author: OpenAEC-Foundation
  version: "2.0"

Frappe Custom App Syntax

Deterministic syntax reference for building Frappe custom apps — scaffolding, configuration, modules, patches, and fixtures.

Decision Tree

What do you need?
├─ Brand new app from scratch → bench new-app
├─ Extend existing ERPNext behavior → bench new-app + required_apps = ["frappe", "erpnext"]
├─ Install existing app from Git → bench get-app <url>
└─ Add functionality to an installed app
   ├─ New data model → Add module to modules.txt + create DocType
   ├─ New fields on existing DocType → Fixtures (Custom Field)
   ├─ Modify field properties → Fixtures (Property Setter)
   └─ Data migration → Patch in patches.txt

New app vs extend existing?
├─ Independent functionality → New app
├─ Tightly coupled to one app → New app with required_apps dependency
└─ Small customization (fields, properties) → Extend via fixtures in existing custom app

Creating an App

# Create new app (interactive prompts for title, description, publisher, etc.)
bench new-app my_custom_app

# Install on site
bench --site mysite install-app my_custom_app

# Get existing app from Git
bench get-app https://github.com/org/my_custom_app

# Build frontend assets
bench build --app my_custom_app

# Run migrations (patches + fixtures + schema sync)
bench --site mysite migrate

App Directory Structure

[v15+] pyproject.toml (Primary)

apps/my_custom_app/
├── pyproject.toml                     # Build configuration (flit)
├── README.md
├── my_custom_app/                     # Inner Python package
│   ├── __init__.py                    # MUST contain __version__
│   ├── hooks.py                       # Frappe integration hooks
│   ├── modules.txt                    # Module registration
│   ├── patches.txt                    # Migration scripts
│   ├── patches/                       # Patch files
│   │   └── __init__.py
│   ├── my_custom_app/                 # Default module (same name as app)
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── doctype/
│   ├── public/                        # Static assets → /assets/my_custom_app/
│   │   ├── css/
│   │   └── js/
│   ├── templates/                     # Jinja templates
│   │   └── includes/
│   └── www/                           # Portal pages (URL = directory path)
└── .git/

[v14] setup.py (Legacy)

apps/my_custom_app/
├── setup.py                           # Build configuration (setuptools)
├── MANIFEST.in
├── requirements.txt                   # Python dependencies
├── dev-requirements.txt               # Dev dependencies (developer_mode only)
├── package.json                       # Node dependencies
├── my_custom_app/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── hooks.py
│   ├── modules.txt
│   ├── patches.txt
│   └── [same inner structure as v15]
└── .git/

Critical Files

__init__.py (REQUIRED)

# my_custom_app/__init__.py
__version__ = "0.0.1"

**CRITICAL**: Without `__version__`, the flit build FAILS and the app CANNOT be installed.

pyproject.toml [v15+]

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

[project]
name = "my_custom_app"
authors = [
    { name = "Your Company", email = "dev@example.com" }
]
description = "Description of your app"
requires-python = ">=3.10"
readme = "README.md"
dynamic = ["version"]
dependencies = []            # Python packages ONLY — NEVER Frappe/ERPNext

[tool.bench.frappe-dependencies]
frappe = ">=15.0.0,<16.0.0"
erpnext = ">=15.0.0,<16.0.0"  # Only if app extends ERPNext

**CRITICAL rules for pyproject.toml**:

• `name` MUST match the inner directory name exactly
• `dynamic = ["version"]` is REQUIRED — flit reads `__version__` from `__init__.py`
• NEVER put `frappe` or `erpnext` in `[project] dependencies` (they are not on PyPI)
• ALWAYS put Frappe app dependencies in `[tool.bench.frappe-dependencies]`

setup.py [v14] (Legacy)

from setuptools import setup, find_packages

setup(
    name="my_custom_app",
    version="0.0.1",
    description="Description of your app",
    author="Your Company",
    author_email="dev@example.com",
    packages=find_packages(),
    zip_safe=False,
    include_package_data=True,
    install_requires=[],
)

hooks.py (Minimal Skeleton)

app_name = "my_custom_app"
app_title = "My Custom App"
app_publisher = "Your Company"
app_description = "Description"
app_email = "dev@example.com"
app_license = "MIT"

required_apps = ["frappe"]  # Or ["frappe", "erpnext"] if extending ERPNext

fixtures = [
    {"dt": "Custom Field", "filters": [["module", "=", "My Custom App"]]},
    {"dt": "Property Setter", "filters": [["module", "=", "My Custom App"]]},
]

Modules

modules.txt

My Custom App
Integrations
Settings
Reports

**Rules**:

• One module name per line — NEVER leave empty lines or trailing spaces
• Module name uses spaces; directory name uses underscores (`My Custom App` → `my_custom_app/`)
• Every DocType MUST belong to a registered module
• ALWAYS include `__init__.py` in every module directory

Module Directory Structure

my_custom_app/
├── my_custom_app/       # "My Custom App" module
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── doctype/
├── integrations/        # "Integrations" module
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── doctype/
├── settings/            # "Settings" module
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── doctype/
└── reports/             # "Reports" module