app-development

Frappe App Development

Scaffold, structure, and architect custom Frappe applications with production-grade patterns.

When to use

• Creating a new custom Frappe app from scratch
• Setting up app architecture (modules, services, utils)
• Configuring hooks.py for events, scheduler, overrides
• Implementing background jobs and async processing
• Building service layers and domain logic patterns
• Adding caching, logging, error handling utilities
• Preparing apps for production deployment
• Managing translations, versioning, and packaging

Inputs required

• App name and purpose
• Target Frappe version (v13+, v15+, v16+)
• Module structure (which DocTypes, APIs, services)
• Whether hooks/overrides of other apps are needed
• Background job requirements
• Production readiness needs

Procedure

0) Scaffold the app

# Create the app
bench new-app my_app

# Install on site
bench --site mysite.local install-app my_app

# Verify developer mode
bench --site mysite.local console
>>> frappe.conf.developer_mode  # Must be True

1) Plan app structure

Follow the domain architecture pattern — keep DocType controllers thin and business logic in service modules:

my_app/
├── my_app/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── hooks.py              # App hooks and configuration
│   ├── api.py                # Public API surface (RPC endpoints)
│   ├── services/             # Business logic modules
│   │   └── billing.py
│   ├── utils/                # Cross-cutting utilities
│   │   ├── cache.py
│   │   ├── errors.py
│   │   ├── logging.py
│   │   ├── permissions.py
│   │   └── validation.py
│   ├── background_jobs/      # Async job handlers
│   │   └── export_job.py
│   ├── integrations/         # External system connectors
│   │   └── payment_gateway.py
│   ├── my_module/
│   │   ├── doctype/
│   │   │   └── my_doc/
│   │   │       ├── my_doc.json
│   │   │       ├── my_doc.py
│   │   │       ├── my_doc.js
│   │   │       └── test_my_doc.py
│   │   ├── report/
│   │   └── dashboard/
│   └── translations/
│       ├── en.csv
│       └── fr.csv
├── setup.py
└── README.md