Custom Marketplace apps
Custom apps are a type of Marketplace application that extends and customizes SitecoreAI for one or selected organizations.
Unlike public apps, custom apps are only available in the Cloud Portal organization where they were originally created, and optionally in any additional organization authorized to install them.
Custom apps are not available to find or install in unauthorized organizations, and are not listed in the public Marketplace.
This makes custom apps ideal for extending and customizing SitecoreAI for only one or selected organizations. Perhaps you're building an application tailored to the needs of a specific organization that other organizations would not benefit from. Or, your solution might be generally applicable to all organizations, but you still prefer not to make it publicly available.
In addition, building custom apps is the fastest way to extend SitecoreAI using the Marketplace. Because they are not listed in the public Marketplace, you don't need approval from Sitecore before making the app available to the team members of your organization and any other organization.
As the developer, you are responsible for maintaining the app, and all the app configuration remains within your organization.
If you want to extend and customize SitecoreAI for all organizations, consider creating a public app instead. Public apps are listed in the Marketplace, discoverable to all organizations.
Required Cloud Portal roles and app actions
The actions you can perform with a custom Marketplace app depend on your Cloud Portal role and whether the app was created in your organization (your organization owns the app) or your organization is authorized to use a different organization's app (your organization does not own the app).
The following table shows all the actions an Organization Admin or Organization Owner can perform with a custom app:
|
Action |
Organization owns the app |
Organization does not own the app |
|---|---|---|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Manage app access for organization users |
|
|
|
Authorize other organizations to install |
|
|
|
Revoke authorization from other organizations |
|
|
If the app owner revokes authorization for another organization, that organization immediately loses access to the app.
After an app is installed in an organization, team members with app access can find and start using it in the app's extension points.
Extension points and API access
When configuring a Marketplace app in the Cloud Portal, you have to choose at least one extension pointextension point, and optionally, you can also choose the SitecoreAI APIs the app needs to access.
Extension points and API access are not dependent on each other. For example, you can display your app in the standalone extension point and still use SitecoreAI APIs. Your app can interact with the enabled APIs in all the enabled extension points.
Although extension points and API access are not interdependent, they often complement each other. Consider the following scenarios:
-
A Marketplace app that generates AI summaries in the SitecoreAI Page builder can appear in the context panel extension point. To read and write page content, it also needs to access SitecoreAI APIs.
-
A Marketplace app that loads a third-party icon library in the SitecoreAI Page builder can appear in the custom field extension point. Depending on the app's functionality, it might not require access to the SitecoreAI APIs.
You can update extension points and API access any time during development as your app requirements change.
Permissions
Marketplace apps load inside inside a sandboxed iframe within extension points. By default, pop-ups and clipboard access are disabled for security reasons. However, you can enable these capabilities during app configuration if your app requires them. These settings apply to all extension points where your app appears. You can update permissions any time during development as your app requirements change.
When you enable these permissions, your app can:
-
Open pop-ups - allow your app to open additional browser windows or tabs. Ideal for displaying, for example, login and payment flows. This setting also enables opening in-app links in new tabs.
-
Copy to clipboard - allow your app to copy content to the user's clipboard.
-
Read from clipboard - allow your app to read content from the user's clipboard.
The required permissions are listed during app installation.
Deployment URL
When configuring a Marketplace app in the Cloud Portal, you have to provide your app's deployment URL. This is the public HTTPS link to where your app is hosted. Note that Sitecore does not host your app.
You must provide a temporary URL before developing your app, then replace it with the final, public HTTPS link after development.
Here's an example deployment URL: https://my-app.com
Changing a custom app to a public app
Over time, you might decide to make your custom app available to all organizations in the public Marketplace. In this scenario, you'll need to create a new, public app in the Cloud Portal, but you will not need to change your application's source code. Creating a public app is necessary to get a new Marketplace app ID and because you need to provide additional information about public apps and submit it for approval from Sitecore.