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Benchling AppsBuilding Apps

App Configuration

Learn how App Configuration works in Benchling Apps and how configuration data is defined, stored, and used at runtime. This page explains the configuration model so you can build apps that are easier to install, manage, and customize.

App Configuration lets app developers include configuration options that let Benchling users customize their app experience. Configuration options can include Benchling dependencies like schemas, folders, and projects, as well as generic types like text, integers, and checkboxes. They can help Benchling users get an app up and running, or change how the app functions without requiring work from the app developer.

A Benchling App's Configuration tab showing several configuration fields
An example of an app with app configuration

Adding app config to an app

The shape of the app config is defined in the app’s manifest.

While developing a Benchling App doesn’t technically require a manifest, app framework features like app configuration and app canvas currently do require uploading a manifest through the UI or the API.

Setting config values

Admins set config values in the Configuration tab within the App Workspace.

The App Workspace is the public face of an app in Benchling. All users on a tenant can reach it through the sidebar menu under Connections > Apps, and it’s where users are directed whenever they click on the app elsewhere in Benchling.

All apps have a homepage once created on a Benchling tenant, but only apps that include app configuration in their manifest have a configuration page.

An app configuration page with a dropdown selecting a schema for the Molecule Schema field
Selecting a schema to map to the "Molecule Schema" field provided through the app manifest

For a worked example of defining configuration in a manifest and reading it back at runtime, see building your first app with App Configuration.