App Configuration

Introduction

App Configuration allows app developers to include configuration options that enable Benchling users to 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. Configuration options can empower Benchling users to get an app up and running, or customize how the app functions without requiring work from the app developer.

Key Concepts

App Workspace

The App Workspace is the public face of an app in Benchling. It can be accessed through the sidebar menu under Connections > Apps.

The App Workspace is where users will be directed anytime they click on the app in other parts of Benchling.

The Configuration and Access tabs are where admins of the app can control the app’s configuration and assess the app’s access to data in Benchling.

All apps have a homepage once created on a Benchling tenant, but only apps that have included a Manifest will have a configuration page.

App Configuration

App Configuration includes the configuration options an app developer provides that enable Benchling users to customize their app experience. App developers can define options that allow admins to select schemas, input text, and provide numerous other values. Once an app's configuration is submitted, the configuration values can be queried from Benchling, allowing the app to be built without hard-coding any tenant-specific values.

App configuration is powered by an app's manifest; a yaml file that serves as the environment-independent definition of the app. An app's manifest is usually stored externally, alongside the app code. The app manifest defines the configuration options available to users. In Benchling, App Configuration appears to users in the App Workspace under an app's "Configuration" tab:

For more information on creating a manifest for your app, see our App Manifest Reference

When To Create a Manifest

Developing a Benchling app doesn’t technically require a manifest. Following our Getting Started with Benchling Apps guide or Building your first App guide, you can complete the process of building a Benchling App end to end without using a manifest.

Apps created without a manifest cannot leverage app configuration (or other app framework features like app canvas and webhook subscriptions). You should create a manifest if your app will need to provide users with configuration options. Often, determining the configuration details that an app requires to function properly is done after the app has been created in Benchling.