Appbuilder Action Scaffolder

App Builder Action Scaffolder

Full lifecycle skill for Adobe Runtime actions — scaffold, implement, deploy, and debug. Place action code at src/<extension-dir>/actions/<action-name>/index.js and register in src/<extension-dir>/ext.config.yaml.

Pattern Quick-Reference

Pick the template that matches the user's intent. Default to assets/action-boilerplate.js for generic actions.

Fast Path (for clear requests)

When the user's request maps unambiguously to a single pattern above — they name a specific pattern, reference a template, or describe a use case that clearly matches one entry — skip straight to scaffolding. Use the matched template and proceed directly.

Examples of fast-path triggers:

• "Add a webhook receiver action" → assets/event-webhook-template.js, scaffold directly
• "Create an Asset Compute worker" → assets/asset-compute-worker-template.js, scaffold directly
• "Add a database CRUD action" → assets/database-action-template.js, scaffold directly
• "Add an action called process-order" (simple, no ambiguity) → assets/action-boilerplate.js, scaffold directly

If there is any ambiguity — multiple patterns could fit, constraints are unclear, or the user hasn't specified enough to pick a single approach — fall through to the full workflow below.

Quick Reference

• Action entry point: Place action code at src/<extension-dir>/actions/<action-name>/index.js. This keeps paths aligned with the generated extension layout.
• Manifest location: Register actions in src/<extension-dir>/ext.config.yaml. Do not put a root-level runtimeManifest in app.config.yaml; the CLI silently ignores it.
• Extension directory name: The extension directory name varies by project template:
  • src/dx-excshell-1/ — Experience Cloud Shell SPA (default)
  • src/aem-cf-console-admin-1/ — AEM Content Fragment Console extension
  • src/dx-asset-compute-worker-1/ — Asset Compute worker Use the actual directory name from your project's app.config.yaml $include entries.
• Web action response shape: Return { statusCode, body } for standard web actions; add headers only when needed.
• Key CLI loop: aio app dev for local iteration (use aio app run if actions use State SDK, Files SDK, or sequences), aio rt action invoke for direct testing, aio app deploy for publishing.
• State vs database: State for ephemeral job tracking; database for durable records, indexed queries, or document-style CRUD.
• Events delivery choice: Webhook for push delivery, custom event provider to publish domain events, journaling consumer for replayability or back-pressure.
• Large payload and sequence patterns: Large payload redirect when >1 MB response limit; action sequence for linear multi-action flows.
• Asset Compute worker fit: Use for AEM rendition processing; different SDK and extension layout than standard Runtime actions.

Full Workflow (for ambiguous or complex requests)

1. Confirm target outcome, constraints, and acceptance criteria.
2. Collect current implementation context from code, environment, and Adobe configuration.
3. Apply the detailed procedure in references/playbook.md for this capability.
4. Produce implementation artifacts and validation evidence.
5. Run through references/checklist.md before final handoff.
6. Summarize decisions, risks, and immediate next actions.

Example User Prompts

• "Add a new action to my App Builder project that calls the AEM Assets API."
• "My runtime action is timing out after 60 seconds. How do I increase the limit without breaking the app?"
• "Set up a cron action that runs every 5 minutes to sync data from an external API."
• "Create a web action that accepts file uploads and stores them using the Files SDK."
• "Store customer preferences in the App Builder Database."
• "Set up a webhook to receive I/O Events for asset changes."
• "My action response is too large — how do I handle payloads over 1MB?"

Inputs To Request

• Current repository path and module boundaries
• Target Adobe organization, project, and workspace
• Non-functional constraints: latency, cost, compliance, and support model
• Definition of done with measurable acceptance criteria

Deliverables

• Implementation updates for the requested capability
• Validation evidence: tests, checks, or reproducible verification steps
• Handoff summary with explicit tradeoffs and follow-up actions

Quality Bar

• Keep decisions explicit and traceable to project constraints
• Prefer deterministic automation for repeatable steps
• Fail safely with actionable diagnostics
• Document tradeoffs and next-step risks in handoff notes

References

• Use references/playbook.md for detailed execution guidance.
• Use references/checklist.md for pre-handoff validation.
• Use references/prompt-pack.md for ready-to-use execution prompts.
• Use references/runtime-reference.md for action structure, params, response formats, SDK usage, and CLI operations.
• Use references/aem-apis.md for AEM Content Fragment API surfaces — decision table, Delivery OpenAPI, Management OpenAPI, GraphQL persisted queries, and the deprecated Assets HTTP API — with auth patterns and action code for each.
• Use references/action-patterns.md for common action patterns, including CRUD API, cron, multi-step processing, database CRUD, webhook intake, custom event providers, journaling consumers, large payload redirects, action sequence composition, and Asset Compute workers.
• Use assets/database-action-template.js, assets/event-webhook-template.js, assets/event-provider-template.js, assets/journaling-consumer-template.js, assets/large-payload-template.js, assets/action-sequence-template.js, and assets/asset-compute-worker-template.js when the user request maps directly to one of the newer boilerplate patterns.
• Use ../_shared/categories/architecture-runtime.md for Adobe service-specific guidance.

Common Manifest Guardrail

• Keep App Builder action definitions under application.runtimeManifest in app.config.yaml.
• Do not use root-level runtimeManifest; App Builder CLI ignores it for action configuration.
• Validate manifest structure before deploy: python3 ../_shared/scripts/validate_manifest_structure.py <path-to-app.config.yaml>.
• Use ../_shared/references/appbuilder-manifest-guardrail.md for valid and invalid examples.

Common Issues

• Action deployment fails: Most deploy failures come from invalid manifest structure or missing dependencies. Check that actions are nested under application.runtimeManifest (or the extension ext.config.yaml pattern), run the manifest validator, run npm install, then retry aio app deploy.
• Action timeout: Runtime execution defaults to 60 seconds and can be extended to 300 seconds for non-web actions. Reduce work per invocation, move long-running tasks to async/background flows, or raise the timeout in manifest limits when the action type supports it.
• Payload too large: Web actions are limited to 1 MB for both request and response payloads. Trim request bodies, avoid returning large blobs inline, and use external storage or pass URLs instead.
• IMS token not available / auth fails: If an action expects Adobe user context, set annotations.require-adobe-auth: true, confirm the shell or caller actually provides the token, and verify aio auth login plus Adobe project/workspace access for the target APIs.
• Two-layer auth confusion: Actions can enforce auth at two independent layers — the require-adobe-auth: true manifest annotation (gateway-level rejection) and a code-level Authorization header check inside the action. Disabling one layer does not disable the other. During local dev, set require-adobe-auth: false and stub the code-level check; otherwise 401 errors persist across redeploy cycles. See references/runtime-reference.md § "Common Auth Issues" for the full debugging guide.

First-Wave Accelerator Kit

• Use references/implementation-template.md to structure delivery artifacts for this high-frequency capability.
• Run scripts/accelerator.py to generate an execution checklist from request context.

Asset Templates

• assets/action-scaffold-template.js — Minimal scaffold for quick prototyping. Use this when you are starting from scratch, want the bare minimum action shape, or need to validate the basic params-in / response-out flow before adding production concerns.
• assets/action-boilerplate.js — Production-ready template with logging, input validation, error handling, and response formatting. Use this when the action is meant for production use, shared team handoff, or any implementation that should start with observability and defensive defaults already in place.
• assets/database-action-template.js — Durable database CRUD starter with collection initialization, indexes, and document-style operations.
• assets/event-webhook-template.js — Adobe I/O Events webhook receiver with challenge handling, signature verification, and idempotent event processing.
• assets/event-provider-template.js — Custom event provider starter for bootstrapping provider metadata and publishing domain events.
• assets/journaling-consumer-template.js — Scheduled journaling consumer that polls the journal, stores the cursor, and processes replayable event batches.
• assets/large-payload-template.js — large payload response starter that writes oversized responses to Files storage and returns a redirect URL.
• assets/action-sequence-template.js — Starter manifest and action layout for a linear action sequence pipeline.
• assets/asset-compute-worker-template.js — Asset Compute worker scaffold for AEM rendition processing with the Asset Compute SDK.

Agent Integration

• The agents/ directory stores agent-platform integration metadata that complements the standard skill directories.
• agents/openai.yaml defines the OpenAI-facing skill configuration, including the display name, short description, and default prompt used to invoke this skill in OpenAI-compatible agent experiences.
• Keep the core skill instructions in SKILL.md; use agents/ only for platform-specific integration details.