# Dhis2 App Development

> Guide for building DHIS2 custom applications using the DHIS2 App Platform. Use this skill whenever the user wants to create, scaffold, or bootstrap a DHIS2 app, run or start a DHIS2 app, build for production or deploy, fetch data from the DHIS2 API, work with aggregate data, tracker data, metadata, or analytics, write mutations, or handle version differences across DHIS2 instances. Also use it when the user mentions DHIS2, d2, dhis2 app platform, or any DHIS2-specific terminology — even if they don't explicitly say "DHIS2 app."

- Skill: `devotta-labs/dhis2-app-development` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 13 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add devotta-labs/dhis2-app-development`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/devotta-labs/dhis2-app-development/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: DevOps & Infra
- Author: devotta-labs (https://skillmd.com/u/devotta-labs)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/devotta-labs/dhis2-app-development

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# DHIS2 Application Development

You are helping a developer build a custom DHIS2 web application. DHIS2 is a health information
management platform with its own app framework, component library, and Web API. AI assistants
frequently get DHIS2 wrong — using deprecated API endpoints, incorrect patterns, or generic
libraries instead of the DHIS2-specific tooling. This skill exists to prevent that.

## First: determine where you are

Before doing anything, figure out whether you're in an existing DHIS2 project or starting fresh.

| Check | How | Result |
|-------|-----|--------|
| `d2.config.js` exists in project root | Glob for `d2.config.js` | **Existing project** — skip scaffolding |
| `@dhis2/app-runtime` in package.json | Read `package.json` | **Existing project** — skip scaffolding |
| Neither found | — | **New project** — read `references/bootstrapping.md` |

If it's an existing project, read `d2.config.js` and `package.json` to understand what's
already configured before making changes.

## What does the user need?

Read the references that match the user's task. Most real tasks combine data and UI —
read all that apply. When both are needed, read `data-fetching.md` first so you understand
the API shape before building the UI.

| Scenario | References (read in order) |
|----------|--------------------------|
| Create or scaffold a new DHIS2 app | `references/bootstrapping.md` |
| Run, start, or deploy a DHIS2 app | `references/running-your-app.md` |
| Fetch or mutate data without building UI (hooks, scripts, bulk operations) | `references/data-fetching.md` |
| Build a page that displays data (list, table, detail view) | `references/data-fetching.md` → `references/ui-patterns.md` |
| Build a form to create or edit a resource | `references/data-fetching.md` → `references/ui-patterns.md` |
| Add navigation, page layout, or sidebar | `references/routing.md` → `references/ui-patterns/sidebar.md` |
| Build a dashboard or detail page with widgets | `references/data-fetching.md` → `references/ui-patterns/widget.md` → `references/ui-patterns/dashboards.md` |
| Build or style any UI component | `references/ui-patterns.md` |
| Handle API differences across DHIS2 versions | `references/data-fetching.md` (§ Feature flags) |

## Rules

These apply to all DHIS2 work, regardless of which references you read:

- **React 18 only.** No Suspense for data fetching, no React 19 APIs (`use()`, `useFormStatus`, etc.). Handle loading states explicitly with `isLoading` and `CircularLoader`.
- **Always use `@dhis2/ui`** for UI components. Not MUI, Chakra, Ant Design. Only use custom components if the ui library doesn't provide the component you need.
- **Always clone and read source code** before writing data-fetching or UI code. Your training data is unreliable for DHIS2 APIs and component props — the source is the contract.
- **Use `i18n.t()` from `@dhis2/d2-i18n`** for all user-facing strings.
- **Use displayName instead of name** for all dhis2 resources (organisation units, data elements, etc.).
- **CSS Modules + DHIS2 design tokens** for styling (`var(--spacers-dp16)`, `var(--colors-grey900)`, etc.).
- **Verify after each turn.** Run `pnpm exec eslint` and `pnpm exec tsc --noEmit` after making changes to catch errors early. Fix any issues before moving on. No output means no errors.

## Troubleshooting

Common errors you may encounter when building DHIS2 apps:

| Symptom | Fix |
|---------|-----|
| ESLint `import/named` errors for named exports that work fine at runtime and show no IDE errors | Install `eslint-import-resolver-typescript` and configure it in your ESLint config. |