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App Sdk Concepts by grafana — Agent Skill

Name: App Sdk Concepts
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: grafana

App Sdk Concepts

Use when starting any grafana-app-sdk work — scaffolding a Grafana app, initializing a Grafana App Platform app, picking a deployment mode (standalone operator / grafana/apps / frontend-only), wiring app-specific config, or onboarding to the SDK. Covers `grafana-app-sdk` CLI install, `project init` per deployment mode, project layout, the schema-centric workflow (CUE kinds → generated code → reconciler/admission logic), and `SpecificConfig` for env-driven app configuration. Use even if the user just says "make a new app", "Grafana app platform", "kinds and watchers", "operator scaffold", or asks about `apps/` inside the Grafana repo, without naming the SDK explicitly.

grafana d2a431b 7 files · 31.7 KB Updated Sep 9, 2026

File contents

Grafana App SDK Concepts

The grafana-app-sdk is a CLI + Go library for building schema-centric apps on the Grafana App Platform. Apps define resources via CUE schemas ("kinds"), generate Go + TypeScript code, and implement business logic via admission control and reconcilers.

Prerequisites

go install github.com/grafana/grafana-app-sdk/cmd/grafana-app-sdk@latest
grafana-app-sdk version   # verify

Common Workflows

Scaffold a standalone operator app

# 1. Init the project (use the Go module path)
grafana-app-sdk project init github.com/example/my-app

# 2. Add operator scaffolding — ASK THE USER FIRST.
#    They may prefer to write app.App by hand.
grafana-app-sdk project component add operator

# 3. Verify scaffolded layout
ls pkg/app pkg/watchers cmd/operator
# Expected: app.go, watchers/<kind>.go, main.go

Common failure: forgetting go install updates the binary — verify with grafana-app-sdk version before init.

Scaffold a grafana/apps-style app (inside `grafana/grafana`)

Only available inside the Grafana repo (or fork) — the init command detects apps/ and pkg/registry/apps/ at the repo root.

mkdir -p apps/my-app && cd apps/my-app
grafana-app-sdk project init github.com/grafana/grafana/apps/my-app

# Keep ONLY: kinds/ pkg/ go.mod go.sum — delete everything else.
cp apps/example/Makefile       apps/my-app/Makefile
cp apps/example/kinds/config.cue apps/my-app/kinds/config.cue   # overwrite
go work use ./apps/my-app

Then register the app inside Grafana (pkg/registry/apps/apps.go + register.go). Full walkthrough in references/deployment-modes.md.

End-to-end development loop

1. project init               → module, Makefile, kinds/
2. project kind add MyKind    → CUE kind scaffold
3. Edit kinds/*.cue           → schemas, validation, versions
4. grafana-app-sdk generate   → Go types, clients, TS types, AppManifest, CRDs
5. Implement logic            → fill in reconciler / admission stubs
6. (optional) project component add frontend

Always rerun generate after every CUE change — generated code is the API your reconciler sees.

Deployment modes (one-line table)

Mode	When to pick	Where it runs
Standalone operator	Outside Grafana repo, want your own binary	Kubernetes operator with its own webhook server
grafana/apps	Inside `github.com/grafana/grafana` (or fork)	In-process inside Grafana's API server
Frontend-only	UI-only app, no Go logic needed	No backend — TS types only

Full per-mode init, runtime, and wiring detail in references/deployment-modes.md.

References

references/deployment-modes.md — per-mode init, runtime semantics, grafana/apps registration walkthrough
references/project-structure.md — standalone project layout, what's hand-edited vs generated
references/cli-reference.md — every grafana-app-sdk subcommand with flags
references/specific-config.md — app.Config.SpecificConfig pattern for feature-flag-driven app config
references/local-development.md — Tilt + k3d local dev loop
references/local-config.md — local/config.yaml reference

Resources

---name: app-sdk-conceptsdescription: Use when starting any grafana-app-sdk work — scaffolding a Grafana app, initializing a Grafana App Platform app, picking a deployment mode (standalone operator / grafana/apps / frontend-only), wiring app-specific config, or onboarding to the SDK. Covers `grafana-app-sdk` CLI install, `project init` per deployment mode, project layout, the schema-centric workflow (CUE kinds → generated code → reconciler/admission logic), and `SpecificConfig` for env-driven app configuration. Use even if the user just says "make a new app", "Grafana app platform", "kinds and watchers", "operator scaffold", or asks about `apps/` inside the Grafana repo, without naming the SDK explicitly.license: Apache-2.0--- # Grafana App SDK Concepts The grafana-app-sdk is a CLI + Go library for building schema-centric apps on the Grafana App Platform. Apps define resources via CUE schemas ("kinds"), generate Go + TypeScript code, and implement business logic via admission control and reconcilers. ## Prerequisites ```bash go install github.com/grafana/grafana-app-sdk/cmd/grafana-app-sdk@latest grafana-app-sdk version # verify ``` ## Common Workflows ### Scaffold a standalone operator app ```bash # 1. Init the project (use the Go module path) grafana-app-sdk project init github.com/example/my-app # 2. Add operator scaffolding — ASK THE USER FIRST. # They may prefer to write app.App by hand. grafana-app-sdk project component add operator # 3. Verify scaffolded layout ls pkg/app pkg/watchers cmd/operator # Expected: app.go, watchers/<kind>.go, main.go ``` Common failure: forgetting `go install` updates the binary — verify with `grafana-app-sdk version` before init. ### Scaffold a grafana/apps-style app (inside `grafana/grafana`) Only available inside the Grafana repo (or fork) — the init command detects `apps/` and `pkg/registry/apps/` at the repo root. ```bash mkdir -p apps/my-app && cd apps/my-app grafana-app-sdk project init github.com/grafana/grafana/apps/my-app # Keep ONLY: kinds/ pkg/ go.mod go.sum — delete everything else. cp apps/example/Makefile apps/my-app/Makefile cp apps/example/kinds/config.cue apps/my-app/kinds/config.cue # overwrite go work use ./apps/my-app ``` Then register the app inside Grafana (`pkg/registry/apps/apps.go` + `register.go`). Full walkthrough in [references/deployment-modes.md](references/deployment-modes.md#grafanaapps). ### End-to-end development loop ``` 1. project init → module, Makefile, kinds/ 2. project kind add MyKind → CUE kind scaffold 3. Edit kinds/*.cue → schemas, validation, versions 4. grafana-app-sdk generate → Go types, clients, TS types, AppManifest, CRDs 5. Implement logic → fill in reconciler / admission stubs 6. (optional) project component add frontend ``` Always rerun `generate` after every CUE change — generated code is the API your reconciler sees. ## Deployment modes (one-line table) | Mode | When to pick | Where it runs | |------|--------------|---------------| | Standalone operator | Outside Grafana repo, want your own binary | Kubernetes operator with its own webhook server | | grafana/apps | Inside `github.com/grafana/grafana` (or fork) | In-process inside Grafana's API server | | Frontend-only | UI-only app, no Go logic needed | No backend — TS types only | Full per-mode init, runtime, and wiring detail in [references/deployment-modes.md](references/deployment-modes.md). ## References - [`references/deployment-modes.md`](references/deployment-modes.md) — per-mode init, runtime semantics, grafana/apps registration walkthrough - [`references/project-structure.md`](references/project-structure.md) — standalone project layout, what's hand-edited vs generated - [`references/cli-reference.md`](references/cli-reference.md) — every `grafana-app-sdk` subcommand with flags - [`references/specific-config.md`](references/specific-config.md) — `app.Config.SpecificConfig` pattern for feature-flag-driven app config - [`references/local-development.md`](references/local-development.md) — Tilt + k3d local dev loop - [`references/local-config.md`](references/local-config.md) — `local/config.yaml` reference ## Resources - [grafana-app-sdk repo](https://github.com/grafana/grafana-app-sdk) - [App Platform docs](https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/developers/plugins/app-platform/)

Frequently asked questions