Nextcloud Agents App Scaffolder

nextcloud-agents-app-scaffolder

Purpose

This agent skill guides Claude through generating a complete, production-ready Nextcloud app from scratch. It produces all required files with correct patterns, ensuring the generated code follows every convention from the Nextcloud developer manual.

Quick Reference: Generated File Tree

{appid}/
├── appinfo/
│   ├── info.xml              # App manifest
│   └── routes.php            # Route definitions
├── lib/
│   ├── AppInfo/
│   │   └── Application.php   # IBootstrap entry point
│   ├── Controller/
│   │   ├── PageController.php    # Frontend page serving
│   │   └── ApiController.php     # OCS API endpoints (if needed)
│   ├── Service/
│   │   └── {Entity}Service.php   # Business logic
│   ├── Db/
│   │   ├── {Entity}.php          # Entity class
│   │   └── {Entity}Mapper.php    # QBMapper
│   ├── Listener/                  # Event listeners (if needed)
│   ├── Middleware/                 # Custom middleware (if needed)
│   └── Migration/
│       └── Version1000Date{timestamp}.php  # Initial schema
├── src/
│   ├── main.js               # Vue app entry point
│   ├── App.vue               # Root Vue component
│   ├── components/            # Reusable components
│   ├── views/                 # Page-level components
│   └── services/              # Frontend API layer
├── css/
│   └── style.scss            # App styles using CSS variables
├── img/
│   └── app.svg               # App icon (REQUIRED)
├── templates/
│   └── main.php              # PHP template mounting Vue
├── tests/
│   ├── Unit/
│   │   └── Service/
│   │       └── {Entity}ServiceTest.php
│   └── bootstrap.php
├── webpack.config.js
├── package.json
├── composer.json
├── phpunit.xml
└── LICENSE

Feature Selection Decision Tree

Scaffolding a new Nextcloud app?
│
├── What does the app need?
│   │
│   ├── Database storage?
│   │   ├── YES → Generate: Migration, Entity, Mapper, Service
│   │   └── NO  → Skip Db/ and Migration/ directories
│   │
│   ├── Vue.js frontend?
│   │   ├── YES → Generate: src/, webpack.config.js, package.json, templates/main.php
│   │   └── NO  → Skip src/, webpack.config.js, package.json
│   │
│   ├── OCS API endpoints?
│   │   ├── YES → Generate: ApiController (extends OCSController), add 'ocs' routes
│   │   └── NO  → Only generate PageController with standard routes
│   │
│   ├── Navigation entry?
│   │   ├── YES → Add <navigations> to info.xml
│   │   └── NO  → Skip navigations section
│   │
│   ├── Background jobs?
│   │   ├── YES → Generate: lib/Cron/ job class, add <background-jobs> to info.xml
│   │   └── NO  → Skip background jobs
│   │
│   ├── Admin settings page?
│   │   ├── YES → Generate: lib/Settings/ classes, add <settings> to info.xml
│   │   └── NO  → Skip settings
│   │
│   ├── OCC commands?
│   │   ├── YES → Generate: lib/Command/ class, add <commands> to info.xml
│   │   └── NO  → Skip commands
│   │
│   └── Event listeners?
│       ├── YES → Generate: lib/Listener/ class, register in Application.php
│       └── NO  → Skip listeners
│
└── ALWAYS generate (mandatory):
    ├── appinfo/info.xml
    ├── appinfo/routes.php
    ├── lib/AppInfo/Application.php
    ├── lib/Controller/PageController.php
    ├── img/app.svg
    ├── composer.json
    ├── phpunit.xml
    ├── tests/bootstrap.php
    └── LICENSE

Scaffolding Procedure

Step 1: Collect Requirements

ALWAYS ask the user for these inputs before generating:

Step 2: Generate Mandatory Files

ALWAYS generate these files in this order:

1. appinfo/info.xml -- see references/methods.md for template
2. appinfo/routes.php -- route definitions
3. lib/AppInfo/Application.php -- IBootstrap implementation
4. lib/Controller/PageController.php -- main page controller
5. img/app.svg -- placeholder app icon
6. composer.json -- PHP dependencies and autoloading
7. phpunit.xml -- test configuration
8. tests/bootstrap.php -- test bootstrap
9. LICENSE -- license file

Step 3: Generate Conditional Files

Based on feature selection, generate applicable files from references/methods.md.

Step 4: Validate Output

After generating all files, verify:

1. info.xml has ALL required fields including <namespace>
2. Application.php implements IBootstrap with register() and boot()
3. All controller methods have correct security attributes
4. All routes in routes.php match controller class + method names
5. Entity properties map to migration columns (camelCase to snake_case)
6. package.json includes ALL required @nextcloud/* packages
7. webpack.config.js uses @nextcloud/webpack-vue-config
8. Migration class name follows Version{MajorMinor}Date{Timestamp} pattern
9. Table names are max 23 characters (27 with oc_ prefix for Oracle)
10. All tables have auto-increment BIGINT primary key

Critical Rules

ALWAYS implement IBootstrap in Application.php -- NEVER use legacy constructor patterns.

ALWAYS include <namespace> in info.xml -- auto-wiring silently fails without it.

ALWAYS set both min-version and max-version in nextcloud dependencies.

ALWAYS use declare(strict_types=1) at the top of every PHP file.

ALWAYS use constructor injection for all dependencies -- NEVER use \OCP\Server::get().

ALWAYS use Psr\Log\LoggerInterface -- NEVER use deprecated OCP\ILogger.

ALWAYS use @nextcloud/axios for HTTP requests -- NEVER use raw fetch() or plain axios.

ALWAYS use @nextcloud/router for URL generation -- NEVER use OC.generateUrl().

ALWAYS use CSS custom properties (--color-*) -- NEVER hardcode colors.

ALWAYS use QBMapper with query builder -- NEVER use raw SQL.

ALWAYS generate #[NoAdminRequired] on endpoints that non-admin users need.

ALWAYS generate #[NoCSRFRequired] only on API endpoints authenticated via OCS-APIRequest header.

ALWAYS prefix table names with app ID (e.g., myapp_items) to avoid collisions.

ALWAYS use direct component imports (@nextcloud/vue/components/NcButton) not barrel imports.

NEVER generate database.xml -- use migration classes instead.

NEVER register event listeners in boot() -- ALWAYS use register().

NEVER perform I/O in constructors -- constructors MUST only assign dependencies.

NEVER create tables without primary keys -- Galera Cluster requires them.

NEVER omit parent::setUp() in test classes extending TestCase.

Generated Code Patterns

See references/methods.md for all file templates. See references/examples.md for a complete scaffolded app. See references/anti-patterns.md for common mistakes.

Reference Links

• references/methods.md -- File templates and generation patterns
• references/examples.md -- Complete scaffolded app output
• references/anti-patterns.md -- Scaffolding mistakes to avoid

Official Sources

• https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/developer_manual/app_development/intro.html
• https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/developer_manual/app_development/info.html
• https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/developer_manual/app_development/bootstrap.html
• https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/developer_manual/basics/dependency_injection.html
• https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/developer_manual/basics/front-end/js.html
• https://docs.nextcloud.com/server/latest/developer_manual/digging_deeper/database.html
• https://apps.nextcloud.com/developer/apps/generate