App Builder FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about App Builder.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
App Builder Overview.
Setup
Does App Builder need to be licensed before anyone can use it?
Yes. App Builder is off by default and usage-based. An administrator enables it from the Apps Marketplace. There is no per-employee charge — billing is per deployed app — so a tenant with no deployed apps pays nothing. AI tokens the builder spends stay on the shared platform AI-credits meter and are not billed separately.
Who can build apps, and who can only monitor?
App Builder has two tiers. A global administrator can do everything: build, edit, deploy, manage API keys, and change settings. A delegated app-admin — granted by a global admin — can monitor Your Apps, browse Builds and Templates, view Analytics, create or edit templates, and retry loading a failed app, but cannot open the builder, deploy, or change settings. Regular members never see App Builder at all.
I granted someone app-admin access but they can’t see the Build tab — is that a bug?
No. The Build and Settings tabs are visible only to global administrators. Building deploys code into your tenant and Settings governs unattended AI spend, so both require the global-admin tier. A delegated app-admin sees Your Apps, Builds, Templates, and Analytics.
Permissions and access
Why can’t my employees see the app I just deployed?
A newly deployed app starts visible to administrators only. To roll it out, go to Admin → Apps, find the app, and choose Publish to everyone or scope it to specific groups with a visibility rule. Until you publish, employees cannot see it in the app launcher or navigate to it.
Can employees change settings in a deployed app?
No. Settings inside a deployed app are restricted to administrators. Employees can use the app — view records, create records, submit forms — but cannot change its configuration.
Day-to-day
How do I edit an app that is already deployed?
Open the build session from Builds or click Edit with AI on the app in Your Apps. Describe the change in the conversation. The builder drafts a plan and pauses for your approval before writing code, the same way it does for a new build. After you review the changes, click Deploy or Update to push them live. Version history keeps the previous state one restore away.
What does the plan-approval step look like?
The builder drafts a plan listing the record types, screens, files, and capabilities the app will include, then pauses. You can revise, edit, or decline the plan before any code is written. Once you approve, the builder generates the files and runs its quality checks.
Can I attach screenshots or documents when describing an app?
Yes. You can attach up to 5 images per message, each up to 10 MB. Accepted formats are PNG, JPEG, GIF, and WebP.
How do I save a build as a reusable template?
After a successful build, click Save as template in the builder. The template captures the original description and the approved plan specification, and is scoped to your business. You can also create templates manually from the Templates shelf. System templates (the curated gallery) are read-only, but you can import one as an editable draft.
When something looks wrong
My app stopped loading — what happened?
When a deployed app fails to load, App Builder records the failure. After 3 consecutive failures, the app is quarantined and stops being loaded for users entirely. You will see a health alert in your inbox if alerts are on. From Your Apps, you can retry loading the app, roll back to a previous version, or open it with Fix with AI to repair the code.
The builder hit its iteration limit and paused — what do I do?
Click Continue. Each click doubles the builder’s iteration budget for that session. If Auto-continue long builds is on in Settings (the default), medium and rich builds extend automatically up to 2 extra rounds before pausing. The absolute ceiling is 120 iterations per session. If that is not enough, the per-session token budget (12 million tokens by default) is the real stop.
I got a “still processing” error when I sent a message
The builder processes one message at a time. If you see this error, a previous turn is still running. Wait for it to finish, or click Cancel to stop the current generation before sending a new message. Short confirmations like “yes” or “build it” sent while a build is already running are absorbed silently so they do not block you.
I see a health alert about an event handler being suspended — what does that mean?
A built app’s event handler was suspended after repeated failures when processing events. Events for that handler are being dropped until an administrator unsuspends it. Open the app in the builder or from Admin → Custom Apps to investigate and redeploy a fix.
I can’t find the app on my phone — where did it go?
The builder itself is desktop-only. On a phone you see a “Building happens on desktop” card and a list of your live built apps that have a mobile view. Not every built app has a mobile page — only apps with record types are servable on mobile. If the app you need is not listed, open it on a desktop browser.
I submitted a form through the public link but nobody received it — why?
Public submissions land as records in the app. If nobody is being notified, the app’s notification rules or SLA configuration may not cover the public-submission flow. Ask your administrator to check the app’s notification and overdue settings in the builder.
How many versions of my app are kept?
The builder keeps up to 10 file snapshots per build session. Versions increment as you build and edit. When the cap is reached, the oldest snapshot is dropped. Restoring a version takes a safety snapshot of your current files first, so you do not lose the state you are rolling back from.
Licensing and limits
What are the limits I should know about?
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| Platform APIs available to a built app | 69 |
| Declared capabilities an app can request | 16 |
| Image attachments per message | 5 |
| Image size | 10 MB |
| Iteration cap (simple / medium / rich builds) | 30 / 45 / 60 |
| Absolute iteration ceiling per session | 120 |
| Per-session token budget | 12,000,000 tokens |
| Auto-continue rounds (medium and rich builds) | 2 |
| Quarantine threshold | 3 consecutive failures |
| Health alert deduplication window | 6 hours |
| API key scopes | builder, query, manage |
| AI-usage log retention | 30 days |
Can I build apps from external tools instead of the browser?
Yes. App Builder issues scoped, revocable API keys and exposes an MCP endpoint. External tools — Cursor, Claude Code, or a CLI — can list tools, call them, and run read-only platform queries against your tenant. Keys track last use and can be revoked from the builder at any time. The three available scopes are builder, query, and manage.
What quality checks does a build go through before I can deploy?
Every build passes three checks before deploy is offered. First, deterministic fit checks validate the schema, paths, and file structure. Second, an AST-level static security scan inspects the generated code for sandbox escapes, forbidden method calls, and tenant-isolation violations. Third, an AI QA reviewer reads the intent (your description plus the approved plan) against the generated files and judges whether each scenario is correctly implemented.
Settings
What do the App Builder settings control?
Three settings are available under Settings (global administrators only):
- Auto-continue long builds (default: on) — when a medium or rich build hits its iteration limit, the builder extends automatically (up to 2 rounds) instead of pausing for a click.
- Alert on built-app health problems (default: on) — sends a notification when a built app is quarantined, fails to load, has an event handler suspended, or has an auto-update rolled back. Alerts are deduped to at most one per app per event per 6 hours.
- Alert when a built app has an update available (default: on) — sends a notification when a newer published version of an installed community app is available.
An optional Additional notification recipients field lets you widen alerts to an admin-configured recipient group. Without it, alerts go to the app’s builder and deployer first, then fall back to App Builder’s app-admins.
More help
- App Builder Overview
- Ask AI — the assistant answers App Builder questions from these articles.