Create apps

An app is a component that can be served, built and deployed. Naturally, apps have dependencies (components and packages) but no dependents. For example, the apps/bit-dev component is an app. It uses ui/community-docs, a standard Bit component, as a dependency:

community/apps

bit-dev

1.96.53

docs/ui

community-docs

1.96.36

Run the following to list all available apps in your workspace:

$bit list

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The output lists the IDs of the available app components and their corresponding app names:

Run the following to run an app locally, independent of Bit's dev server:

$bit run bit-dev

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The output is similar the following (open the listed path and port in your browser, to explore your app):

Run the following to create an app using your env's component generator:

$bit create react-app apps/my-app --aspect teambit.react/react-env

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The output displays the ID of the generated app (component):

The generated app component includes an app plugin file, my-app.react-app.ts, with a file extension that is detected by its corresponding application-type - in this case, the React app-type. Use a different plugin file to switch from Bit's official React app-type, to a different app-type. This will affect how your app is being served, built and deployed.

my-scope/apps/my-app

app.tsx

index.ts

my-app.app-root.tsx

my-app.composition.tsx

my-app.docs.mdx

my-app.react-18-app.cjs

Install the app's dependencies:

$bit install react-router-dom --type peer

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Run the following using the app's component ID to make this app loadable by your workspace:

$bit use apps/my-app

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To define an existing component as an app, add to its directory an app plugin file. Note that the specific file extension of a plugin file determines its application type. For example, the following .react-18-app.cjs file extension is loaded by Bit's official React application type.

/* @filename: my-app.react-18-app.cjs */

/** @type {import("@teambit/react.apps.react-app-types").ReactAppOptions} */
module.exports.default = {
  name: 'hello-world-app',
  entry: [require.resolve('./hello-world.app-root')],
  favicon: require.resolve('./favicon.svg'),
};
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To make this app loadable by your workspace, run the following:

$bit use apps/my-app

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Search bit.cloud for React apps. Fork app components to get started quicker, with apps that already have much of the setup you need.

For example, run the following to fork the wiki app to your workspace:

$bit fork teambit.wiki/apps/wiki

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Run the following to make the forked app loadable by your workspace:

$bit use apps/wiki

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