## Summary
- **SDK (`dev` & `dev --once`)**: After app registration, the CLI now
obtains an `APPLICATION_ACCESS` token via `client_credentials` grant
using the app's own `clientId`/`clientSecret`, and uses that token for
CoreApiClient schema introspection — instead of the user's
`config.accessToken` which returns the full unscoped schema.
- **Config**: `oauthClientSecret` is now persisted alongside
`oauthClientId` in `~/.twenty/config.json` when creating a new app
registration, so subsequent `dev`/`dev --once` runs can obtain fresh app
tokens without re-registration.
- **CI action**: `spawn-twenty-app-dev-test` now outputs a proper
`API_KEY` JWT (signed with the seeded dev workspace secret) instead of
the previous hardcoded `ACCESS` token — giving consumers a real API key
rather than a user session token.
## Motivation
When developing Twenty apps, `yarn twenty dev` was using the CLI user's
OAuth token for GraphQL schema introspection during CoreApiClient
generation. This token (type `ACCESS`) has no `applicationId` claim, so
the server returns the **full workspace schema** — including all objects
— rather than the scoped schema the app should see at runtime (filtered
by `applicationId`).
This caused a discrepancy: the generated CoreApiClient contained fields
the app couldn't actually query at runtime with its `APPLICATION_ACCESS`
token.
By switching to `client_credentials` grant, the SDK now introspects with
the same token type the app will use in production, ensuring the
generated client accurately reflects the app's runtime capabilities.
## 1. The `twenty-client-sdk` Package (Source of Truth)
The monorepo package at `packages/twenty-client-sdk` ships with:
- A **pre-built metadata client** (static, generated from a fixed
schema)
- A **stub core client** that throws at runtime (`CoreApiClient was not
generated...`)
- Both ESM (`.mjs`) and CJS (`.cjs`) bundles in `dist/`
- A `package.json` with proper `exports` map for
`twenty-client-sdk/core`, `twenty-client-sdk/metadata`, and
`twenty-client-sdk/generate`
## 2. Generation & Upload (Server-Side, at Migration Time)
**When**: `WorkspaceMigrationRunnerService.run()` executes after a
metadata schema change.
**What happens in `SdkClientGenerationService.generateAndStore()`**:
1. Copies the stub `twenty-client-sdk` package from the server's assets
(resolved via `SDK_CLIENT_PACKAGE_DIRNAME` — from
`dist/assets/twenty-client-sdk/` in production, or from `node_modules`
in dev)
2. Filters out `node_modules/` and `src/` during copy — only
`package.json` + `dist/` are kept (like an npm publish)
3. Calls `replaceCoreClient()` which uses `@genql/cli` to introspect the
**application-scoped** GraphQL schema and generates a real
`CoreApiClient`, then compiles it to ESM+CJS and overwrites
`dist/core.mjs` and `dist/core.cjs`
4. Archives the **entire package** (with `package.json` + `dist/`) into
`twenty-client-sdk.zip`
5. Uploads the single archive to S3 under
`FileFolder.GeneratedSdkClient`
6. Sets `isSdkLayerStale = true` on the `ApplicationEntity` in the
database
## 3. Invalidation Signal
The `isSdkLayerStale` boolean column on `ApplicationEntity` is the
invalidation mechanism:
- **Set to `true`** by `generateAndStore()` after uploading a new client
archive
- **Checked** by both logic function drivers before execution — if
`true`, they rebuild their local layer
- **Set back to `false`** by `markSdkLayerFresh()` after the driver has
successfully consumed the new archive
Default is `false` so existing applications without a generated client
aren't affected.
## 4a. Logic Functions — Local Driver
**`ensureSdkLayer()`** is called before every execution:
1. Checks if the local SDK layer directory exists AND `isSdkLayerStale`
is `false` → early return
2. Otherwise, cleans the local layer directory
3. Calls `downloadAndExtractToPackage()` which streams the zip from S3
directly to disk and extracts the full package into
`<tmpdir>/sdk/<workspaceId>-<appId>/node_modules/twenty-client-sdk/`
4. Calls `markSdkLayerFresh()` to set `isSdkLayerStale = false`
**At execution time**, `assembleNodeModules()` symlinks everything from
the deps layer's `node_modules/` **except** `twenty-client-sdk`, which
is symlinked from the SDK layer instead. This ensures the logic
function's `import ... from 'twenty-client-sdk/core'` resolves to the
generated client.
## 4b. Logic Functions — Lambda Driver
**`ensureSdkLayer()`** is called during `build()`:
1. Checks if `isSdkLayerStale` is `false` and an existing Lambda layer
ARN exists → early return
2. Otherwise, deletes all existing layer versions for this SDK layer
name
3. Calls `downloadArchiveBuffer()` to get the raw zip from S3 (no disk
extraction)
4. Calls `reprefixZipEntries()` which streams the zip entries into a
**new zip** with the path prefix
`nodejs/node_modules/twenty-client-sdk/` — this is the Lambda layer
convention path. All done in memory, no disk round-trip
5. Publishes the re-prefixed zip as a new Lambda layer via
`publishLayer()`
6. Calls `markSdkLayerFresh()`
**At function creation**, the Lambda is created with **two layers**:
`[depsLayerArn, sdkLayerArn]`. The SDK layer is listed last so it
overwrites the stub `twenty-client-sdk` from the deps layer (later
layers take precedence in Lambda's `/opt` merge).
## 5. Front Components
Front components are built by `app:build` with `twenty-client-sdk/core`
and `twenty-client-sdk/metadata` as **esbuild externals**. The stored
`.mjs` in S3 has unresolved bare import specifiers like `import {
CoreApiClient } from 'twenty-client-sdk/core'`.
SDK import resolution is split between the **frontend host** (fetching &
caching SDK modules) and the **Web Worker** (rewriting imports):
**Server endpoints**:
- `GET /rest/front-components/:id` —
`FrontComponentService.getBuiltComponentStream()` returns the **raw
`.mjs`** directly from file storage. No bundling, no SDK injection.
- `GET /rest/sdk-client/:applicationId/:moduleName` —
`SdkClientController` reads a single file (e.g. `dist/core.mjs`) from
the generated SDK archive via
`SdkClientGenerationService.readFileFromArchive()` and serves it as
JavaScript.
**Frontend host** (`FrontComponentRenderer` in `twenty-front`):
1. Queries `FindOneFrontComponent` which returns `applicationId`,
`builtComponentChecksum`, `usesSdkClient`, and `applicationTokenPair`
2. If `usesSdkClient` is `true`, renders
`FrontComponentRendererWithSdkClient` which calls the
`useApplicationSdkClient` hook
3. `useApplicationSdkClient({ applicationId, accessToken })` checks the
Jotai atom family cache for existing blob URLs. On cache miss, fetches
both SDK modules from `GET /rest/sdk-client/:applicationId/core` and
`/metadata`, creates **blob URLs** for each, and stores them in the atom
family
4. Once the blob URLs are cached, passes them as `sdkClientUrls`
(already blob URLs, not server URLs) to `SharedFrontComponentRenderer` →
`FrontComponentWorkerEffect` → worker's `render()` call via
`HostToWorkerRenderContext`
**Worker** (`remote-worker.ts` in `twenty-sdk`):
1. Fetches the raw component `.mjs` source as text
2. If `sdkClientUrls` are provided and the source contains SDK import
specifiers (`twenty-client-sdk/core`, `twenty-client-sdk/metadata`),
**rewrites** the bare specifiers to the blob URLs received from the host
(e.g. `'twenty-client-sdk/core'` → `'blob:...'`)
3. Creates a blob URL for the rewritten source and `import()`s it
4. Revokes only the component blob URL after the module is loaded — the
SDK blob URLs are owned and managed by the host's Jotai cache
This approach eliminates server-side esbuild bundling on every request,
caches SDK modules per application in the frontend, and keeps the
worker's job to a simple string rewrite.
## Summary Diagram
```
app:build (SDK)
└─ twenty-client-sdk stub (metadata=real, core=stub)
│
▼
WorkspaceMigrationRunnerService.run()
└─ SdkClientGenerationService.generateAndStore()
├─ Copy stub package (package.json + dist/)
├─ replaceCoreClient() → regenerate core.mjs/core.cjs
├─ Zip entire package → upload to S3
└─ Set isSdkLayerStale = true
│
┌────────┴────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
Logic Functions Front Components
│ │
├─ Local Driver ├─ GET /rest/sdk-client/:appId/core
│ └─ downloadAndExtract │ → core.mjs from archive
│ → symlink into │
│ node_modules ├─ Host (useApplicationSdkClient)
│ │ ├─ Fetch SDK modules
└─ Lambda Driver │ ├─ Create blob URLs
└─ downloadArchiveBuffer │ └─ Cache in Jotai atom family
→ reprefixZipEntries │
→ publish as Lambda ├─ GET /rest/front-components/:id
layer │ → raw .mjs (no bundling)
│
└─ Worker (browser)
├─ Fetch component .mjs
├─ Rewrite imports → blob URLs
└─ import() rewritten source
```
## Next PR
- Estimate perf improvement by implementing a redis caching for front
component client storage ( we don't even cache front comp initially )
- Implem frontent blob invalidation sse event from server
---------
Co-authored-by: Charles Bochet <charlesBochet@users.noreply.github.com>
## Summary
- The `createOneApplication` GraphQL mutation was removed from the
server during the application architecture refactor (#18432), but the
SDK CLI (`app:dev`, `app:build --sync`) still called it, causing
failures.
- Simplified the SDK to use `syncApplication` (which now internally
creates the `ApplicationEntity` via `ensureApplicationExists`) instead
of a separate create step.
- On first run (clean install), the orchestrator now runs an initial
sync before initializing the file uploader, so file uploads can proceed
(they require the `ApplicationEntity` to exist).
## Test plan
- [x] Typecheck passes for both `twenty-sdk` and `twenty-server`
- [x] `app:dev` tested locally with existing app (finds app, uploads,
syncs)
- [x] `app:dev` tested locally after `app:uninstall` (creates app via
sync, uploads, syncs)
- [x] SDK unit tests pass (23/26 files, 3 pre-existing failures
unrelated)
Made with [Cursor](https://cursor.com)
# Introduction
While testing the sdk and overall apps in
https://github.com/prastoin/twenty-app-hello-world
Faced a lot of pure `CJS` external dependencies import issue
Replaced all the cjs deps to either esm equivalent or node native
replacement
## Add API client generation to SDK dev mode and refactor orchestrator
into step-based pipeline
### Why
The SDK dev mode lacked typed API client generation, forcing developers
to work without auto-generated GraphQL types when building applications.
Additionally, the orchestrator was a monolithic class that mixed watcher
management, token handling, and sync logic — making it difficult to
extend with new steps like client generation.
### How
- **Refactored the orchestrator** into a step-based pipeline with
dedicated classes: `CheckServer`, `EnsureValidTokens`,
`ResolveApplication`, `BuildManifest`, `UploadFiles`,
`GenerateApiClient`, `SyncApplication`, and `StartWatchers`. Each step
has typed input/output/status, managed by a new `OrchestratorState`
class.
- **Added `GenerateApiClientOrchestratorStep`** that detects
object/field schema changes and regenerates a typed GraphQL client (via
`@genql/cli`) into `node_modules/twenty-sdk/generated` for seamless
imports.
- **Replaced `checkApplicationExist`** with `findOneApplication` on both
server resolver and SDK API service, returning the entity data instead
of a boolean.
- **Added application token pair mutations**
(`generateApplicationToken`, `renewApplicationToken`) to the API
service, with the server now returning `ApplicationTokenPairDTO`
containing both access and refresh tokens.
- **Restructured the dev UI** into `dev/ui/components/` with dedicated
panel, section, and event log components.
- **Simplified `AppDevCommand`** from ~180 lines of watcher management
down to ~40 lines that delegate entirely to the orchestrator.
## Summary
This PR fixes the `tsconfig` setup in `twenty-front` so that `tsgo -p
tsconfig.json` properly type-checks all files.
### Root Cause
The previous setup used TypeScript project references with `files: []`
in the main `tsconfig.json`. When running `tsgo -p tsconfig.json`, this
checks nothing because `tsgo` requires the `-b` (build) flag for project
references, but the configs weren't set up for composite mode.
### Changes
**Simplified tsconfig architecture (4 files → 2):**
- `tsconfig.json` - All files (dev, tests, stories) for
typecheck/IDE/lint
- `tsconfig.build.json` - Production files only (excludes tests/stories)
**Removed redundant configs:**
- `tsconfig.dev.json`
- `tsconfig.spec.json`
- `tsconfig.storybook.json`
**Updated references:**
- `jest.config.mjs` → uses `tsconfig.json`
- `eslint.config.mjs` → uses `tsconfig.json`
- `vite.config.ts` → uses `tsconfig.json` for dev
**Type fixes (pre-existing errors revealed by proper typechecking):**
- Made `applicationId` optional in `FieldMetadataItem` and
`ObjectMetadataItem`
- Added missing `navigationMenuItem` translation
- Added `objectLabelSingular` to Search GraphQL query
- Fixed `sortMorphItems.test.ts` mock data
## Test plan
- [ ] Run `npx nx typecheck twenty-front` - should pass
- [ ] Run `npx nx lint twenty-front` - should work
- [ ] Run `npx nx test twenty-front` - should work
- [ ] Run `npx nx build twenty-front` - should work
- [ ] Verify IDE type checking works correctly
## Refactor app-dev state management and build utilities
- Store only `manifest` in `AppDevState` instead of full
`ManifestBuildResult`; add `sourcePath` to `FileStatus`
- Pass `sourcePaths` directly to watchers instead of
`ManifestBuildResult`
- Only reset `fileUploadStatus` for functions/components when their
source paths change
- Add pure `updateManifestChecksum` utility that returns a new manifest
without side effects
- Extract `processEsbuildResult` to deduplicate build result processing
between watchers
- Rename `serverlessFunctions` → `functions` in SDK code (API unchanged)
- Extract `writeManifestToOutput` to shared `manifest-writer.ts`
## Summary
Adds `app:build` command as a one-shot version of `app:dev` - builds
manifest, functions, and front components once then exits (no watching).
**Changes:**
- Added `watch` option to `FunctionsWatcher` and
`FrontComponentsWatcher` to support both watch and one-shot modes
- Created `AppBuildCommand` reusing the same build logic as `app:dev`
with `watch: false`
- Added integration tests for `app:build` on both `rich-app` and
`root-app`
- Updated manifest types: `handlerPath` → `sourceHandlerPath` +
`builtHandlerPath`, `componentPath` → `sourceComponentPath` +
`builtComponentPath`
- Updated test app `package.json` scripts to match `create-twenty-app`
template
Refactor manifest build and remove src folder assumptions
- Unified entity builder interface: All entity builders now return
EntityBuildResult<T> with both manifests and filePaths
- Always return build result: runManifestBuild now always returns {
manifest, filePaths } instead of null on failure
- Return all entity paths: EntityFilePaths includes paths for all entity
types (application, objects, functions, etc.)
- Remove src folder assumptions: Applications can now have entities at
root level - removed hasSrcFolder checks
- Simplify watchers: Removed entries caching, compute lazily with map()
- Stabilize tests: Replaced flaky console output snapshots with key
message assertions; replaced inline snapshots with array comparisons
-
Charles Bochet