Standalone apps

A standalone app turns your own Coderunners into one product. It has a main Service, which is what people open, and can have helper Coderunners such as an API Function or a nightly Schedule. Use it when you have your own front end or API and want it treated as a single product, with its own domain.

Unlike a Shell app, a standalone app gets nothing built in: your code calls whichever Groundfloor services it needs through the API.

Before you start

• A Service Coderunner that's deployed. It becomes the app's main Service.
• The Writer, Admin or Owner role in the workspace.

Create the app

gf apps create --name "Billing" --slug billing --kind standalone \
  --primary-coderunner <service-coderunner-id>

Add helper Coderunners

On the app's page, add the other Coderunners that belong to the product:

• Link existing — attach a Coderunner you've already deployed.
• New helper — create a new Coderunner that belongs to the app.

From the CLI, deploy straight into the app with gf deploy --app-id <app-id>.

Use your own domain

Add your domain on the app's Domains tab. Create the CNAME and TXT records it shows you, then click Verify. For a root domain such as example.com, use an ALIAS or ANAME record, since root domains can't have a CNAME. Until then, the app is reachable at its main Service's Deployment URL.

When a deployment fails

If the main Service's latest deployment fails, the app's page shows Deployment failed — this app is not serving traffic, with the reason when there is one, and a link to the Coderunner. The Primary runtime card shows the deployment's state too. While it's failed, the app's address answers with an error (503) instead of a blank page. Open the Coderunner, check its logs, fix the problem and deploy again.

Next steps

• Services — what the main Service needs.
• Configuration and secrets — settings and secrets for your Coderunners.
• Site access — control who can open the app.