---
title: Publishing
description: Distribute your Twenty app to the marketplace or deploy it internally.
---

<Warning>
Apps are currently in alpha testing. The feature is functional but still evolving.
</Warning>

## Overview

Once your app is [built and tested locally](/developers/extend/apps/building), you have two paths for distributing it:

- **Publish to npm** — list your app in the Twenty marketplace for any workspace to discover and install.
- **Push a tarball** — deploy your app to a specific Twenty server for internal use without making it publicly available.

## Publishing to npm

Publishing to npm makes your app discoverable in the Twenty marketplace. Any Twenty workspace can browse, install, and upgrade marketplace apps directly from the UI.

### Requirements

- An [npm](https://www.npmjs.com) account
- Your package name **must** use the `twenty-app-` prefix (e.g., `twenty-app-postcard-sender`)

### Steps

1. **Build your app** — the CLI compiles your TypeScript sources and generates the application manifest:

```bash filename="Terminal"
yarn twenty app:build
```

2. **Publish to npm** — push the built package to the npm registry:

```bash filename="Terminal"
npx twenty app:publish
```

### Auto-discovery

Packages with the `twenty-app-` prefix are automatically discovered by the Twenty marketplace catalog. Once published, your app appears in the marketplace within a few minutes — no manual registration or approval required.

### CI publishing

The scaffolded project includes a GitHub Actions workflow that publishes on every release. It runs `app:build`, then `npm publish --provenance` from the build output:

```yaml filename=".github/workflows/publish.yml"
name: Publish
on:
  release:
    types: [published]

permissions:
  contents: read
  id-token: write

jobs:
  publish:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: "24"
          registry-url: https://registry.npmjs.org
      - run: yarn install --immutable
      - run: npx twenty app:build
      - run: npm publish --provenance --access public
        working-directory: .twenty/output
        env:
          NODE_AUTH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
```

For other CI systems (GitLab CI, CircleCI, etc.), the same three commands apply: `yarn install`, `npx twenty app:build`, then `npm publish` from `.twenty/output`.

<Tip>
**npm provenance** is optional but recommended. Publishing with `--provenance` adds a trust badge to your npm listing, letting users verify the package was built from a specific commit in a public CI pipeline. See the [npm provenance docs](https://docs.npmjs.com/generating-provenance-statements) for setup instructions.
</Tip>

## Internal distribution

For apps you don't want publicly available — proprietary tools, enterprise-only integrations, or experimental builds — you can push a tarball directly to a Twenty server.

### Push a tarball

Build your app and deploy it to a specific server in one step:

```bash filename="Terminal"
npx twenty app:publish --server <server-url>
```

Any workspace on that server can then install and upgrade the app from the **Applications** settings page.

### Version management

To release an update:

1. Bump the `version` field in your `package.json`
2. Push a new tarball with `npx twenty app:publish --server <server-url>`
3. Workspaces on that server will see the upgrade available in their settings

<Note>
Internal apps are scoped to the server they're pushed to. They won't appear in the public marketplace and can't be installed by workspaces on other servers.
</Note>

## App categories

Twenty organizes apps into three categories based on how they're distributed:

| Category | How it works | Visible in marketplace? |
|----------|-------------|------------------------|
| **Development** | Local dev mode apps running via `yarn twenty app:dev`. Used for building and testing. | No |
| **Published** | Apps published to npm with the `twenty-app-` prefix. Listed in the marketplace for any workspace to install. | Yes |
| **Internal** | Apps deployed via tarball to a specific server. Available only to workspaces on that server. | No |

<Tip>
Start in **Development** mode while building your app. When it's ready, choose **Published** (npm) for broad distribution or **Internal** (tarball) for private deployment.
</Tip>