**PR 1 of 2.** Follow-up PR ships the Exa app, sets it as a default
pre-installed app, and removes the current `WebSearchTool` /
`WebSearchService` / `ExaDriver`. This PR adds the plumbing; no
user-visible change yet.
## Summary
- Server admins can declare a list of npm app packages to auto-install
on every new workspace and backfill onto existing workspaces via CLI.
- Server-level secrets (like Exa's API key) live on the
`ApplicationRegistration` (one row per server, encrypted) and are
injected into logic function execution env at runtime. No more
per-workspace storage of global secrets.
- A generic `POST /app/billing/charge` endpoint lets app logic functions
emit workspace usage events for metered features. Exa uses it in PR 2;
future apps (call recorder, etc.) reuse it.
- `LogicFunctionToolProvider` tool name prefix changes `logic_function_`
→ `app_`. Shorter, accurate (they come from installed apps).
## What's in this PR
**Logic function executor — server-level variables**
- `LogicFunctionExecutorService.getExecutionEnvVariables` now resolves
env vars in the order: hardcoded defaults →
`ApplicationRegistrationVariable[]` (server-level) →
`ApplicationVariable[]` (workspace-level override). The manifest
`serverVariables` schema has existed; this closes the loop.
**Config**
- `PRE_INSTALLED_APPS` — comma-separated list of npm packages. Default:
empty.
**\`PreInstalledAppsService\`** (new module)
- \`onApplicationBootstrap()\` — fetches each package's manifest from
the app registry CDN, upserts an \`ApplicationRegistration\`, and seeds
declared \`serverVariables\` from matching env vars (e.g.
\`EXA_API_KEY\` env → encrypted registration variable).
- \`installOnWorkspace(workspaceId)\` — installs all pre-installed apps
on a single workspace. Tolerates per-app failures.
**Auto-install on new workspace activation**
- \`WorkspaceService.prefillCreatedWorkspaceRecords\` invokes
\`installOnWorkspace\` after prefilling standard records. Non-blocking
on failure.
**Backfill CLI command**
- \`install-pre-installed-apps\` — iterates active and suspended
workspaces, installs pre-installed apps that aren't yet installed.
Idempotent. Run after changing \`PRE_INSTALLED_APPS\`.
**App billing endpoint**
- \`POST /app/billing/charge\`. Authenticated via \`APPLICATION_ACCESS\`
token (already injected into logic function execution env as
\`DEFAULT_APP_ACCESS_TOKEN\`). Body: \`{ creditsUsedMicro, quantity,
unit, operationType, resourceContext? }\`. Emits \`USAGE_RECORDED\` with
\`applicationId\` as \`resourceId\`. Generic — reusable by any app.
**Tool name prefix**
- \`LogicFunctionToolProvider.buildLogicFunctionToolName\` now produces
\`app_<name>\` instead of \`logic_function_<name>\`. Only affects tools
sourced from logic functions; other tool providers unchanged.
## Stats
- 16 files, +501 / −2
- 7 new files (1 command, 1 service × 2, 1 controller, 1 DTO, 2 modules)
- Typecheck: 7 pre-existing errors, zero new
- Prettier clean
## Behavior deltas
- **\`PRE_INSTALLED_APPS\` default = empty**: existing servers see no
change on merge.
- **\`ApplicationRegistrationVariable\` is now read by the executor**:
apps that were using manifest \`serverVariables\` but expecting them to
be ignored by the executor will now see them injected. No apps ship with
\`isTool: true\` logic functions today, so this is latent — first
consumer is Exa in PR 2.
- **Tool prefix**: currently no logic-function tools are named
\`logic_function_*\` in any production flow. The prefix change affects
only future tools emitted by \`LogicFunctionToolProvider\`.
## Risks
- **CDN unavailability at startup**: if the app registry CDN is down,
\`ensureRegistrationsExist\` logs warnings but doesn't block server
start. Installation on new workspaces during this window will find no
registrations and log a non-blocking error. Backfill command can retry
after CDN recovers.
- **Cold-start overhead**: \`ensureRegistrationsExist\` is called once
per process on bootstrap. Current configurable default is empty, so zero
overhead. When an admin sets \`PRE_INSTALLED_APPS\`, they accept one
HTTP call per package at boot.
- **Server-level variables flow**:
\`ApplicationRegistrationVariable.encryptedValue\` is shared by all
workspaces of a server. Appropriate for a single-tenant Exa key. Not
appropriate for per-tenant keys — those go in workspace-level
\`ApplicationVariable\` and override.
## Test plan
- [ ] \`npx nx typecheck twenty-server\` passes (verified: 7
pre-existing unrelated errors, zero new)
- [ ] Set \`PRE_INSTALLED_APPS=@twenty-apps/hello-world\` (or any real
npm-published app), \`HELLO_WORLD_API_KEY=xxx\`, restart server:
\`ApplicationRegistration\` row is upserted,
\`ApplicationRegistrationVariable\` for HELLO_WORLD_API_KEY is populated
(encrypted).
- [ ] Create a new workspace: the app is auto-installed,
\`ApplicationEntity\` row created, \`LogicFunctionEntity\` rows created.
- [ ] Existing workspace: run \`yarn nx run twenty-server:command
install-pre-installed-apps\`: apps install across all workspaces,
idempotent on re-run.
- [ ] Trigger a logic function that reads
\`process.env.HELLO_WORLD_API_KEY\`: value resolves from the
server-level \`ApplicationRegistrationVariable\`.
- [ ] Log a charge from the handler: \`POST /app/billing/charge\` with
\`Authorization: Bearer \$DEFAULT_APP_ACCESS_TOKEN\` body
\`{creditsUsedMicro: 1000, quantity: 1, unit: "INVOCATION",
operationType: "WEB_SEARCH"}\` → returns \`{success: true}\`,
\`USAGE_RECORDED\` event emitted with correct
\`resourceId=applicationId\`.
- [ ] Tool name generated by \`LogicFunctionToolProvider\` starts with
\`app_\`.
## What's NOT in this PR (PR 2 scope)
- The Exa app itself (\`packages/twenty-apps/...\` directory)
- Removing \`WebSearchTool\`, \`WebSearchService\`, \`ExaDriver\`,
\`web-search\` module
- Removing \`WEB_SEARCH_DRIVER\` config var
- Removing the current \`exa_web_search\` entry in
\`ActionToolProvider\`
- Chat preload list updated to \`app_exa_web_search\`
- Frontend \`getToolDisplayMessage\` branch for \`app_exa_web_search\`
- Setting \`PRE_INSTALLED_APPS\` default to include \`@twenty-apps/exa\`
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
