generate-appian-app

name

generate-appian-app

description

Generate an importable Appian application package (ZIP) from an `API_Contract` JSON. The package includes record types, web APIs, groups, an application wrapper, DDL, and a manifest — everything needed to stand up the data model in an Appian environment. Use this skill when the user says "generate the Appian app", "create the Appian package", "build the app ZIP", or "hook this up to Appian". Prerequisite: run the `extract-prototype-contract` skill first.

Generate Appian App

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
contract_path	string	No	Path to the API_Contract JSON. Defaults to appian-output/api-contract.json.
output_dir	string	No	Output directory. Defaults to appian-output/.

Outputs

All artifacts are written to <output_dir>/<app_name>/:

Artifact	Description
<app_name>/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF	Appian version manifest
<app_name>/application/<app-uuid>.xml	Application wrapper
<app_name>/group/<admin-uuid>.xml	Admin group
<app_name>/group/<viewer-uuid>.xml	Viewer group
<app_name>/recordType/<uuid>.xml	One per record type
<app_name>/webApi/<uuid>.xml	One per endpoint
ddl.sql	CREATE TABLE statements

Instructions

Step 1 — Read and validate the contract

1. Read the API_Contract JSON from contract_path.
2. Validate it has: app_name, app_uuid, base_url, auth_tier, endpoints[], record_types[].
3. Extract the prefix from the first record type name (e.g., "TD Task" → prefix "TD").

Step 2 — Generate UUIDs

Generate fresh UUIDs for:

• Admin group
• Viewer group
• Each web API endpoint (one UUID per endpoint)
• Version UUIDs for each object

Record type UUIDs come from the contract (already generated by the extraction skill).

Step 3 — Generate group XMLs

Admin group (<PREFIX> Administrators):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<groupHaul xmlns:a="http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009">
    <versionUuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></versionUuid>
    <group>
        <name><PREFIX> Administrators</name>
        <securityMap>SECURITYMAP_TEAM</securityMap>
        <uuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></uuid>
        <groupTypeUuid>SYSTEM_GROUP_TYPE_CUSTOM</groupTypeUuid>
        <description>Assigns Administrator permissions to users for objects in the application</description>
        <delegatedCreation>false</delegatedCreation>
        <memberPolicy>MEMBERPOLICY_CLOSED</memberPolicy>
        <viewingPolicy>VIEWINGPOLICY_LOW</viewingPolicy>
        <attributes/>
    </group>
    <members><users/><groups/></members>
    <admins>
        <users/>
        <groups><groupUuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></groupUuid></groups>
    </admins>
    <ruleSet/>
    <history><historyInfo versionUuid="<ADMIN_GROUP_UUID>"/></history>
</groupHaul>

Viewer group (<PREFIX> Users):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<groupHaul xmlns:a="http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009">
    <versionUuid><VIEWER_GROUP_UUID></versionUuid>
    <group>
        <name><PREFIX> Users</name>
        <securityMap>SECURITYMAP_TEAM</securityMap>
        <uuid><VIEWER_GROUP_UUID></uuid>
        <groupTypeUuid>SYSTEM_GROUP_TYPE_CUSTOM</groupTypeUuid>
        <description>Assigns Viewer permissions to users for objects in the application</description>
        <delegatedCreation>false</delegatedCreation>
        <memberPolicy>MEMBERPOLICY_CLOSED</memberPolicy>
        <viewingPolicy>VIEWINGPOLICY_LOW</viewingPolicy>
        <attributes/>
    </group>
    <members>
        <users/>
        <groups><groupUuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></groupUuid></groups>
    </members>
    <admins>
        <users/>
        <groups><groupUuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></groupUuid></groups>
    </admins>
    <ruleSet/>
    <history><historyInfo versionUuid="<VIEWER_GROUP_UUID>"/></history>
</groupHaul>

Step 4 — Generate record type XMLs

For each record type in the contract, generate a recordTypeHaul XML. This is the most complex artifact.

Field type mapping:

Contract type	Appian XML type	Source field type
Integer	{http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009}Integer	INTEGER
Text	{http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009}Text	VARCHAR(255)
Boolean	{http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009}Boolean	BOOLEAN
Datetime	{http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009}Datetime	TIMESTAMP
User	{http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009}User	VARCHAR

For each field, generate a UUID and a <field> block inside <sourceConfiguration>:

<field>
    <uuid><FIELD_UUID></uuid>
    <type><APPIAN_XML_TYPE></type>
    <sourceFieldName><COLUMN_NAME></sourceFieldName>
    <sourceFieldType><SOURCE_FIELD_TYPE></sourceFieldType>
    <fieldName><camelCaseFieldName></fieldName>
    <isRecordId><!-- true only for id field --></isRecordId>
    <isUnique><!-- true only for id field --></isUnique>
    <isCustomField>false</isCustomField>
    <customFieldExpr/>
    <customFieldDefaultValueStr>null</customFieldDefaultValueStr>
    <fieldCalculationType>NA</fieldCalculationType>
    <fieldTemplateType>NA</fieldTemplateType>
    <isIndexable>false</isIndexable>
    <subType>NA</subType>
    <displayNameSource>STATIC</displayNameSource>
    <descriptionSource>STATIC</descriptionSource>
    <compositePkPrecedence>-1</compositePkPrecedence>
    <isHidden>false</isHidden>
</field>

• sourceFieldName: convert camelCase to SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE (e.g., dueDate → DUE_DATE, id → ID)
• isRecordId and isUnique: true only for the id field

For User-type fields, also generate a recordRelationshipCfg:

<a:recordRelationshipCfg>
    <uuid><RELATIONSHIP_UUID></uuid>
    <relationshipName><fieldName>User</relationshipName>
    <targetRecordTypeUuid>SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER</targetRecordTypeUuid>
    <relationshipType>MANY_TO_ONE</relationshipType>
    <relationshipData>{"sourceRecordTypeFieldUuid":"<FIELD_UUID>","targetRecordTypeFieldUuid":"SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER_FIELD_username","relationshipOperator":"1","joinTableSourceField":"","joinTableTargetField":""}</relationshipData>
    <updateBehavior>NON_CASCADING</updateBehavior>
</a:recordRelationshipCfg>

Full record type XML template:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<recordTypeHaul xmlns:a="http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
  <versionUuid><VERSION_UUID></versionUuid>
  <recordType a:uuid="<RECORD_TYPE_UUID>" name="<RECORD_TYPE_NAME>">
    <a:pluralName><PLURAL_NAME></a:pluralName>
    <a:description/>
    <a:urlStub><SHORT_STUB></a:urlStub>
    <a:source xsi:type="a:RecordsReplica"/>
    <a:listViewTemplateExpr><!-- basic grid expression --></a:listViewTemplateExpr>
    <a:isSystem>false</a:isSystem>
    <a:dataSrcExpr/>
    <a:facetsListExpr/>
    <a:titleExpr>rv!record[#"urn:appian:record-field:v1:<RECORD_TYPE_UUID>/<ID_FIELD_UUID>"]</a:titleExpr>
    <a:defaultFiltersExpr/>
    <a:layoutType>GRID</a:layoutType>
    <a:security>16383</a:security>
    <a:hideLatestNews>false</a:hideLatestNews>
    <a:hideNewsView>false</a:hideNewsView>
    <a:hideRelatedActionsView>false</a:hideRelatedActionsView>
    <a:isExportable>true</a:isExportable>
    <a:listViewSrcExpr/>
    <a:recordViewSrcExpr/>
    <!-- recordRelationshipCfg entries for User fields go here -->
    <a:recordTypeSearchCfg>
      <searchFieldsSrc>DEFAULT</searchFieldsSrc>
      <placeholderSrc>DEFAULT</placeholderSrc>
      <placeholder/>
    </a:recordTypeSearchCfg>
    <a:iconId/>
    <a:listAutoRefreshInterval>0.0</a:listAutoRefreshInterval>
    <a:sourceConfiguration>
      <sourceUuid><TABLE_NAME>@jdbc/Appian</sourceUuid>
      <sourceType>RDBMS_TABLE</sourceType>
      <sourceSubType>NONE</sourceSubType>
      <friendlyName><TABLE_NAME></friendlyName>
      <sourceFilterExpr/>
      <!-- field elements go here -->
      <uuid><SOURCE_CONFIG_UUID></uuid>
      <refreshSchedule>
        <value>{"hour":3,"minute":"00","amPM":"AM","timeZone":"America/New_York","version":"v1"}</value>
        <activated>false</activated>
      </refreshSchedule>
      <skipFailureEnabled>true</skipFailureEnabled>
      <recordIdGeneratorUuid/>
    </a:sourceConfiguration>
    <a:enabledFeatures>63</a:enabledFeatures>
    <a:isVisibleInRecordTypeList>false</a:isVisibleInRecordTypeList>
    <a:recordActionLaunchType>DIALOG</a:recordActionLaunchType>
    <a:showSearchBox>true</a:showSearchBox>
    <a:isVisibleInDataFabric>false</a:isVisibleInDataFabric>
    <a:usesRollingSyncLimit>false</a:usesRollingSyncLimit>
    <a:usesRecoverySync>false</a:usesRecoverySync>
    <a:isScheduledIndexingEnabled>false</a:isScheduledIndexingEnabled>
    <a:smartSearchAcceptableFailureRate>0.0</a:smartSearchAcceptableFailureRate>
    <a:skipFailedSmartServicesSync>false</a:skipFailedSmartServicesSync>
    <a:creationSource>UNKNOWN</a:creationSource>
  </recordType>
  <roleMap>
    <role name="record_type_administrator">
      <users/>
      <groups><groupUuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></groupUuid></groups>
    </role>
    <role name="record_type_viewer">
      <users/>
      <groups><groupUuid><VIEWER_GROUP_UUID></groupUuid></groups>
    </role>
  </roleMap>
  <history>
    <historyInfo versionUuid="<VERSION_UUID>"/>
  </history>
  <migrationVersion>1</migrationVersion>
</recordTypeHaul>

List view template expression:

Generate a basic recordGridField expression that shows all non-User fields as columns:

#"SYSTEM_SYSRULES_recordGridField"(
  columns: {
    <!-- one gridColumn per non-User field -->
    #"SYSTEM_SYSRULES_gridColumn"(
      label: "<Field Display Name>",
      sortField: #"urn:appian:record-field:v1:<RECORD_TYPE_UUID>/<FIELD_UUID>",
      value: fv!row[#"urn:appian:record-field:v1:<RECORD_TYPE_UUID>/<FIELD_UUID>"]
    ),
    ...
  },
  pageSize: 50,
  shadeAlternateRows: true
)

Convert camelCase field names to Title Case for labels (e.g., dueDate → Due Date).

Step 5 — Generate web API XMLs

For each endpoint in the contract, generate a webApiHaul XML.

GET endpoint expression (uses system rule references):

a!localVariables(
  local!records: #"SYSTEM_SYSRULES_queryRecordType_v2"(
    recordType: #"urn:appian:record-type:v1:<RECORD_TYPE_UUID>",
    pagingInfo: #"SYSTEM_SYSRULES_pagingInfo"(
      startIndex: 1,
      batchSize: 500
    )
  ).data,
  #"SYSTEM_SYSRULES_httpResponse_v1"(
    headers: {
      #"SYSTEM_SYSRULES_httpHeader"(name: "Content-Type", value: "application/json")
    },
    body: #"SYSTEM_SYSRULES_toJson_v1"(value: local!records)
  )
)

To find the correct record type UUID: match the endpoint's response_fields or request_fields to a record type in the contract by comparing field names.

POST write endpoint expression (uses a!writeRecords directly — no process models):

a!localVariables(
  local!value: cast(
    'recordType!{<RECORD_TYPE_UUID>}<RECORD_TYPE_NAME>',
    a!fromJson(http!request.body)
  ),
  a!writeRecords(
    records: local!value,
    onSuccess: a!httpResponse(
      statusCode: 200,
      headers: {
        a!httpHeader(name: "Content-Type", value: "application/json")
      },
      body: a!toJson(fv!recordsUpdated)
    ),
    onError: a!httpResponse(
      statusCode: 500,
      headers: {
        a!httpHeader(name: "Content-Type", value: "application/json")
      },
      body: a!toJson(
        a!map(
          message: "Write request has failed",
          error: fv!error
        )
      )
    )
  )
)

POST delete endpoint expression:

a!localVariables(
  local!id: a!fromJson(http!request.body).id,
  a!deleteRecords(
    records: {
      'recordType!{<RECORD_TYPE_UUID>}<RECORD_TYPE_NAME>'(id: local!id)
    },
    onSuccess: a!httpResponse(
      statusCode: 200,
      headers: {
        a!httpHeader(name: "Content-Type", value: "application/json")
      },
      body: a!toJson(a!map(success: true))
    ),
    onError: a!httpResponse(
      statusCode: 500,
      headers: {
        a!httpHeader(name: "Content-Type", value: "application/json")
      },
      body: a!toJson(
        a!map(
          message: "Delete request has failed",
          error: fv!error
        )
      )
    )
  )
)

Web API XML template:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<webApiHaul xmlns:a="http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009">
    <versionUuid><VERSION_UUID></versionUuid>
    <webApi a:uuid="<API_UUID>" name="<ENDPOINT_NAME>">
        <a:description></a:description>
        <a:expression><EXPRESSION></a:expression>
        <a:urlAlias><ALIAS></a:urlAlias>
        <a:httpMethod><METHOD></a:httpMethod>
        <a:system>false</a:system>
        <a:requestBodyType>NONE</a:requestBodyType>
        <a:loggingEnabled>false</a:loggingEnabled>
    </webApi>
    <roleMap>
        <role name="web_api_administrator">
            <users/>
            <groups><groupUuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></groupUuid></groups>
        </role>
        <role name="web_api_viewer">
            <users/>
            <groups><groupUuid><VIEWER_GROUP_UUID></groupUuid></groups>
        </role>
    </roleMap>
    <typedValue>
        <type>
            <name>WebApiRequest?list</name>
            <namespace>http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009</namespace>
        </type>
        <value>
            <el>
                <a:path/>
                <!-- For POST endpoints, include Content-Type header and empty body -->
                <a:headers>
                    <a:name>Content-Type</a:name>
                    <a:value>application/json</a:value>
                </a:headers>
                <a:body>{}</a:body>
            </el>
        </value>
    </typedValue>
    <history>
        <historyInfo versionUuid="<VERSION_UUID>"/>
    </history>
</webApiHaul>

For GET endpoints, the <typedValue> section should have <a:body/> (empty) instead of <a:body>{}</a:body>, and no <a:headers> block.

Step 6 — Generate application XML

Generate the application wrapper that references all generated objects:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<applicationHaul xmlns:a="http://www.appian.com/ae/types/2009">
    <versionUuid><APP_VERSION_UUID></versionUuid>
    <application>
        <name><APP_NAME></name>
        <uuid><APP_UUID></uuid>
        <description>Generated from prototype</description>
        <parentUuid>SYSTEM_APPLICATIONS_ROOT</parentUuid>
        <visibility>
            <advertise>false</advertise>
            <hierarchy>true</hierarchy>
            <indexable>true</indexable>
            <quota>false</quota>
            <searchable>true</searchable>
            <system>false</system>
            <unlogged>false</unlogged>
        </visibility>
        <urlIdentifier><SHORT_ID></urlIdentifier>
        <published>false</published>
        <public>false</public>
        <prefix><PREFIX></prefix>
        <associatedObjects>
            <globalIdMap>
                <!-- Include items for each type, with UUIDs for group, recordType, webApi -->
                <item><type>group</type><uuids>
                    <uuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></uuid>
                    <uuid><VIEWER_GROUP_UUID></uuid>
                </uuids></item>
                <item><type>recordType</type><uuids>
                    <!-- one uuid per record type -->
                </uuids></item>
                <item><type>webApi</type><uuids>
                    <!-- one uuid per web API -->
                </uuids></item>
                <!-- All other type items with empty uuids -->
            </globalIdMap>
        </associatedObjects>
        <applicationNavigation/>
        <applicationActions/>
        <associatedApplications>
            <globalIdMap>
                <!-- All type items with empty uuids -->
            </globalIdMap>
        </associatedApplications>
    </application>
    <roleMap>
        <contentRoleMap public="true">
            <role inherit="false" allowForAll="false" name="readers">
                <users/><groups><groupUuid><VIEWER_GROUP_UUID></groupUuid></groups>
            </role>
            <role inherit="false" allowForAll="false" name="authors">
                <users/><groups/>
            </role>
            <role inherit="false" allowForAll="false" name="administrators">
                <users/><groups><groupUuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></groupUuid></groups>
            </role>
            <role inherit="false" allowForAll="false" name="denyReaders"><users/><groups/></role>
            <role inherit="false" allowForAll="false" name="denyAuthors"><users/><groups/></role>
            <role inherit="false" allowForAll="false" name="denyAdministrators"><users/><groups/></role>
        </contentRoleMap>
    </roleMap>
    <defaultApplicationObjects>
        <object>
            <objectKey>defaultAdminsGroup</objectKey>
            <objectType>group</objectType>
            <objectUuid><ADMIN_GROUP_UUID></objectUuid>
        </object>
        <object>
            <objectKey>defaultUsersGroup</objectKey>
            <objectType>group</objectType>
            <objectUuid><VIEWER_GROUP_UUID></objectUuid>
        </object>
    </defaultApplicationObjects>
    <applicationDocumentation/>
    <history>
        <historyInfo versionUuid="<APP_UUID>"/>
        <historyInfo versionUuid="<APP_VERSION_UUID>"/>
    </history>
    <postDeploymentProcessData/>
</applicationHaul>

The globalIdMap in associatedObjects must include ALL type entries (even empty ones) to match the Appian export format. Use the Case Management export as a reference for the complete list of types.

Step 7 — Generate MANIFEST.MF

Manifest-Version: 1.0
Appian-Version: 26.3.0.65
Created-On: <ISO_TIMESTAMP>

Step 8 — Generate DDL

For each record type, generate a CREATE TABLE statement:

CREATE TABLE <TABLE_NAME> (
    <COLUMN_NAME> <SQL_TYPE> PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,  -- for id field
    <COLUMN_NAME> <SQL_TYPE>,              -- for other fields
    ...
);

SQL type mapping:

Appian type	SQL type
Integer	INTEGER
Text	VARCHAR(255)
Boolean	BOOLEAN
Datetime	TIMESTAMP
User	VARCHAR(255)

Write all statements to <output_dir>/ddl.sql.

Step 9 — Write all files

Create the directory structure and write all files:

<output_dir>/
  <app_name>/
    META-INF/
      MANIFEST.MF
    application/
      <app-uuid>.xml
    group/
      <admin-uuid>.xml
      <viewer-uuid>.xml
    recordType/
      <record-uuid>.xml   (one per record type)
    webApi/
      <api-uuid>.xml      (one per endpoint)
  ddl.sql

Step 10 — Present summary

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Appian App Generated: <app_name>
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  Prefix:       <PREFIX>
  Record types: <N>
  Web APIs:     <M> (<G> GET, <P> POST)
  Groups:       2 (Administrators, Users)

  Output: <output_dir>/<app_name>/

  Next steps:
    1. Run the DDL in ddl.sql against your Appian data source
    2. Import the <app_name>/ folder as an Appian package
    3. Sync the record types in Appian Designer
    4. Test the web APIs using the Appian API tester
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Reference files

#[[file:schemas/api-contract.schema.json]] #[[file:gitignore/appian-app-skillset/web-api-gen-context/Case Management (app export)/recordType/e5a92c16-4f98-456f-beb2-31cee9a0efc0.xml]] #[[file:gitignore/appian-app-skillset/web-api-gen-context/Case Management - Generated APIs - 2026-04-08_1706/webApi/89a21248-c9ae-484c-bcb0-271876041c37.xml]] #[[file:gitignore/appian-app-skillset/web-api-gen-context/Case Management (app export)/application/ebecd19a-1e11-4f62-9519-f08dbc9b3a2e.xml]] #[[file:gitignore/appian-app-skillset/web-api-gen-context/Case Management (app export)/group/09b87e8a-a2fd-4f42-8130-6bd081c6e66c.xml]] #[[file:gitignore/write-records-api.txt]]