NOTE: App developer platform is in beta. If you have any feedback about this feature, please submit it here.
Kit is opening up a world of opportunities and functionality for our creators by empowering third-party developers to build on top of our application and better integrate the creator’s toolkit in one place.
Building an app on Kit is completely self-serve. Here's how you can build, test, and publish an app in your Kit account.
Setting up
Visit the Kit App Store by going to Automate in the top navigation menu, followed by Apps. From there, select the Build tab, and click + New app at the top right.
A form will pop up. Fill it out with your app's name, and click Save.
Once you do this, you'll be directed to an App details page for your newly created app.
The details you provide here will be shown on the app details page that appears when users click your app's Learn more option in the Kit App Store.
NOTE: Preview the app details page by clicking your app's Preview option in the Build tab of the Kit App Store.
Only the App name field is required when you create and test your app. But you'll need to provide more information before you can publish the app to the Kit App Store. This information includes:
Icon
Summary
Description
Resource links
Click Save to save the changes to your app's details.
API and plugin access
An app can contain either API access, one or many plugins, or both. Here are the key differences:
API access: You can allow creators to install apps that can link together external platforms to work in harmony. We control authentication here and developers have to request access on behalf of a creator to us to approve. This is all built upon V4 of our API.
Plugins: You can add content directly into the Kit app UI. Kit needs to authenticate against the third party to be able to pull the data required to be rendered within Kit.
To set up your app authentication strategies, visit the Authentication tab, where you can configure and toggle API and plugin access on and off.
For more details on authentication, visit our developer documentation or the corresponding help center article:
Testing your app
View your apps on the Build tab of the Kit App Store. You'll be able to see:
Whether you have installed the app—from the display of the green installed tick, or
Whether it is a draft, from the "Draft" badge in the bottom corner.
From here, click Preview to view your app's app details page, as well as install it within your own account.
The app will not be available for other Kit users to install until you've published it.
V4 API Keys
Though all apps accessing our API require OAuth authentication before they can be published, a great way of prototyping and testing our API's functionality is to use V4 API keys.
More details on creating and managing API keys can be found here.
NOTE: API keys are meant for individual use only. If you're creating something for people to use, you'll need to build an app—giving you access to plugins, bulk and purchase endpoints, higher rate limits, and more.
Publishing your app
Once you've set up your app details and have configured at least one authentication method (either API access or at least one plugin), send the app for approval by clicking the Submit for approval button in the Distribution tab within your app settings:
Click the Submit for Approval button in the window that pops up to confirm.
Your app will be submitted to us for approval. If we need a test account with your service to review your app, please send the test account's information to [email protected] alongside any details on the app functionality and steps for testing.
Once approved by our team, the developer account will receive an email that the app is ready to be published.
When ready, hit Publish and your app will automatically be available in the Kit App Store for all eligible creators (currently all paid plans), as well as our Kit App marketing site.
If we reject your app, we'll send you an email explaining the issues we found. You can then make changes to your app and click Resubmit for approval to have us review it again.
Unpublishing or deleting your app
To unpublish your app, go to the Build tab and click your app's Edit button. Navigate to the Distribution tab, and click the Unpublish button at the bottom to unpublish it.
When you unpublish your app, it will no longer be publicly visible in the Kit App Store. However, creators who already have your app installed can continue to use it.
To make your unpublished app unavailable for use (while still keeping it installed for creators), you'll need to:
Deactivate the app's plugin authentication, and/or
Pause the sending of API calls from your app.
Alternatively, you can delete your app. This will remove it from the Kit App Store and the accounts of creators who have installed it. These creators will no longer be able to use your app.
Delete your app by clicking your app's Edit button from the Build tab. Navigate to the Distribution tab, and click the Delete button at the bottom.