---name: frappe-app-devdescription: >-time the user mentions: creating or modifying a DocType, writing a controller---

Frappe Full-Stack App Builder

Global Rules

• Use bare bench. Not ./env/bin/bench. Not a full path.
• Do not run which bench, bench --version, bench --help, or check frappe version. No discovery commands.
• Do not delegate bench detection to a subagent. Run ls apps/ sites/ Procfile yourself.
• Do not create DocType folders with mkdir. Frappe creates them via bench migrate.
• Run bench start in a background process only.
• Before running bench start, check if it's already running in an existing terminal. Do not start a second instance.
• Always pass --site <site> explicitly to bench commands. Never run bare bench migrate.

Flow Selection

Determine which flow applies, then read ONLY the relevant file:

Creating a brand new app

Read new-app.md — covers bench setup, app scaffolding, site creation, and installation.

Working on an existing app

Read existing-app.md — covers finding the bench, locating the app, confirming site, and extending features.

Feature References

Load ONLY the references needed for the current task:

Topic	When to load	File
Site management	Finding/creating/managing sites	site-management.md
DocTypes	Creating/modifying DocTypes, fields, naming	doctypes.md
Controllers	Document lifecycle, server logic	controllers.md
Whitelisted APIs	REST endpoints, @frappe.whitelist()	api.md
Database & ORM	frappe.db, queries, raw SQL	database.md
Caching	Redis, frappe.cache	caching.md
Realtime	WebSocket, publish_realtime	realtime.md
Background jobs	frappe.enqueue, scheduled jobs	background-jobs.md
Hooks	hooks.py patterns	hooks.md
Permissions	Roles, DocType permissions, has_permission	permissions.md
Testing	Writing & running tests	testing.md
Frontend & UI	Desk UI, Vue SPA, portal pages	frontend.md (router → 3 sub-files)
Bench CLI	All bench commands reference	bench-operations.md