Publishing an App | Help Center

Publishing Your App to the Marketplace

Developers can build and publish apps for the Cartly marketplace. This guide covers the submission process.

Developer Account

To publish apps, you need a Cartly developer account. Register through the developer portal and agree to the developer terms of service. Developer accounts are free.

Building Your App

Cartly apps use OAuth 2.0 for authentication and REST/GraphQL APIs for data access. Your app needs:

OAuth client — Register your app in the developer portal to get client ID and secret
Redirect URI — The URL where merchants are sent after authorizing your app
Scopes — The permissions your app needs (read_products, write_orders, etc.)
App UI — Your app's interface, either embedded in the Cartly admin via App Bridge or hosted externally

App Bridge

For embedded apps, use the Cartly App Bridge JavaScript SDK to integrate your app seamlessly into the admin panel. App Bridge provides:

Authentication token management
Navigation within the admin
Modal and toast notifications
Action buttons in the admin header

Submission Process

Create a listing — In the developer portal, create your app listing with title, description, screenshots, and pricing
Upload a release — Submit a release with your app version, changelog, and required permissions
Review — The Cartly team reviews your app for security, functionality, and user experience. This typically takes 3-5 business days.
Approval — Once approved, your app is published to the marketplace and available for merchants to install

Review Criteria

Apps are evaluated on:

Security — Proper OAuth implementation, secure data handling
Functionality — The app works as described without critical bugs
Performance — The app does not degrade the merchant's admin experience
UX — Clear instructions, intuitive interface, proper error handling
Privacy — Transparent data usage, GDPR compliance

App Updates

Submit new releases through the developer portal. Minor updates (bug fixes, UI improvements) are auto-approved. Major updates that change permissions or core functionality go through the review process again.

Revenue Share

Cartly charges a 20% revenue share on paid app subscriptions. Payouts are processed monthly through Stripe Connect. Free apps have no revenue share.