Managing Custom Fields and JSON Conflicts Across Multiple Developer Machines

Frappe Framework Customization
1

Hi everyone,

I’d like to ask for advice or best practices on managing customizations in a multi-developer environment using Frappe/ERPNext.

:wrench: Our Current Setup

  • Each developer has their own test machine.
  • We’re working on multiple apps
  • Previously, I worked solo, and custom fields were handled smoothly via custom/****.json in each app.

Now that we’re a team of three developers, we’re running into issues with field changes getting out of sync between machines.

:pray: Looking for Suggestions

  • How do teams manage custom field exports (JSON) without overwriting each other?
  • Is there a recommended workflow or version control practice to avoid these conflicts?
  • Any tips on managing multiple apps and customizations cleanly?

:thought_balloon: Thoughts We Had

  • Should we centralize the JSON update process?
  • Should we use fixtures instead of custom.json?
  • Would you recommend scripting field creation via hooks or migrations?

Would love to hear how other teams are doing this.

Thanks in advance!

2

  1. If fields belong to your own custom app, then it shouldn’t be a problem as they live in their own doctype.json file and any conflicts can be resolved with git.

  2. If fields belong to a different app that you’re not managing, you should use fixtures for that:
    a) Use tabProperty Setter if you’re just changing properties of those fields.
    b) Use tabCustom Field if you’re adding a new fields.

3

Git is the solution whereever you host or use it. It will give you the conflicts during commit and push events.