We had a kick-off call last week for the Marketplace working group, here are the notes from the same.
Vision: To build and grow a marketplace of high-quality, self-serve apps for the Frappeverse.
How we plan to achieve this?
Easier community collaboration for reviews, faster feedback loops for publishers
Independent of Frappe Cloud, one-click apps, even for self-hosted users
High standard guidelines, with emphasis on self-service apps = high quality apps
Implementation
Two major pieces: Marketplace Admin app (Phase 1, will be hosted on marketplace.frappe.io) and a store app for Frappe sites (Phase 2)
To begin with Admin app will have what FC has right now: publisher dashboard, listing
Automated checks: CI (it should not break installs for users)
README conventions, automated parsing
CRON checks for regularly auditing existing apps
We will have two categories of reviewers: L1 and L2. Community members can apply to become L1 reviewers and will get access to the admin desk for shortlisting apps. L1 reviewers can then be promoted by other L2 members. L2 reviewers will hit the final publish button. Maybe we can do a vote for L2 reviewers later, for now it will be Rahul and I.
Action Items
@devarshi_rtcamp and I will be working on the implementation part to start with. First order of business is to migrate existing listing to the new platform / app.
The New Community Org
I have setup a new GitHub org for community projects, which has the marketplace app repository. Feel free to create issues.
P.S. These calls are going to be open for anyone to join. Please join #marketplace channel on our community Raven to stay updated.
Sai from rtCamp to join the working group to help with meeting notes, keeping the community updated, helping onboard reviewers.
To start with a duplicate listing, so that we can start onboarding community reviewers (ease up the transition, we also get something to iterate on)
Action Items:
Hussain to create a basic version of the marketplace admin app (no frontend yet, desk-only) by next week (a dev from rtCamp will join in a month or two). The DocTypes will be similar to what FC has.
Standardization of README
There are 60+ apps in the backlog to be published, and Hussain is working on cleaning them.
A standard README format is needed for consistency and automated parsing.
Reviewer Roles and Process
L1 Reviewers:
Shortlist apps for L2 review
Add comments, communicate with publishers, and provide feedback.
L2 Reviewers:
Approve and publish apps
If an L1 reviewer consistently performs well, they can be promoted to L2.
Onboarding Criteria for Reviewers
Preferably active in the Frappe ecosystem—published at least one app or contributed to Frappe Core. Not an automatic eligibility rule, but it helps in filtering applicants.
Onboarding will begin first; rules and thresholds can be finalized based on observed member activity.
Reviewer Activity Expectations
Reviewers are volunteers, so strict caps on minimum reviews per month won’t be enforced initially.
Suggested: at least one app review per month as a baseline for active participation.
If inactive, reviewer privileges (L1/L2) may be revoked.
Community & Guidelines Setup
Plan to set up a community for the marketplace and a web form for onboarding reviewers with eligibility criteria.
Reference from WordPress plugin review process shared by Rahul:
WordPress Plugin Handbook
Frappe Marketplace will follow a similar self-service and community-driven approach.
Next Steps
Hussain to prepare README and L1/L2 Reviewer Guidelines.
Create a Web form for reviewer onboarding with eligibility criteria. Then begin onboarding and track early activity before finalizing rules.
Continuing from the earlier marketplace call, this session focused on README structure, automation plans, and next steps for improving Marketplace app quality and developer experience.
Discussion Summary
The meeting focused on creating a standardized, automation-ready README structure to improve app quality and streamline the review process. Frappe Marketplace will draw inspiration from the WordPress model, emphasizing documentation, transparency, and long-term ecosystem scalability.
1. Hiring & Development Timeline
Rahul mentioned that a developer will be available from January to actively work on Marketplace development.
Hussain noted that core development is temporarily paused, but documentation and structure work will continue.
2. Standardizing README Format
Hussain emphasized the need for a standard README structure to ensure quality and consistency across all marketplace apps.
Plan to document this format first and later automate validation.
All new submissions are currently required to include a CI (Continuous Integration) check.
Common issue: Many publishers use AI to generate long or inconsistent READMEs.
Hussain personally approved a few apps and does some minor edits during publishing.
Reference Models:
Rahul shared examples from the WordPress plugin ecosystem, where the README is:
Standardized with sections like Description, Installation, Changelog, Support, and Contributors.
Parsed automatically to generate tabs and contributor data on WordPress.org.
Rahul highlighted that the WordPress ecosystem’s success lies in its developer-friendly APIs and extensibility, which allowed thousands to build sustainable products.
For Frappe to achieve similar growth, more hooks and overridable components are needed to empower app developers.
Next Steps
Hussain to finalize README structure draft and publish documentation.
Rahul to provide feedback and examples from WordPress standards.
Setup automated README parser and checker prototype.
Prepare Terms & Conditions for publishers regarding README updates and support activity.
Developer onboarding is planned for January, with Hussain mentoring and Kanchan assisting in the interim.
This session focused on automation planning for the Marketplace, collaboration opportunities for new developers, and ecosystem expansion through education and quality contributions.
Discussion Summary
1. New Developer Onboarding & Training
Kanchan proposed assigning an associate developer familiar with the Frappe Framework to work on Marketplace-related automations.
Hussain agreed to mentor and onboard the developer, starting with smaller tasks and evaluating progress within a month.
2. Marketplace Automation & Review Flow
Currently, new apps are manually reviewed by Hussain.
The team agreed that the next milestone must focus on automating review and approval processes.
Goal: Build a self-sustaining, automated approval pipeline to reduce manual intervention.
Proposed Automation Flow:
Every release will be validated via README format checks and CI workflows.
If automation clears the delta (no policy or structural changes), the app can be auto-approved for future releases.
Any flagged apps will appear in a review report for manual approval.
Introduce whitelisting for trusted publishers based on contribution and quality history.
A report button to flag any problematic apps.
Long-term Goal:
Automation should ensure quality control without blocking legitimate developer updates, especially for routine version releases.
3. Opt-In Compliance
Hussain raised concerns about site data collected by apps and need to handle it responsibly.
Rahul emphasized adopting an opt-in (GDPR-style) model with transparent consent and default opt-out settings.
The team agreed that quality and trust are more important than rapid automation.
4. Ecosystem Collaboration & Education
Umair shared that a satellite manufacturing company in Thailand is using ERPNext - a strong validation of global adoption.
Rahul discussed parallels from WordPress, highlighting that its success stems from:
Developer-friendly APIs
Strong community participation
Collaboration with educational institutions
Ecosystem Initiatives:
Encourage companies to nominate team members to contribute as reviewers or developers.
Introduce karma/reward systems for active contributors.
Build partnerships with colleges teaching Frappe, integrating projects into their software curriculum.
Rahul suggested a model similar to WordPress’ - guaranteeing opportunities for top-performing colleges.
Hussain noted that some Indian colleges already have a Frappe curriculum, opening doors for collaboration via Frappe School.
5. Notifications
Umair proposed sending a notification to marketplace publishers about the ERPNext v16 upgrade to ensure compatibility and timely updates.
Next Steps
Kanchan to introduce the new developer to Hussain tomorrow.
Hussain to start mentoring and set up the automation task base.
Begin drafting auto-approval rules and policies.
Implement README validation and automated release checks as the first automation milestone.