Create autohosted apps
Published: July 16, 2012
Get a quick overview of autohosted apps for SharePoint and how to develop them.
Applies to: apps for SharePoint | Office 365 | SharePoint Foundation 2013 | SharePoint Server 2013
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The infrastructure for autohosted apps will remain in preview status for a period of time after SharePoint 2013 releases. Autohosted apps (which include all apps that depend on Access) will not be accepted by the Office Store during this preview phase. We will update dev.office.com with information about autohosted apps as it becomes available. |
Like provider-hosted apps for SharePoint, autohosted apps for SharePoint include external components in addition to whatever SharePoint components they may have. The primary differences between the two types of apps are the following:
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The external components of an autohosted app are installed automatically when the app for SharePoint is itself installed, so you do not have to create any custom installation logic for an autohosted app.
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With an autohosted app, every instance of the app is automatically isolated from all other instances.
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A provider-hosted app can use any web development stack and any database for its external components, including non-Microsoft platforms. An autohosted app can use all types of ASP.NET websites and web applications. The database component, if any, in an autohosted app must be a SQL Azure database.
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The external components of a provider-hosted app can be hosted in any external server, cluster, or cloud service, including non-Microsoft cloud services; but the external websites of an autohosted app can be deployed only to a Windows Azure Web Site and the database components can only be deployed to SQL Azure. Tenancies on SharePoint Online for developers have Windows Azure Web Sites associated with them and a hidden SQL Azure account.
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With an autohosted app, you do not have to register with an OAuth-compliant secure token server (STS), nor do you have to create an app principal for the app and register it with the STS. These tasks are done automatically when the app is installed. For apps installed to SharePoint Online for developers, Microsoft supplies an STS.
Development of an autohosted app is essentially the same as development of a simple, single-tenant, provider-hosted app that includes a remote ASP.NET web application or a SQL Azure database. If the app includes a database component, a DACPAC is also required. It can be created in Visual Studio or by exporting from an existing database.
If the autohosted app includes SharePoint components, they are developed exactly as they are in a SharePoint-hosted app.
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For guidance on how to set up a development environment that fits your needs, see Start building apps for Office and SharePoint. |
