Once you’ve created a Chat app, you can publish it so that it’s available to select people or groups, everyone in your domain, or any Google Chat user. Users can start a direct message with the app or add it to a space by choosing it from the proposed recipient list as shown below.
Users can also narrow the proposed recipient list by @mentioning the app by name. For example, if you publish an app called “Scheduler Bot” and a user in your domain types “@sch”, then Google Chat will propose your app as one of the autocomplete options.
Share your app with others
To make your app available to others, you must enable and configure the Google Chat API. See Enable the Google Chat API.
Depending on your intended audience and domain settings, you might need to perform the additional steps listed below.
Share your app only within your domain
Unless your administrator must manually add trusted apps, your app becomes available to the users you specify in the Chat API when you save the app configuration.
If your administrator must manually add trusted apps, perform the steps below:
- Follow the steps to publish your app privately to your domain using the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK. See Publish your app with the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK.
- Have your administrator add your app to the domain’s allowlist.
Make your app public
After you configure the Chat API, follow the steps to publish publicly using the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK. See Publish your app with the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK.
Enable the Google Chat API
Set up a project for your app in the Google API Console and enable the Google Chat API.
- Use the button below to create a new project (or select an existing one) and
add a service account to it. Give the service account the Project Owner
role.
Enable the API - Save the downloaded JSON key. Your app can use this key to authenticate messages that it sends to spaces asynchronously.
- Open your project in the API Console. In the list of APIs, click Google Chat API.
- Select the Configuration tab and enter the information for the app, as described below.
When you save the app configuration, your app becomes available to the specified users in your domain.
About app configuration
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| App name | The name that people use when interacting with your app. |
| Avatar URL | An HTTPS URL pointing to a square graphics image (e.g. PNG or JPEG), at least 128x128, that will appear as the avatar for your app. |
| Description | A description of the app's functionality which appears below your app's name. |
| Functionality | A set of fields that determine what events can trigger the app:
|
| Connection settings | The endpoint for the app, which is one of the following:
|
| Slash commands | Commands that can be surfaced to users within Google Chat. Allows users to see core actions for your app within Google Chat, and choose a specific action they wish to interact with. |
| Link unfurling | URL patterns that the app recognizes and provides additional content for when users send links. For more information, refer to Unfurl links. |
| Visibility | The developer-specified user visibility and install permissions for the app. You can give the visibility to select individuals (up to 5) or groups. NOTE: If your administrator requires apps to be added to the domain's allowlist and you want your chat app to be visible and installable for more then 5 users, you'll need to publish your app to your domain using the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK and have it added to the allowlist by your administrator. |
Disable your app
After you save the configuration page, an App Status field appears. This field lets you control whether the app is Live or Disabled.
To disable a Chat app:
- Open the Google Cloud console.
- If necessary, select the Google Cloud project that hosts the Chat app:
- Next to "Google Cloud," click the Down arrow . A dialog listing current projects appears.
- Select the project that hosts the migrated Chat app.
- Click Open.
- Search for "Google Chat API" and click Chat API.
- Click Manage.
- Click Configuration.
- In the "App status" section, select Disabled.
- Click Save.
Grant app configuration permissions
You can grant specific users access to the app configuration page. To do this, use the Chat apps Owner and Chat apps Viewer IAM roles. Users with these roles can't navigate to the app configuration page via the APIs & Services dashboard, but can access the configuration page by navigating to the console for their project as follows:
https://console.developers.google.com/apis/api/chat.googleapis.com/hangouts-chat?project=your-project-id
Publish your app with the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK
Use the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK to:
- Publish your app publicly and let any Google Chat user add your Chat app to a space.
- Publish your app to your domain.
Before you publish your app using the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK, follow these steps:
- Test your Chat app by installing it from Chat. Make sure your app is fully functional and not a work in progress.
- Review the publication requirements and verify that your app satisfies all of them. See Areas of review.
- Record your app’s version number--you need this to configure the Google Workspace Marketplace SDK.
When you’re ready to publish, see Overview: Publish an app.