Create an External Client App

External client apps are the new generation of connected apps, designed to improve security and solve packaging and distribution issues that affect connected apps.

Connected apps creation is restricted as of Spring ‘26. You can continue to use existing connected apps during and after Spring ‘26. However, we recommend using external client apps instead. If you must continue creating connected apps, contact Salesforce Support. See New connected apps can no longer be created in Spring ‘26 for more details. If you have an existing local connected app, migrate your app by following the directions in Create an External Client App from a Connected App.

A Salesforce administrator creates external client apps on the Salesforce server. Salesforce external client apps include many settings that are used only by other mobile offerings such as the Salesforce app. The following steps cover the settings that apply to Mobile SDK apps.

To create an external client app:

  1. From Setup, in the Quick Find box, enter App Manager, and then select App Manager.
  2. Click New External Client App.
  3. Under Basic Information, fill out the form as follows:
    • External Client App Name: (whatever you like; can contain spaces)
    • API Name: accept the suggested value
    • Contact Email: enter your email address
    • Distribution State: To develop an external client app for your local org, select Local. To develop an external client app for packaging and distribution, set the Distribution State to Packaged.
  4. Under API (Enable OAuth Settings), check Enable OAuth Settings.
  5. Set Callback URL to any URL string, real or fictional, such as mysampleapp://auth/success. If autofill offers a suggestion, do not accept it. Instead, type in the callback URL.
  6. Under Available OAuth Scopes, select:
    • Access the identity URL service (id, profile, email, address, phone)
    • Manage user data via APIs (api)
    • Manage user data via Web browsers (web)
    • Perform requests at any time (refresh_token, offline_access)
    • (Optional) Access the Salesforce API Platform (sfap_api)
    • (Optional) Access chatbot services (chatbot_api)
  7. Click Add. This set of scopes works well for most Mobile SDK apps.
  8. Under Security:
    • Uncheck Require Secret for Web Server Flow.
    • Uncheck Require Secret for Refresh Token Flow.
    • (Recommended) Check Issue JSON Web Token (JWT)-based access tokens for named users.
  9. Click Create.

To configure an ECA’s push notification settings, see: