Teams App Developer

runtime.app-init-ts

purpose

Teams SDK v2 App initialization, constructor options, plugins, logger setup, storage config, OAuth, activity context, and startup lifecycle.

rules

1. Always import App from @microsoft/teams.apps, ConsoleLogger from @microsoft/teams.common, and DevtoolsPlugin from @microsoft/teams.dev as the minimum bootstrap triple. These three packages are always present in dependencies. github.com/microsoft/teams.ts

2. Pass clientId, clientSecret, and tenantId to the App constructor when the bot requires Azure Bot registration credentials. All three come from environment variables (CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET, TENANT_ID). Omit them only for local-only development with skipAuth: true. learn.microsoft.com -- Bot registration

3. Configure logging with new ConsoleLogger(name, { level }) where level is one of 'error' | 'warn' | 'info' | 'debug' | 'trace'. Use pattern: '-azure/msal-node' to suppress noisy child loggers. Child loggers inherit settings via logger.child('sub-name') and prefix output as [parent/child]. github.com/microsoft/teams.ts -- common

4. Register plugins via the plugins array in the constructor or dynamically with app.plugin(instance). Every development project should include DevtoolsPlugin. Plugin lifecycle follows: register -> onInit() -> onStart({ port }) -> activity loop (onActivity() / onActivitySent()) -> onStop(). github.com/microsoft/teams.ts -- dev

5. Configure OAuth by adding oauth: { defaultConnectionName: 'graph' } to AppOptions. This enables ctx.isSignedIn, ctx.signin(), ctx.signout(), and ctx.userGraph on every handler context. Requires clientId, clientSecret, and tenantId to also be set. github.com/microsoft/teams.ts -- apps

6. Storage defaults to in-memory. Pass a custom IStorage implementation to the storage option for persistence across restarts. Use LocalStorage from @microsoft/teams.common for development with optional LRU eviction via { max: N }. github.com/microsoft/teams.ts -- common

7. Call app.start(port) (default 3978) as the final step. It returns a Promise -- always attach .catch(console.error) or use await. The bot endpoint is http://localhost:{port}/api/messages and DevTools UI runs on {port + 1}. github.com/microsoft/teams.ts

8. Set skipAuth: true only during local development without Azure credentials. This disables JWT validation on inbound activities. Never use this in production. github.com/microsoft/teams.ts -- apps

9. The full AppOptions reference includes: clientId, clientSecret, tenantId, token (custom token factory), managedIdentityClientId ('system' or string), client (custom HTTP client), logger (ILogger), storage (IStorage), plugins (IPlugin[]), oauth (OAuthSettings), manifest (Partial<Manifest>), skipAuth (boolean), and activity.mentions.stripText (boolean). github.com/microsoft/teams.ts -- apps

10. Use app.event('start', ...) for post-listen setup, app.event('error', ...) for global error handling, app.event('signin', ...) for post-authentication logic, and app.event('activity', ...)/app.event('activity.sent', ...) for observing all inbound/outbound activities. These are lifecycle events, not activity route handlers. github.com/microsoft/teams.ts

patterns

Minimal App with DevTools and logger

import { App } from '@microsoft/teams.apps';
import { ConsoleLogger } from '@microsoft/teams.common';
import { DevtoolsPlugin } from '@microsoft/teams.dev';

const app = new App({
  logger: new ConsoleLogger('echo-bot', { level: 'debug' }),
  plugins: [new DevtoolsPlugin()],
});

app.on('message', async ({ reply, activity }) => {
  await reply({ type: 'typing' });
  await reply(`You said: "${activity.text}"`);
});

app.start(3978);

Full production App with credentials, OAuth, and storage

import { App } from '@microsoft/teams.apps';
import { ConsoleLogger, LocalStorage } from '@microsoft/teams.common';
import { DevtoolsPlugin } from '@microsoft/teams.dev';

interface AppState {
  conversationIds: string[];
}

const app = new App({
  // Azure Bot registration credentials
  clientId: process.env.CLIENT_ID,
  clientSecret: process.env.CLIENT_SECRET,
  tenantId: process.env.TENANT_ID,

  // Custom logger with noise filtering
  logger: new ConsoleLogger('prod-bot', {
    level: 'info',
    pattern: '-azure/msal-node',
  }),

  // Persistent storage (in-memory with LRU for dev)
  storage: new LocalStorage<AppState>({}, { max: 1000 }),

  // OAuth for Microsoft Graph
  oauth: { defaultConnectionName: 'graph' },

  // Plugins
  plugins: [new DevtoolsPlugin()],
});

// Lifecycle events
app.event('start', (logger) => {
  logger.info('Bot is running');
});

app.event('error', ({ error, log }) => {
  log.error('Unhandled error:', error);
});

app.event('signin', async ({ send, userGraph }) => {
  // Fired after successful OAuth sign-in
  await send('You are now signed in.');
});

app.event('activity', ({ activity }) => {
  // Fired for every inbound activity
});

app.event('activity.sent', ({ activity }) => {
  // Fired after every outbound activity
});

app.start(process.env.PORT || 3978).catch(console.error);

Activity context usage in a handler

app.on('message', async (ctx) => {
  // --- Properties ---
  ctx.appId;          // Bot app ID
  ctx.activity;       // The inbound Activity object
  ctx.ref;            // ConversationReference for proactive messaging
  ctx.log;            // Scoped logger
  ctx.api;            // Teams API client
  ctx.appGraph;       // Graph client (app credentials)
  ctx.userGraph;      // Graph client (user credentials, after signin)
  ctx.storage;        // Persistent storage
  ctx.stream;         // Streaming response helper
  ctx.isSignedIn;     // Whether user has authenticated
  ctx.userToken;      // User's OAuth access token
  ctx.connectionName; // OAuth connection name

  // --- Methods ---
  await ctx.send('Hello!');           // Send a new message
  await ctx.reply('Reply to this');   // Reply to the current message
  await ctx.signin();                 // Trigger OAuth sign-in flow
  await ctx.signout();                // Sign the user out
  ctx.next();                         // Pass to next middleware/handler
});

pitfalls

• Missing .catch() on app.start(): The method returns a Promise. Unhandled rejections crash the process in Node 20+. Always add .catch(console.error) or wrap in an async IIFE with try/catch.

• Using skipAuth: true in production: This disables JWT validation entirely. Any HTTP client can send fake activities to your bot endpoint. Only use it for local DevTools testing.

• Forgetting DevtoolsPlugin during development: Without it, there is no DevTools UI at localhost:3979/devtools and no WebSocket-based activity inspection. Always include it in the plugins array for local dev.

• Setting OAuth without credentials: Adding oauth: { defaultConnectionName: 'graph' } without clientId/clientSecret/tenantId causes silent auth failures. All four options must be present together.

• Calling app.start() before registering handlers: Handlers registered after start() may miss early activities. Register all app.on(), app.message(), and app.use() calls before calling app.start().

• Logger level too verbose in production: Using 'debug' or 'trace' floods logs with internal SDK chatter. Use 'info' or 'warn' for deployed bots.

• Hardcoding the port: Always read from process.env.PORT with a fallback (process.env.PORT || 3978). Azure App Service and container hosts set PORT dynamically.

• Confusing app.on() with app.event(): app.on() registers activity route handlers (message, card.action, etc.). app.event() registers app lifecycle hooks (start, error, signin). Mixing them up causes handlers that never fire.

references

• Teams SDK v2 GitHub repository

• Teams SDK v2 -- @microsoft/teams.apps

• Teams SDK v2 -- @microsoft/teams.common

• Teams SDK v2 -- @microsoft/teams.dev (DevtoolsPlugin)

• Azure Bot Service documentation

• Teams platform: Build bots

instructions

This expert covers the foundational App class from @microsoft/teams.apps -- the entry point for every Teams SDK v2 bot. Use it when you need to:

• Initialize a new App instance with the correct constructor options

• Configure credentials (clientId, clientSecret, tenantId) for Azure Bot registration

• Set up logging with ConsoleLogger, child loggers, and noise filtering

• Register plugins (especially DevtoolsPlugin) and understand plugin lifecycle

• Configure OAuth for Microsoft Graph access

• Set up storage backends for persistent state

• Understand the activity context object (ctx) and its full set of properties/methods

• Handle app lifecycle events (start, error, activity, activity.sent, signin)

• Start the server with app.start() and understand the default endpoints

Pair with runtime.routing-handlers-ts.md for route registration patterns and project.scaffold-files-ts.md for full project setup including package.json and tsconfig. Pair with project.scaffold-files-ts.md for package.json and project structure, and dev.debug-test-ts.md for local development setup.

research

Deep Research prompt:

"Write a micro expert on Teams SDK v2 App initialization in TypeScript. Cover the App constructor from @microsoft/teams.apps, all AppOptions fields (clientId, clientSecret, tenantId, logger, storage, plugins, oauth, skipAuth, manifest, token, managedIdentityClientId, client, activity.mentions.stripText), ConsoleLogger configuration with levels and pattern filtering, DevtoolsPlugin setup and lifecycle hooks (onInit, onStart, onActivity, onActivitySent, onStop), activity context properties and methods (send, reply, signin, signout, next, stream, isSignedIn, appGraph, userGraph, ref, api, storage, log), app.start() lifecycle, and app.event() hooks (start, error, signin, activity, activity.sent). Include 2-3 initialization patterns from minimal to production-ready."