# Understanding Apps

Spacelift Flows extends core functionality through a comprehensive app ecosystem. Apps provide specialized blocks for integrating with external services, automating complex workflows, and adding utility functions.

Apps primarily integrate with external platforms like AWS, Slack, GitHub, and other developer tools and services.

You can install the same app multiple times within a project for scenarios like:

 - Separate AWS installations for different regions (us-west-1, us-east-1)
 - Different Slack workspaces for various teams
 - Multiple GitHub organizations or repositories

Each app installation is configured separately.

Apps are managed at project level, controlling which integrations are available to specific flows and team members.

## Registry
[Section titled “Registry”](#registry)
There are two centrally-managed registries with Flows apps:

### Core Registry
[Section titled “Core Registry”](#core-registry)
Core registry contains apps built and maintained by Spacelift, available at [https://registry.useflows.com/core](https://registry.useflows.com/core). These apps are:

 - Officially supported by Spacelift
 - Covered by quality and support policies
 - Regularly updated and maintained
 - Designed for most common integration scenarios

### Community Registry
[Section titled “Community Registry”](#community-registry)
Community registry hosts apps contributed by the Flows community, available at [https://registry.useflows.com/community](https://registry.useflows.com/community). Community apps are:

 - Contributed and maintained by community members
 - Curated by Spacelift for basic quality standards
 - Not officially endorsed or supported by Spacelift
 - Not covered by Spacelift quality and support policies

### Third-party Registries
[Section titled “Third-party Registries”](#third-party-registries)
Additionally, third-party registries, both public and private (for self-hosted setups) are supported, too. You can learn more about configuring registries in the [App Registries](../../developers/deploying-apps/app-registries) guide.

## Custom Apps
[Section titled “Custom Apps”](#custom-apps)
For organizations with unique requirements or internal systems, Spacelift Flows supports custom app development. Custom apps let you:

 - Create blocks integrating with internal APIs and services
 - Extend platform capabilities beyond standard registry

Other than the distribution mechanism, custom apps differ in no way from registry apps and have all the same capabilities.

### Getting Started
[Section titled “Getting Started”](#getting-started)
You can use the template repository on GitHub to get started with creating your own app ([https://github.com/spacelift-io/flows-app-template](https://github.com/spacelift-io/flows-app-template)). Feel free to also reference other apps available in the Spacelift GitHub Organization, with the repo pattern [“flows-app-*”](https://github.com/spacelift-io/?q=flows-app-*&type=all&language=&sort=).

**Setup Process**:

 1. Use official template to create new repository
 1. Run automated setup script to customize placeholders
 1. Implement custom block logic
 1. Configure CI/CD pipeline for automated releases
 1. Tag and release your app