---
title: Applications
sidebar_label: Applications

sidebar_position: 5
---

import ThemedImage from "@/components/docusaurus/themed-image";
import AuthType from "../../integrate/application/_auth-type.mdx";
import ReviewConfig from "../../integrate/application/_review-config.mdx";
import AppType from "./_application-types.mdx";

## What is an application?

Applications are the entry point to your [Project Overview](/guides/manage/console/projects-overview)
. Users either login into one of your applications (Frontend) and interact with them directly, or use one of your APIs (Backend).

All applications within a project share the same **Roles** and **Role Assignments**. This means you define a role once (e.g., `admin`) on the Project level, and it applies across all your web, mobile, and API applications.

To access your applications, navigate to your Project in the Management Console and select your application.

<img
  alt="Granted project"
  src="/docs/img/guides/console/applications.png"
  width="750px"
/>

## Create an Application

To add an application to your project, click on the **New** button and select your application type.

<img
  alt="Add application"
  src="/docs/img/guides/console/addapplication.png"
  width="120px"
/>

## Application Types

ZITADEL offers five application types to cover different architectural patterns:

<AppType components={props.components} />

The first three options (Web, Native, and User Agent) require user interaction. The fourth option (API) is for machine-to-machine communication without direct user interaction.

Depending on the app type, there are small differences in the possible settings. To get a good understanding about user profiles and recommended flows, read the [Recommended Flows Guide](../../integrate/login/oidc/oauth-recommended-flows#different-client-profiles).

### Web

Web applications are **server-side rendered** applications that users interact with.
* **Examples:** Applications using Java (Spring/Thymeleaf), .NET (Razor), PHP, Python (Django/Flask), or enabling SSO in tools like GitLab.
* **NextJS:** A NextJS app is typically a Web Application because it can execute server-side code (SSR/API routes) to keep secrets safe.
* **Authentication:** Uses Authorization Code Flow (PKCE recommended) with a Client Secret.

<AuthType components={props.components} appType="web" />

### Native

Native Applications are installed on a thin client, such as a smartphone or desktop computer.
* **Examples:** Android Apps, iOS Apps, Desktop Apps (Electron, Tauri).
* **Authentication:** Uses the Key file generated by ZITADEL to authenticate or Authorization Code Flow with PKCE (for user login).

<AuthType components={props.components} appType="native" />

### User Agent

User Agent Applications are executed entirely in the web browser (Client-Side).
* **Examples:** Single Page Applications (SPA) built with React, Angular, Vue, or Svelte that do not have a backend server.
* **Authentication:** Uses Authorization Code Flow with PKCE (implicit flow is supported but not recommended).

<AuthType components={props.components} appType="user-agent" />

### API

These are applications without human interaction, accessed by other applications or services (Machine-to-Machine).
* **Examples:** Background workers, CLIs, Daemons, Microservices.
* **Authentication:** Uses Client Credentials (JWT Profile or Basic Auth) or Private Key JWT.

<AuthType components={props.components} appType="api" />

### SAML

If your application doesn't support the OIDC standard but supports SAML 2.0, choose this type. SAML is an XML-based open standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data.

After creating a SAML app, you can either:
1.  Add a link to a SAML metadata file.
2.  Upload the metadata XML file directly.

You can find example settings for SAML 2.0 in our [integrate services](../../integrate/login/saml) guides.

## Settings

### Redirect URIs

App Types with user interaction (Web, Native, and User Agent) require Redirect URIs. These are the allowed URLs where ZITADEL sends the user after a successful login.

* **Security:** ZITADEL strictly checks these URIs during the login process. They must match exactly what is defined in your application code.
* **Protocols:** Native applications can use custom protocols (e.g., `myapp://`) instead of `http/https`.

<img
  alt="Redirect URIs"
  src="/docs/img/guides/console/redirecturis.png"
  width="600px"
/>

### Development Mode

If you are developing locally or need to redirect users to a non-secure protocol (other than `https://`), you must enable **Development mode**.
When disabled, ZITADEL enforces strict security and only allows `https`.

<img
  alt="Development mode"
  src="/docs/img/guides/console/developmentmode.png"
  width="600px"
/>

**Glob Patterns:**
Development mode allows the use of glob patterns in Redirect URIs for flexibility:

| Special Terms | Meaning                                                                     |
|:--------------|:----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `*`           | Matches any sequence of **non-path-separators**.                            |
| `/**/`        | Matches zero or more directories.                                           |
| `?`           | Matches any single non-path-separator character.                            |
| `[class]`     | Matches any single character against a class of characters (e.g., `[a-z]`). |
| `{alt1,...}`  | Matches a sequence if one of the comma-separated alternatives matches.      |

<Callout type="note">
Double stars (`**`) should appear surrounded by path separators (e.g., `/**/`). A pattern like `path/to/**.txt` is invalid; use `path/to/**/*.txt`.
</Callout>

<Callout type="tip">
IPv6
When IPv6 URIs are used as redirects in development mode, square brackets must be escaped as they are special terms for globs. Example: `http://\[::1\]:80`
</Callout>

### Review Settings

<ReviewConfig components={props.components} authType="code" />

## Application Settings

After creating an application, you can modify its settings.
* **Auth Method:** You can switch authentication methods (e.g., from Basic to Private Key JWT) via the toggle or dropdowns.
* **OIDC Compliance:** The Management Console checks if your settings are OIDC compliant and shows tasks for completion if anything is missing.

<Callout type="caution">
You **cannot** change the Application Type (e.g., from Web to Native) after creation. You must delete and recreate the application.
</Callout>

<img
  alt="Application Settings"
  src="/docs/img/guides/console/application.png"
  width="800px"
/>

### Token Settings

In the **Token Settings** section, you can customize the tokens issued for this application:
* **Token Type:** Switch between **Bearer Token** (Opaque) and **JWT**.
* **Content:** Check options to include User Roles and User Information inside the ID Token.
* **ClockSkew:** Optionally set a time buffer added to the expiration time of the issued token to handle server time differences.

<img
  alt="Token settings"
  src="/docs/img/guides/console/app-token-settings.png"
  width="600px"
/>

### Additional Origins

If your application makes requests from domains other than the Redirect URI (e.g., a Javascript app fetching data from an API on a different domain), you can specify them here to configure CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing).

<img
  alt="Additional origins"
  src="/docs/img/guides/console/additional-origins.png"
  width="500px"
/>

## Security Considerations

Ensure the management of application settings is limited to authorized users only.

* Use [Administrator roles](./administrators) to limit permissions for your users to make changes to your applications.
* When [granting projects](../../../concepts/structure/granted_projects) to other organizations, the receiving organization **cannot** see or change the application settings. They can only assign roles.

## References

- [Recommended OIDC Flows](../../integrate/login/oidc/oauth-recommended-flows)