Box Developer Documentation

Select App Type

Select App Type

Upon creating a new Box application in the Developer Console, you must first select one of the following types of applications. The type of application you select is dependent on the use case for your project and only impacts the available authentication methods when configuring your application. You cannot change this selection later on.

App Type Selection

Custom App

Authentication methodsOAuth 2.0, JWT, or Client Credentials Authentication
Notable FeaturesWebhooks, Integrations, and Web App Integrations

Custom App encompasses most use cases and is the most flexible option. This application type allows for interaction with our 150+ endpoints. For example, downloading/uploading, searching, applying metadata and more.

Learn more about Custom Apps

Limited Access App

Authentication methodsApp Token
Notable FeaturesLimited API access

A Limited Access App is best for leveraging Box View or previewing Box content within another application. This type of application can only interact with a limited number of endpoints.

Learn more about Limited Access Apps

Custom Skills

Authentication methodsAccess Tokens in Skills events
Notable FeaturesLimited API access

A Custom Skill, or Box Skill is a type of application that performs custom processing for files uploaded to Box. Skills are designed to make it possible to use third-party Machine Learning services to automatically extract information from files uploaded to Box.

Learn more about Custom Skills