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Creating Apps

The Mobile Development Kit extension for Visual Studio Code allows you to create new Mobile Development Kit metadata app definitions (action, CIM, global variable, i18n, page, rule, service, or style) by using the command palette or the context menu on the Visual Studio Code editor.

Creating a New Mobile Development Kit Metadata Project From Template

  1. In the Visual Studio Code editor workspace, open an Mobile Development Kit application folder and click View > Command Palette.
  2. From the command palette, choose MDK: Create Project with Wizard.
  3. If you are not logged in to Cloud Foundry, Cloud Foundry Sign In page will appear. You can use the following methods to sign in:
    • Credentials - Enter your username and password. Click Sign in. Select Cloud Foundry Organization and Space. If the login attempt fails, you will not be able to use Mobile Services Data Sources.
    • SSO Passcode - Click the link to open a new browser page, choose to generate a temporary authentication code, copy the SSO Passcode and paste it back in the Cloud Foundry Sign In page.

  4. In the Basic Information tab:

    Field Description
    MDK Template Type Based on your requirement, select the MDK Template Type from the drop-down.
    Your Project Name Enter a project name.
    Your Application Name By default, the project name is considered as the application name. However, you can also provide a different application name.
    Target MDK Client Version By default, the project uses MDK 23.4+ or later clients. However, you can select a previous version from the drop-down.
    Choose a target folder By default, the target folder uses project root path. However, you can choose a different folder path.

    Choose Next. 1. In the Service Configuration tab:

    Field Description
    Data Source Select a source from the drop-down. The available source types are: Mobile Services, BTP Destination, Service URL and Local File.
    Mobile Services Landscape Select your Mobile Services Landscape from the drop-down. This field appears only when you have selected Mobile Services as the Data Source type. There are three options available for landscape: standard, preview, and neo. The first two options are for the Cloud Foundry environment. If you have Mobile Services Preview edition available in your Cloud Foundry account, choose preview. Choose neo for the Neo environment.
    Enable Auto-Deployment to Mobile Services After Project Creation If enabled, the project will be automatically deployed to Mobile Services upon creation.
    Application Id Select an application from the drop-down. This is the application that you've created in mobile services.
    Destination Use the checkboxes to select one or more destinations.
    Service URL Enter the Service URL. This field appears only when you have selected Service URL as the Data Source type.
    Choose XML odata metadata file from your local dev space Select an XML file from the local files. This field appears only when you have selected Local File as the Data Source type.
    Destination Name Enter the DestinationName in metadata.

    Choose Next.

  5. In the Data Collections tab, configure the following fields for each selected destination and then select the required OData collections:

    Field Description
    Enter a path to service Append a path to your OData service if required.
    Select the Service Type Select the service type from the drop-down. The default value is OData.
    Enable Offline? By default, it's enabled. Select No to disable it.
    Select all data collections Select Yes to include all OData Entity Sets, or No to choose specific ones.
    Select Data Collections Select one or more OData Entity Sets from the list. All Entity Sets from the service .xml file are listed here.

    If you select multiple destinations, the Data Collections tab is displayed for each selected destination.

Results

A new empty Mobile Development Kit application is created based on an embedded empty application template. If the target folder is within the current workspace, the newly created Application.app file is opened automatically. If not, then the current workspace is switched to the new application folder.

The Mobile Development Kit Extension supports creating app definitions via the context menu of workspace explorer and the command palette.

Command Name Description Context Menu Command Palette
MDK: New Application Create a new Mobile Development Kit Application Yes
MDK: New Page Create a new Page Yes
MDK: New Action Create a new Action Yes
MDK: New Service Create a new Service Yes
MDK: New Rule Create a new Rule Yes
MDK: New Global Variable Create a new Global Variable Yes
MDK: New Style Create a new Style file Yes
MDK: New i18n Create a new i18n file Yes
MDK: New CIM Create a new CIM file Yes
MDK: Register Extension Control Create a new Extension control file Yes
Last update: May 7, 2026