Dear Community,
Today we’re introducing a new version of Community Edition within the SAP Build Apps landscape. This new version brings our free community tool that so many of you have enjoyed closer to the vision of SAP Build’s visual development portfolio.
I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce myself: my name is Sam and starting this month I am the Head of Product Engineering at SAP Build Apps. I have been with AppGyver from 2017 and worked hard on the launch of the original Community Edition so it has been deeply important to me ever since. I realize that lately our developers have not been able to personally support the community on the forum as much as we did when we launched it, and this is because we now have quite a few customers on the paid version and must prioritize support for them. However, we remain committed to keeping the Community Edition available and are providing new channels for community support from the wider SAP communities (see below for links).
What does this mean?
The new Community Edition will be a similar experience to the current one, but with a series of improvements that we hope will address the concerns that you’ve raised in these forums. This means new Community Edition features and fixes will be directed towards the new version.
How can I get started?
You can start using the new version by migrating your projects into the new environment. To get started, follow these steps:
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Create a new account using this link.
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Select ‘Create new’ to start a new project.
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You can also import your existing Community Edition projects. Follow these steps to export an app. In the new Community Edition, create a new app and then select ‘Import from file’.
Now you’re ready to start building! Please let us know if you encounter any issues with migration.
What does this mean for the future of Community Edition?
With this release, we are strengthening our commitment to the Community Edition and making it a better solution. We see this as a significant upgrade for the community that helped make AppGyver one of the most robust tools on the market. The new Community Edition will remain free of charge and receive more improvements than what we’ve been able to provide to the current Community Edition.
Where can I get support?
As we are officially part of SAP, you can already begin taking advantage of SAP’s vast developer community and our specific channels for SAP Build Apps:
- For the latest updates, follow our SAP Community Page.
- Post your technical questions (and view previously answered questions) for our product team to answer here. Please mention that you are using the new Community Edition.
- Join in conversations with other users on the Builders Group.
NOTE: iOS builds are not yet available in the new Community Edition or SAP Build Apps. We are prioritizing this feature and aiming for a release in the next few weeks. You can continue to use the old community edition for iOS builds in the meantime. Update: iOS builds are now available!
We hope you enjoy the new Community Edition and welcome all thoughts and feedback! This is only the beginning of our community’s new chapter, so stay tuned for more good things to come.
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How long will the current version, that can create iOS builds remain supported for?
I´m not sure why SAP is bothering to support the community edition when it is so restrictive on maintaining and publishing a small app. As I understand it, we get a couple of free builds, and then if you want more then next step up is 1000$ per month. Is this still more or less correct? If its different, please link me to the up to date content.
I personally can´t see how any improvement offsets the fact that its a very substantial cost or no ability to publish. Bugs are irrelevant if we can´t produce an end product.
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To clarify, this is a new version of the AppGyver Community Edition with unlimited builds as before, also for iOS once they are available.
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As I understand it, we get a couple of free builds, and then if you want more then next step up is 1000$ per month.
The “Free edition” you are referring to includes a trial of enterprise features, such as SAP BTP Destinations, and is intended for testing and evaluation of SAP Build Apps. The new Community Edition is intended for those, who have been using the AppGyver Community Edition and want to continue doing so.
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When I try the login page it does not give me the option to create a new account. And if I click on forget I never get a password reset email as my user does not exist in this SAP IAS IDP.
Am I missing sth obvious here ? Thx
Hi Sam. It’s really hard to believe that everything will go better and free.
I’ve been using AppGyver Community Edition for many years. Always working, and learning and trying to understand without bothering another members.
This was my first approach to a low code development.
Now, I am facing two (really important) bug’s with no response of the Team.
In the forum there are many members migrating to another platform.
Syncerely, why should we keep trusting?
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That sounds reassuring. But as with everything, it’s the actions that count, not the words.
If you want to understand why everyone is sceptical of pretty much everything, I encourage you to read through monthly updates from a year or so ago. Take note of what was planned and by when. Then compare it to what has actually happened.
When possible, please restart the monthly newsletter. But only if any commitments made will be delivered upon.
And if you want to make one quick win, can you get the android builds to allow screenshots again! Its been over a month and no-one from AG has even commented. Some people´s apps rely on this and a sloppy QA process from AG has toggled a flag that says they are not allowed.
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Hi Sam. I tried to create a New Account at step 1 link, but i couldn’t . I’ve only found a log-in interface. Is it the right URL?
Thanks a lot!
If you want to understand why your posts are now likely to receive scarce attention, I encourage you to read through the last messages you shared in this forum. Take note, especially, of how you reacted to every positive or optimistic take on the service and its future. Then compare it to what just happened.
It’s possible that you come to mistake yourself for a community member who acts overtly entitled to a high-quality free service with top tier support, despite the fact that you aren’t and that the community edition is quite obviously a (functional) prototype for testing purposes that is under constant construction and is now facing a process of platform transition after being acquired by SAP. Many more people are begging SAP to take away their money and greatly improve the platform (just not so much money!)
I say this with all due respect, @Phil_Evans . Sure, I know you, particularly, never expected a high quality service to be entirely free. But this still is a free service. You seem to be very smart – smart enough, I hope, to appreciate the criticism and use it to make room for improvement. I do acknowledge it can be hard to build something commercial-grade in this context (the context of not being actually entitled to demand this or that service or support). It’s probably not even recommended. Should we read AG terms and conditions, that’s probably even written there (too bad the team won’t bother to highlight the legal aspects of the community edition service).
Of course I generally agree with you that the Community Edition team (former AG team? Fully-or-partially-replaced team?) is obviously careless with their communication in this forum and with setting expectations straight, that’s for sure and very regretful. But it is far from unnacceptable to the more understanding community members, don’t you think? I do. And I know some community members (with a more moderate profile?) received early invitations and instructions about the new free community platform a couple of months ago, so… the protests perhaps didn’t quite catch their attention. Most protests might be missing the point altogether.
But, like you, I, too, would rather pay and have a more stable service with more reliable support – a modest, popular, price, though (like flutterflow?). The team is probably aware of that (and happy to know that or confidently taking that for granted) but seems to be targeting an entirely different, corporate, price tier right now. That might change over time. I hope it does.
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There was a configuration change that caused the sign up option to disappear but it is now visible again (cc @Alfonso_Moreno).
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Thank you very much @Sam_Engstrom. It’s running!
haha, fair enough. I ran out of positivity and understanding a year ago, and just because I´m pessimistic doesn´t mean I´m wrong 
2 years ago there was an attitude of accepting what we got because it was free. The community was vibrant and the product generally worked. But the build failure rate the last 6 months is below what’s expected from a free product even. The Quality Assurance just doesn´t seem to exist. Here´s a really simple thing they could do before rolling out a new release: re-run the last say 500 successful builds and verify that they still build successfully. That’s not tricky and is pretty obvious. And the response to disabling screen shots on Android has been terrible.
I was invited to try out build apps, but as there is no “small business” pricing tier I didn´t see the point. Its either prototype only on the free tier or 1000$ per month. At that point I realised that the path forward did not include small scale developer.
Until such time as I have completed my app on another platform I´m open to things turning around here. But I would be foolish not to be working on my plan B.
I live in hope but not in expectation.
I presumed they stopped updating the old community edition platform around 2 months ago and now update only the new SAP community edition one, that has been building with the latest runtime versions, currently 4.9.84. Maybe the constant build failures were confined to the 4.x.72 older runtime version. @Sam_Engstrom , is that correct? Anyway, I haven’t been facing build failures.
Component updates were made available too as soon as I migrated, 2 months ago, and have been updated again at least one other time since then.
I see. What I meant when mentioning the early invitation is that the invite sent on this thread a few days ago was made in private to some users much earlier. It regarded the continuation of the free community edition service, with unlimited builds plus updates and fixes.
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True. But it’s not the pessimism in and of itself. The problem is presuming AG/SAP would despise and discard the free testers that the community edition provides them and also presuming that, while having a solid intent of shutting down the free tier community platform, they would be reluctant to do it and keep sending wrong signals, being secretive or staying silent, etc.
We all know the platform is not anywhere near perfect and has tons of bugs. We help the AG/SAP team track and fix them and do so by testing Composer while we produce our own white label apps for our own private intents and purposes. Why should we presume, in a very pessimistic outlook, that our sponsors would simply ignore, despise and discard the benefit (to themselves!) of continuing with the free community edition? I find it unlikely, that’s all.
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Both @Bruno_Oliveira and @Phil_Evans are certainly right.
Personally I think a free (as a beer) product doesn’t mean to be bad or only for prototype only. Does Debian is only for prototype?
In order to get efficient time to market develpment’s, the low code approach it’s really great and can be used in production environments.
I really think that you can make great app’s with AG Community Edition, or that was till the last 6 months, where compilation problems and unexpected bug’s with no clear resolution time, make me rethink this possibility.
Also pricing. Reading the forum, those that could make the peregrination path to get the paid service, didn’t have the support expected for the not lower price…
As Phil mentioned, the screenshot capability in Android, in my case is vital. No answer at all. I sent some clue of the configuration problem in React… nothing.
The new Community Edition cannot build IoS… So, it’s not ready!! Meanwhile, more of the same.
Indeed, I just checked and the new runtime version 4.9.84 still has the screen capture bug, unfortunately.
Hi, we are aware that for some it is important to be able to take screenshots. However for others blocking screenshot taking is an important security measure and we have not yet found a good way to make it configurable so we have decided to be on the secure side by default. I’m sorry to say we don’t have an estimate when this might be made configurable. Cc @Ramiro_Gonzalez
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So. It’s not a bug, just a feature?
You make such decision based on a request?
In IoS is not possible to limit that. So you make just that restriction only for Android? How would those users implement that security concerns in IoS?
Personally, I think that limiting everything until you can make it configurable is not the way.
Despite I desagree, thanks Sam for your answer. The first till now.