What it is
A React internal app is a Salesforce Multi-Framework application built for employees — business-to-employee — who sign in with their Salesforce credentials. Its UI Bundle declares `<target>CustomApplication</target>`, and once deployed users open it from the App Launcher on desktop or in the Salesforce mobile app.
Why it matters
Internal is the lower-risk place to start. The audience already has org credentials, so there is no external identity to configure, and the app inherits the profiles and permission sets those users already carry. Most engagements begin with one internal surface rather than a migration.
Key components
- <target>CustomApplication</target> in .uibundle-meta.xml
- Custom Application metadata referencing the bundle
- Permission set granting visibility
- App Launcher and Salesforce mobile entry points
How it connects
The counterpart is a React external app, which targets Experience for customers and partners. The same codebase and data layer can serve both.
Good to know
"reactInternalApp" is not a Salesforce identifier — the metadata value is CustomApplication, and the beta’s AppLauncher value is deprecated.
Related terms
Salesforce Multi-Framework
A framework-agnostic Salesforce runtime that lets a standard React app run natively on the platform, with Salesforce authentication, security and governance applied automatically.
UI Bundle
The Salesforce metadata type that packages a Multi-Framework app for deployment, declaring in .uibundle-meta.xml which surface it targets.
React External App (Salesforce)
A Multi-Framework React app for customers or partners, deployed with target Experience and served through Digital Experiences.
React Internal App (Salesforce) in practice
Articles from the Funnelists Team that put this term to work.
How Salesforce LWC Limits React Development for Modern Frontends
Salesforce solution architects often hit walls trying to bring React into LWC. This post explains the historical limits, the new native path with Multi-Framework, and clear criteria for choosing between the two.
Decouple Salesforce Frontend: Replace Experience Cloud with Your Own React Stack
Solution architects and Salesforce admins can now run full React apps natively on the platform. Learn how Multi-Framework removes Experience Cloud constraints while keeping data, security, and governance inside Salesforce.
Building Salesforce React Apps and Multi-Framework UIs: What's Possible and Practical
React apps now run natively on Salesforce through Multi-Framework. Here is what a dev lead needs to know: prerequisites, how a UI bundle is structured, how data access works through the Platform SDK, and the limits to plan around.
