When building apps for Atlassian cloud apps, you have platform and framework options to help you develop secure, full-featured apps quickly. There are two recommended ways to develop cloud apps and integrations with Atlassian:
If you're building a cloud version of a server or Data Center app, check out App migration for technical guidance.
This table compares the capabilities of Forge and external apps and integrations.
| Forge | External apps and integrations | |
|---|---|---|
| App hosting | Hosted by Atlassian | Hosted by you |
| UI extensibility | Atlassian app UI modules (custom UI and UI kit) | No Atlassian app UI elements |
| Atlassian app APIs | Managed REST and JavaScript APIs | REST APIs |
| App languages | Serverless Node.js functions | Any language compatible with your auth method |
| Auth and data implementation | Use built-in authentication, sandboxing, and development environments | OAuth 2.0 and basic auth available |
| Distribution | Make apps for your team or sell in the Marketplace | Make apps for yourself or your team |
| Compatibility | Jira and Confluence compatible | OAuth 2.0 apps are Jira Platform, Jira Service Management, and Confluence compatible. Other Atlassian app REST APIs available through other auth implementations. |
You'll need to consider the different security responsibilities shared between you and Atlassian, depending on your chosen app architecture. Learn more about the Atlassian cloud shared responsibility model.
Forge is our new development platform that helps you build a secure Jira and Confluence Cloud app quickly and easily. We recommend Forge if you're building your first Atlassian cloud app, or you want to reduce infrastructure and hosting overhead.
Forge provides built-in security, Atlassian-hosted infrastructure, and UI extensibility options. It also offers a streamlined DevOps experience with development, staging, and production environments.
You'll write your app with serverless Node.js functions, manage the app with the Forge CLI, and create the front end with either custom UI or UI kit components.
You can share and sell Forge apps on the Atlassian Marketplace, and you can manage, distribute, and monitor your apps in the developer console.
For an introduction to creating and managing an app with the Forge CLI, check out this video:
You can also build some types of apps without Atlassian Connect or Forge. These apps can still access data and create content through the cloud app APIs.
For app security, you can use OAuth 2.0 (3LO) to pass information between your integration and Jira Platform, Jira Service Management, or Confluence, depending on your security needs. See the Authentication and authorization overview for more information.
OAuth 2.0 integrations are best suited for projects that need to access Atlassian app data on behalf of a user, but don't need any Atlassian app UI elements.
Note, OAuth 2.0 integrations cannot be listed in the Atlassian Marketplace, so if you eventually want to list your app, consider building a Forge app instead.
For more on OAuth 2.0 integrations and how to implement them, see our guides on OAuth 2.0 for Jira or OAuth 2.0 for Confluence.
For all our cloud app APIs, see the cloud API documentation.
Atlassian has announced the timeline for phased end of support for Connect.
From Sep 17, 2025, only Forge apps can be submitted to the Atlassian Marketplace. All new extensibility features will be delivered only on Forge.
Have an existing Connect app? Find out how to incrementally adopt Forge from Connect.
Atlassian Connect is a legacy framework for building apps on top of Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket Cloud. Connect is not recommended for new app development. Atlassian has announced the end-of-support timeline for Connect, and all new platform features are being delivered exclusively on Forge.
If you have an existing Connect app, see Incrementally adopt Forge from Connect for guidance on migrating.
We offer a number of resources to guide and support you as you build on cloud:
server-eos.For a full list of updates and resources, visit Atlassian communication channels.
To apply for Partner Portal access, you need at least one paid-via-Atlassian app and a private domain:
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