FFCPE App Builder actions (@adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-core, @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-app-builder)

Use this skill when implementing or extending Workflow Builder custom actions in an Adobe App Builder (OpenWhisk) repo with @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-core and @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-app-builder.

For HTTP field-level contract details, see docs/custom-action-requests.md in this SDK repo. For consumer install and examples, see README.md. For package install, local linking, and security guidance, see ffcpe-custom-node-sdk. For catalog-entry.json and aio ffcpe catalog, use ffcpe-catalog-entry-json and aio-ffcpe-cli from adobe/aio-cli-plugin-ffcpe:

npx skills add adobe/aio-cli-plugin-ffcpe --all -y

Packages and peers

• @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-core — contract types, handleFfcpeSubmit / handleFfcpeStatus, runWorkerJob, input/output helpers, IMS inbound auth helpers.
• @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-app-builder — mountFfcpeNodeRoutes, createFfcpeNodeWorker, AIO JobStore, OpenWhisk orchestrator, buildStatusUrl, createAioLogger.

Declare hono as a peer (your app chooses the version). Typical App Builder peers also include @adobe/aio-lib-state, @adobe/aio-lib-ims, @adobe/aio-lib-core-logging, and openwhisk — align versions with your template’s package.json.

Web action (Hono)

1. Import Hono, ToOpenWhiskAction from hono-openwhisk-adapter, and mountFfcpeNodeRoutes from @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-app-builder.
2. const app = new Hono(), then mountFfcpeNodeRoutes(app, { worker: { package, name }, web: { package, name } }). web and worker must match OpenWhisk package and action names in your manifest (for statusUrl and async invoke).
3. Default routes are POST /submit and GET /status; omit routes unless paths differ from defaults.
4. export const main = ToOpenWhiskAction(app) (or the entry shape your bundler expects).

The web action in *.config.yaml / ext.config.yaml must use web: "raw" and require-adobe-auth: false, plus a supported Node runtime (e.g. nodejs:22):

runtimeManifest:
    packages:
        my-ffcpe-app:
            actions:
                my-web-action:
                    function: actions/my-web-action.ts
                    web: "raw"
                    runtime: nodejs:22
                    annotations:
                        require-adobe-auth: false
                my-worker:
                    function: actions/my-worker.ts
                    runtime: nodejs:22

Worker action

1. Implement FfcpeNodeWorkerHandler: ctx has jobId, inputs (FfcpeInput[]), params (submit parameters), logger, optional authContext, args (full main(args)).
2. Return { status: "completed", outputs?: Output[] } or { status: "failed", error: string }. Use createTextOutput, createImageOutput, createVideoOutput, createJsonOutput.
3. export const main = createFfcpeNodeWorker(handler, options?). requiredInputNames refers to each input’s port, not the display name.

Use getTextInput, getImageInput, etc. with ctx.inputs (helpers take the inputs array, not the full submit body).

Manifest inputs (secrets): usually environment variables — use process.env, not ctx.inputs. Do not log secrets.

Starting from scratch with init-bare

If you have no App Builder project yet, the fastest path is aio app init --standalone-app (or the init-bare script wrapper). Warning: this generator produces more than a bare skeleton — it scaffolds web-src/, actions/generic/, actions/publish-events/, test/, and e2e/ that are irrelevant to a headless FFCPE action. Follow these steps in order:

1. Create the Console project and workspace

# Create the project
aio console project create -n myproject -t "My Project Title" --json

# Stage workspace is created automatically; select it (use the project ID from the create output)
aio console project select myproject
aio console workspace select Stage --projectId <PROJECT_ID>

Console project name constraints (from real setup failures):

Console CLI flag reference — flags differ by command; mismatches throw NonExistentFlagsError:

2. Initialise the project

aio app init -y --no-login --standalone-app --no-install

3. Wire the local app to the Console workspace

aio app use --no-input alone fails after init-bare because the local .aio file has no org/project/workspace context yet. The correct sequence is:

# Download the workspace credentials/config from Console
aio console workspace download          # saves e.g. <orgId>-<project>-Stage.json

# Import that config — this populates .aio and .env
aio app use <orgId>-<project>-Stage.json --overwrite --no-input

If .env already exists (common after aio app init), a bare aio app use <file>.json prompts interactively and can hang in non-interactive/agent sessions. Always pass --overwrite --no-input when importing a downloaded workspace config into a scaffolded project.

The downloaded JSON file contains secrets (client credentials, API keys). Add it to .gitignore immediately after downloading — before any git add. The generated .gitignore does not cover this file automatically:

# Add the specific file, or use the pattern [0-9]*-*-*.json to cover all workspaces
echo '<orgId>-<project>-Stage.json' >> .gitignore

Also confirm .env is ignored (the generated .gitignore covers this via .env*, but verify it is present).

4. Clean up the scaffolded files

The generator creates files that conflict with a headless FFCPE action. Remove them:

rm -rf web-src actions/generic actions/publish-events test e2e

5. Fix app.config.yaml

The generated YAML includes web: web-src at the application level, which causes the frontend build step to run (and fail) on a headless project. Remove that line and replace the scaffolded actions with your FFCPE pair:

application:
  actions: actions
  runtimeManifest:
    packages:
      my-ffcpe-app:
        license: Apache-2.0
        actions:
          my-action-web:
            function: actions/my-action/my-action.web.ts
            web: "raw"
            runtime: nodejs:22
            annotations:
              require-adobe-auth: false
          my-action-worker:
            function: actions/my-action/my-action.worker.ts
            runtime: nodejs:22
            inputs:
              LOG_LEVEL: debug

6. Replace webpack-config.js

The generator emits a config that uses ts-loader and is missing libraryTarget: "commonjs2". Replace it entirely (not a merge — the generated output section is wrong):

// webpack-config.js
module.exports = {
  output: {
    libraryTarget: 'commonjs2',
  },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        test: /\.[jt]sx?$/,
        loader: 'esbuild-loader',
        options: { target: 'es2020' },
      },
    ],
  },
  resolve: {
    extensions: ['.ts', '.js'],
  },
}

Install the loader:

npm install -D esbuild-loader
# or: pnpm add -D esbuild-loader

7. Install FFCPE packages

npm view @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-core version
npm view @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-app-builder version
npm view hono-openwhisk-adapter version
npm install @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-core@latest @adobe/ffcpe-custom-node-app-builder@latest hono hono-openwhisk-adapter@latest

Use the latest published versions — run npm view <package> version before install (or install with @latest as above). Do not assume or pin stale ranges such as 0.1.x; those may not exist on the registry. Omitting a version also resolves to latest, but @latest makes intent explicit in docs and scripts. After install, package-lock.json pins exact versions for reproducibility.

Image outputs: createImageOutput expects an HTTPS URL, not raw bytes. Upload with @adobe/aio-lib-files (init(), write(), generatePresignURL()) — see the thumbnail example in the SDK README.md.

Multiple custom actions in one app

Each FFCPE node needs its own web + worker pair and co-located <action-name>.entry.json. Declare all pairs under one runtimeManifest package (or split across packages if your org prefers). Example with two nodes:

runtimeManifest:
  packages:
    my-ffcpe-app:
      actions:
        generate-foo-web:   { function: actions/generate-foo/generate-foo.web.ts, web: "raw", … }
        generate-foo-worker: { function: actions/generate-foo/generate-foo.worker.ts, … }
        decode-foo-web:     { function: actions/decode-foo/decode-foo.web.ts, web: "raw", … }
        decode-foo-worker:  { function: actions/decode-foo/decode-foo.worker.ts, … }

Each .web.ts calls mountFfcpeNodeRoutes with its own worker.name / web.name matching the YAML action keys.

Adding actions to an existing App Builder repo

1. Co-located files (recommended)

For each custom action, keep web, worker, and catalog entry JSON in the same directory, sharing the same <action-name> prefix:

• <action-name>.web.ts or .js — Hono submit/status web action
• <action-name>.worker.ts or .js — async worker
• <action-name>.entry.json — run-workflow catalog entry (same document you pass to aio ffcpe catalog validate / register)

Example layout:

actions/
  resize-image/
    resize-image.web.ts
    resize-image.worker.ts
    resize-image.entry.json

The .entry.json file is not a separate template artifact — it is the catalog registration payload (handlerType: "custom-action", ports, customActionConfig, discovery fields). Author it with skill ffcpe-catalog-entry-json.

Flat co-location (same folder, no subdir) is fine if your repo already uses actions/resize-image.web.ts next to actions/resize-image.worker.ts — still name the catalog file resize-image.entry.json beside them.

2. *.config.yaml

Update runtimeManifest (or equivalent): declare the web action with web: "raw" and annotations.require-adobe-auth: false, plus the worker action; function paths must match your build outputs. mountFfcpeNodeRoutes package / name must match this YAML.

3. TypeScript + webpack (CJS for dist)

Install:

npm install -D esbuild-loader
# or
pnpm add -D esbuild-loader

If the project was initialized with init-bare, replace webpack-config.js entirely — the generated file uses ts-loader and lacks libraryTarget: "commonjs2". For other existing projects, merge into *webpack-config.js (preserve existing rules via webpack-merge or careful Object.assign):

  output: {
    libraryTarget: "commonjs2", // Important for CommonJS output
  },
  module: {
    rules: [
      {
        // Match `.js`, `.jsx`, `.ts` or `.tsx` files
        test: /\.[jt]sx?$/,
        loader: "esbuild-loader",
        options: {
          // JavaScript version to compile to
          target: "es2020",
        },
      },
    ],
  },
  resolve: {
    extensions: [".ts", ".js"], // Add .ts and .js to the list of extensions to resolve
  },

Deployed Runtime bundles are CommonJS; source can still be ESM-style TypeScript.

Register in the catalog (after deploy)

1. Deploy web + worker actions:

   aio app build
   aio app deploy
   

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   Deploy output lists web action base URLs, e.g.:

   https://3326322-myproject-stage.adobeioruntime.net/api/v1/web/my-ffcpe-app/my-action-web
   

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2. Derive catalog endpoints from that base URL (default Hono routes from mountFfcpeNodeRoutes):

   Field	Pattern
   submitEndpoint	{web-action-base-url}/submit
   statusEndpoint	{web-action-base-url}/status

   Use /api/v1/web/ (not /apis/v1/). The Runtime namespace in the hostname is lowercase (e.g. 3326322-demoqrffcpe-stage even when the Console project is demoQrFfcpe).

3. Fill in <action-name>.entry.json — handlerType: "custom-action", port names matching the worker, endpoints from step 2, and customActionConfig.authentication. When the web action uses default mountFfcpeNodeRoutes auth (no authenticate: null), set "authentication": { "type": "ims_service_token" } — not none. See ffcpe-catalog-entry-json.

4. Install and auth the CLI plugin:

   npm install -g @adobe/aio-cli
   aio plugins:install @adobe/aio-cli-plugin-ffcpe
   aio login
   aio console org select
   

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5. Validate and register — do not use raw curl (path is the co-located .entry.json):

   aio console org select          # required before catalog API calls
   aio ffcpe catalog validate --file ./actions/resize-image/resize-image.entry.json
   aio ffcpe catalog register --file ./actions/resize-image/resize-image.entry.json
   

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   If the action type already exists, use aio ffcpe catalog update <actionType> --file … instead of register.

Agent checklist

• New project: ran init-bare → downloaded workspace config → aio app use <file>.json --overwrite --no-input → removed web-src/, actions/generic/, actions/publish-events/, test/, e2e/.
• Console project name: alphanumeric, ≤20 chars; may differ from runtimeManifest package name.
• app.config.yaml: no web: web-src line; FFCPE web + worker pairs declared (one pair per custom action).
• webpack-config.js: libraryTarget: "commonjs2", esbuild-loader, .ts/.js extensions — replace the init-bare generated file, don't merge.
• Web + worker names align with mountFfcpeNodeRoutes and YAML.
• Web: web: "raw", annotations.require-adobe-auth: false.
• Worker: FFCPE data from ctx.inputs; secrets from process.env only; image outputs via aio-lib-files presigned URLs.
• Catalog: <action-name>.entry.json co-located; port names match worker ports; submitEndpoint / statusEndpoint copied from deploy output + /submit / /status; auth ims_service_token when using default route auth; aio ffcpe catalog validate then register (or update).