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Teams JavaScript client library

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The Microsoft Teams JavaScript client library (TeamsJS) can help you create hosted experiences in Teams, Microsoft 365 app, and Outlook, where your app content is hosted in an iFrame. The library is helpful for developing apps with the following Teams capabilities:

Starting with version 2.0.0, the existing TeamsJS library (@microsoft/teams-js, or simply TeamsJS) is refactored to enable Teams apps to run in Outlook and Microsoft 365 app, in addition to Microsoft Teams. From a functional perspective, the latest version of TeamsJS supports all existing (v.1.x.x) Teams app functionality while adding the optional ability to host Teams apps in Outlook and Microsoft 365 app.

Here's the current versioning guidance for various app scenarios:

App type TeamsJS version App manifest version Next steps
Teams apps extended across Outlook and Microsoft 365 TeamsJS v.2.19.0 or later v.1.13 or later Extend a Teams app to run across Microsoft 365 or Create a new Microsoft 365 app
Existing Teams-only apps Update to TeamsJS v.2.19.0 when possible (v.1.12 is still supported*) 1.12 Understand TeamsJS backwards compatibility and Update to TeamsJS v.2.0
New Teams-only apps TeamsJS v.2.19.0 or later 1.12 Create a new Teams app using Teams Toolkit

*Use the latest TeamsJS (v.2.19.0 or later) whenever possible, to take advantage of the latest improvements and new feature support including Teams-only apps. TeamsJS v.1.12 continues to be supported, however, no new features or improvements will be added. The 1.12 and 1.13 schemas are otherwise the same. For more information, see TeamsJS library.

The remainder of this article walks you through the structure and latest updates to the TeamsJS library.

Microsoft 365 support (running Teams apps in Microsoft 365 and Outlook)

TeamsJS v.2.0 introduces the ability for certain types of Teams apps to run across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Currently, other Microsoft 365 application hosts (including Microsoft 365 app and Outlook) for Teams apps support a subset of the application types and capabilities you can build for the Teams platform. This support expands over time. For a summary of host support for Teams apps, see TeamsJS capability support across Microsoft 365.

What's new in TeamsJS version 2.x.x

There are two significant changes between TeamsJS 1.x.x versions and v.2.0.0 and later:

Tip

You can use the Teams Toolkit extension for Microsoft Visual Studio Code to simplify the TeamsJS v.2.0 update process for an existing Teams app.

Backwards compatibility

Once you start referencing @microsoft/teams-js@2.0.0 (or later) from an existing Teams app, you see deprecation warnings for any code calling APIs that are changed.

An API translation layer (mapping v.1 to v.2 TeamsJS API calls) is provided to enable existing Teams apps to continue working in Teams until they're able to update application code to use the TeamsJS v.2 API patterns.

Authentication

In TeamsJS version 2.11.0 or later, apps must provide a third url parameter, hostRedirectUrl, in the authenticate API, to redirect users to the correct client after the completion of authentication. The hostRedirectUrl authentication parameter is necessary to enable your client to be supported across Microsoft 365 host applications. Apps implemented on older versions of TeamsJS only support Teams following this update, as the oauthRedirectmethod and authId query parameters are passed to the third-party app server.

For more information regarding the authentication parameter, see use external OAuth providers.

Teams apps running across Microsoft 365

Following are the requirements to enable an existing Teams app to run in Outlook and Microsoft 365:

  1. Dependency on TeamsJS version 2.x.x ( @microsoft/teams-js@2.0.0) or later.

  2. Modify existing application code according to the required changes described in this article.

  3. Update your app manifest (previously called Teams app manifest) to version 1.13 or later.

For more information, see Extend Teams apps across Microsoft 365.

Callbacks converted to promises

Note

The getTabInstances API isn't implemented on Teams mobile.

Teams APIs that previously took a callback parameter are updated to return a JavaScript Promise object. These include the following APIs:

app.getContext, app.initialize, appInstallDialog.openAppInstallDialog, app.openLink, authentication.authenticate, authentication.getAuthToken, authentication.getUser, authentication.registerAuthenticationHandlers was removed to support using Promises, calendar.openCalendarItem, calendar.composeMeeting, call.startCall, chat.getChatMembers, conversations.openConversation, location.getLocation, location.showLocation, mail.openMailItem, mail.composeMail, pages.backStack.navigateBack, pages.navigateToTab, pages.tabs.getMruTabInstances, pages.tabs.getTabInstances, pages.getConfig, pages.config.setConfig, pages.backStack.navigateBack, people.selectPeople, teams.fullTrust.getConfigSetting, teams.fullTrust.joinedTeams.getUserJoinedTeams

You need to update the way your code calls any of these APIs to use Promises. For example, if your code is calling a Teams API like this:

This code:

import microsoftTeams from "@microsoft/teams-js";

microsoftTeams.getContext((context) => { /* ... */ });

Needs to be updated to:

import { app } from "@microsoft/teams-js";

app.getContext().then((context) => {
    /*...*/
});

...or the equivalent async/await pattern:

import { app } from "@microsoft/teams-js";

async function example() {
  const context = await app.getContext();
  /*...*/
}

Tip

When you use Teams Toolkit to update to TeamsJS v.2.0, the required updates are flagged for you with TODO comments in your client code.

APIs organized into capabilities

A capability is a logical grouping (via namespace) of APIs that provide similar functionality. You can think of Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft 365 app, as hosts to your tab app. A host supports a given capability if it supports all the APIs defined within that capability. A host can't partially implement a capability. Capabilities can be feature- or content-based, such as authentication, or dialog. There are also capabilities for application types such as pages, and other groupings.

Starting with TeamsJS v.2.0, APIs are defined as functions in a JavaScript namespace whose name matches their required capability. For example, if an app is running in a host that supports the dialog capability, then the app can safely call APIs such as dialog.open (in addition to other dialog-related APIs defined in the namespace). If an app attempts to call an API that isn't supported in that host, the API generates an exception.

Tip

Check for host support of a given capability at runtime by calling the isSupported() function on that capability (namespace).

Differentiate your app experience

You can check for host support of a given capability at runtime by calling the isSupported() function on that capability (namespace). It returns true if it's supported and false if not, and you can adjust app behavior as appropriate. This allows your app to light up UI and functionality in hosts that support it, while continuing to run for hosts that don't.

The host name where your app operates is displayed as a HostName enum value of the Context interface (app.Context.app.host.name). You can query this at runtime by invoking getContext. For the Classic Teams client, this value might return as unknown or undefined. In this case, map these values to Classic Teams.

The {hostName} URL placeholder value is also available. However, we recommend using the hostName mechanism with discretion.

  • Don't assume certain functionality is or isn't available in a host based on the hostName property value. Instead, check for capability support (isSupported).
  • Don't use hostName to gate API calls. Instead, check for capability support (isSupported).
  • Do use hostName to differentiate the theme of your application based on the host it's running in. For example, you can use Microsoft Teams purple as the main accent color when running in Teams, and Outlook blue when running in Outlook.
  • Do use hostName to differentiate messages shown to the user based on which host it's running in. For example, show Manage your tasks in Microsoft 365 when running in Microsoft 365 on the web, and Manage your tasks in Teams when running in Teams.

Namespaces

Starting with TeamsJS v.2.0, APIs are organized into capabilities by way of namespaces. Several new namespaces of particular importance are app, pages, dialog, and teamsCore.

app namespace

The app namespace contains top-level APIs required for overall app usage, across Teams, Microsoft 365 app, and Outlook. All the APIs from various other TeamsJS namespaces are moved to the app namespace as of TeamsJS v.2.0:

Original namespace global (window) New namespace app
executeDeepLink app.openLink (renamed)
initialize app.initialize
getContext app.getContext
registerOnThemeChangeHandler app.registerOnThemeChangeHandler
Original namespace appInitialization New namespace app
appInitialization.notifyAppLoaded app.notifyAppLoaded
appInitialization.notifySuccess app.notifySuccess
appInitialization.notifyFailure app.notifyFailure
appInitialization.notifyExpectedFailure app.notifyExpectedFailure
appInitialization.FailedReason enum app.FailedReason
appInitialization.ExpectedFailureReason enum app.ExpectedFailureReason
appInitialization.IFailedRequest enum app.IFailedRequest
appInitialization.IExpectedFailureRequest enum app.IExpectedFailureRequest
pages namespace

The pages namespace includes functionality for running and navigating webpages within various Microsoft 365 hosts, including Teams, Microsoft 365 app, and Outlook. It also includes several subcapabilities, implemented as subnamespaces.

Original namespace global (window) New namespace pages
setFrameContext pages.setCurrentFrame (renamed)
initializeWithFrameContext pages.initializeWithFrameContext
registerFocusEnterHandler pages.registerFocusEnterHandler
registerFullScreenHandler pages.registerFullScreenHandler
returnFocus pages.returnFocus
shareDeepLink pages.shareDeepLink
Original namespace settings New namespace pages
settings.getSettings pages.getConfig (renamed)
pages.tabs
Original namespace global (window) New namespace pages.tabs
getTabInstances pages.tabs.getTabInstances
getMruTabInstances pages.tabs.getMruTabInstances
Original namespace navigation New namespace pages.tabs
navigation.navigateToTab pages.tabs.navigateToTab
pages.config
Original namespace settings New namespace pages.config
settings.setSettings pages.config.setConfig (renamed)
settings.setValidityState pages.config.setValidityState
settings.initialize pages.config.initialize
settings.registerOnSaveHandler pages.config.registerOnSaveHandler
settings.registerOnRemoveHandler pages.config.registerOnRemoveHandler
settings.Settings interface pages.config.Config (renamed)
settings.SaveEvent interface pages.config.SaveEvent (renamed)
settings.RemoveEvent interface pages.config.RemoveEvent (renamed)
settings.SaveParameters interface pages.config.SaveParameters (renamed)
settings.SaveEventImpl interface pages.config.SaveEventImpl (renamed)
Original namespace global (window) New namespace pages.config
registerChangeConfigHandler pages.config.registerChangeConfigHandler (renamed)
pages.backStack
Original namespace navigation New namespace pages.backStack
navigation.navigateBack pages.backStack.navigateBack
Original namespace global (window) New namespace pages.backStack
registerBackButtonHandler pages.backStack.registerBackButtonHandler
pages.appButton
Original namespace global (window) New namespace pages.appButton
registerAppButtonClickHandler pages.appButton.onClick (renamed)
registerAppButtonHoverEnterHandler pages.appButton.onHoverEnter (renamed)
registerAppButtonHoverLeaveEnter pages.appButton.onHoverLeave (renamed)
FrameContext interface pages.appButton.FrameInfo (renamed)
dialog namespace

Note

The window.alert, window.confirm, and window.prompt APIs used to display a dialog aren't supported in the new Teams Client. We recommended you to render a dialog within your own frame, for example, using the Fluent V9 dialog or use the Microsoft Teams JavaScript client library (TeamsJS) to display a Teams dialog using Adaptive Card or a nested <iframe>.

The TeamsJS tasks namespace is renamed to dialog, and the following APIs are renamed:

Original namespace tasks New namespace dialog
tasks.startTask dialog.url.open, dialog.url.bot.open, dialog.adaptiveCard.open, dialog.adaptiveCard.bot.open
tasks.submitTask dialog.url.submit (renamed)
tasks.updateTask dialog.update (renamed)
tasks.TaskModuleDimension enum dialog.DialogDimension (renamed)
tasks.TaskInfo interface dialog.DialogInfo (renamed)

Additionally, this capability is split into two main subcapabilities, dialog.url for HTML-based dialogs and dialog.adaptiveCard for Adaptive Card-based dialogs, with further sub-namespaces for bot-based dialogs.

teamsCore namespace

To generalize the TeamsJS library to run other Microsoft 365 hosts such as Microsoft 365 app and Outlook, Teams-specific functionality (originally in the global namespace) is moved to a teamsCore namespace:

Original namespace global (window) New namespace teamsCore
enablePrintCapability teamsCore.enablePrintCapability
print teamsCore.print
registerOnLoadHandler teamsCore.registerOnLoadHandler
registerBeforeUnloadHandler teamsCore.registerBeforeUnloadHandler

Updates to the Context interface

The Context interface is moved to the app namespace and updated to group similar properties for better scalability as it runs in Outlook and Microsoft 365 app, in addition to Teams.

A new property app.Context.app.host.name is added to enable tabs to differentiate user experience depending on the host application.

You can also visualize the changes by reviewing the transformLegacyContextToAppContext function in the TeamsJS version 2.x.x source (app.ts file).

Original name in Context interface New location in app.Context
appIconPosition app.Context.app.iconPositionVertical
appLaunchId NOT IN TeamsJS v.2.0
appSessionId app.Context.app.sessionId
channelId app.Context.channel.id
channelName app.Context.channel.displayName
channelRelativeUrl app.Context.channel.relativeUrl
channelType app.Context.channel.membershipType
chatId app.Context.chat.id
defaultOneNoteSectionId app.Context.channel.defaultOneNoteSectionId
entityId app.Context.page.id
frameContext app.Context.page.frameContext
groupId app.Context.team.groupId
hostClientType app.Context.app.host.clientType
hostTeamGroupId app.Context.channel.ownerGroupId
hostTeamTenantId app.Context.channel.ownerTenantId
isCallingAllowed app.Context.user.isCallingAllowed
isFullScreen app.Context.page.isFullScreen
isMultiWindow app.Context.page.isMultiWindow
isPSTNCallingAllowed app.Context.user.isPSTNCallingAllowed
isTeamArchived app.Context.team.isArchived
locale app.Context.app.locale
loginHint app.Context.user.loginHint
meetingId app.Context.meeting.id
osLocaleInfo app.Context.app.osLocaleInfo
parentMessageId app.Context.app.parentMessageId
ringId app.Context.app.host.ringId
sessionId app.Context.app.host.sessionId
sourceOrigin app.Context.page.sourceOrigin
subEntityId app.Context.page.subPageId
teamId app.Context.team.internalId
teamSiteDomain app.Context.sharepointSite.domain
teamSitePath app.Context.sharepointSite.path
teamSiteUrl app.Context.sharepointSite.url
teamTemplateId app.Context.team.templateId
teamType app.Context.team.type
tenantSKU app.Context.user.tenant.teamsSku
tid app.Context.user.tenant.id
upn app.Context.user.userPrincipalName
userClickTime app.Context.app.userClickTime
userFileOpenPreference app.Context.app.userFileOpenPreference
userLicenseType app.Context.user.licenseType
userObjectId app.Context.user.id
userTeamRole app.Context.team.userRole
NA app.Context.app.host.name

Updating to TeamsJS version 2.0

The easiest way to update your Teams app with TeamsJS version 2.0.x is to use the Teams Toolkit extension for Visual Studio Code. This section walks you through the steps to do that. If you prefer to manually update your code, see the Callbacks converted to promises and APIs organized into capabilities sections for more information on required API changes.

1. Install the latest Teams Toolkit Visual Studio Code extension

In the Visual Studio Code Extensions Marketplace, search for Teams Toolkit and install the latest version.

2. Update TeamsJS references

To run in Outlook and Microsoft 365 app, your app needs to depend on the npm package @microsoft/teams-js@2.0.0 (or later). To perform these steps manually, and for more information on the API changes, see the following sections on Callbacks converted to promises and APIs organized into capabilities.

  1. Ensure you have the latest Teams Toolkit (version 2.10.0 or later)
  2. Open the Command palette: Ctrl+Shift+P
  3. Run the command Teams: Upgrade Teams JS SDK references to support Outlook and Microsoft 365 apps

After completion, the utility will have updated your package.json file with the TeamsJS version 2.x.x (@microsoft/teams-js@2.0.0 or later) dependency, and your *.js/.ts and *.jsx/.tsx files will be updated with:

Important

Code inside html files is not supported by the upgrade tooling and will require manual changes.

3. Update the app manifest (optional)

If you're updating a Teams app to run in Microsoft 365 app and Outlook, you also need to update the app manifest to version 1.13 or later. You can do this easily with Teams Toolkit, or manually.

  1. Open the Command palette: Ctrl+Shift+P
  2. Run Teams: Upgrade Teams manifest to support Outlook and Microsoft 365 apps command and select your app manifest file. Changes are made in place.

If you used Teams Toolkit to create your personal app, you can also use it to validate the changes to your app manifest file and identify any errors. Open the command palette Ctrl+Shift+P and find Teams: Validate manifest file or select the option from the Deployment menu of the Teams Toolkit (look for the Teams icon on the left side of Visual Studio Code).

Teams Toolkit 'Validate manifest file' option under 'Deployment' menu

Next steps