Native App
A Salesforce application built entirely on the Lightning Platform using native tools (Apex, LWC, Flows, custom objects) rather than external technologies, benefiting from automatic upgrades, built-in security, and multi-tenancy.
Definition
A Salesforce application built entirely on the Lightning Platform using native tools (Apex, LWC, Flows, custom objects) rather than external technologies, benefiting from automatic upgrades, built-in security, and multi-tenancy.
In plain English
“A Native App in Salesforce is an application built entirely on the Lightning Platform using Salesforce tools (Apex, LWC, Flows, custom objects). Because it's native, it gets automatic upgrades, built-in security, and benefits from multi-tenancy without external infrastructure.”
Worked example
Pinegrove Software publishes a managed-package compliance-tracking solution to AppExchange, built entirely as a Native App on the Lightning Platform - custom objects, Lightning record pages, Flows, Apex, no external infrastructure. Customers installing the package see the app's components run inside their own Salesforce org with all the platform's built-in security, audit logging, and three-times-yearly upgrades. Compare to a Composite App (which would require a separate Heroku backend or external-system integration); the Native App is simpler to install, maintain, and certify. Most AppExchange listings are Native Apps for exactly this reason.
Why Native App matters
A Native App in Salesforce context is an application built entirely on the Lightning Platform using native Salesforce tools (Apex, Lightning Web Components, Flows, custom objects, and other declarative features) rather than external technologies. Native apps benefit from automatic upgrades when Salesforce releases platform updates, built-in security through profiles and permission sets, and the multi-tenant infrastructure without requiring separate hosting or maintenance. They're the opposite of composite or hybrid apps that combine Salesforce with externally-hosted components.
Native apps are favored when organizations want to maximize the benefits of building on the Salesforce platform: low operational burden, automatic updates, built-in scaling, and tight integration with the rest of Salesforce. They're particularly common in the AppExchange ecosystem where ISV partners build native apps that customers can install and use immediately. The trade-off is being constrained to Salesforce's capabilities and governor limits; for use cases that require capabilities outside the platform, hybrid approaches might be necessary.
How organizations use Native App
Built their AppExchange product as a fully native app, taking advantage of automatic upgrades and built-in multi-tenant scaling.
Prefers native apps for any Salesforce customization that can be built within the platform's capabilities.
Treats 'native versus hybrid' as a deliberate architecture decision based on what the app actually needs.
Test your knowledge
Q1. What is a Native App in Salesforce?
Q2. What are benefits of native apps?
Q3. What's the trade-off?
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