What are user-defined apps?
ClearMetric defines a user-defined app as an app one person builds for their own work, usually with AI, that runs with that person's access on the organization's shared, governed data, metrics, rules and actions. Enterprise software used to be designed for users. User-defined apps are designed by them, while the company keeps control of the data, the access and the actions.
Updated by Jon Kim
What is an example of a user-defined app?
Ana works in receivables. She asks her AI for a page of overdue invoices by customer, with a button to approve credit. She sees only her region, because that is her access. Overdue means what finance says it means, not what she or her AI decides. Ben copies her app and sees his own region. Step through it:
Step 1 of 6
Ana's AI writes the app
Her AI turns the request into a short definition: one page, one metric, one action. It holds no passwords and no access rules.
Why do user-defined apps matter?
Most business software gives everyone the same screen, and anything different becomes a request to IT or an analyst. User-defined apps let each person shape the app they need, with the AI they already use, without waiting in a queue and without a platform license, while the company keeps one set of rules for everyone.
What does a user-defined app guarantee?
- One set of numbers. Every app reads the same definition of each metric, with its version shown, so teams stop arguing over whose figure is right.
- Access that holds. An app never shows or does more than its person's role allows, even when it is copied or shared.
- Private data stays private. The AI that builds an app works on stand-in data and never touches real records.
- No surprises. When a definition changes or past figures are corrected, the owner of every affected app gets the difference.
- Apps the company can check. Each app is a short written definition the company can review, approve and run again.
How does a user-defined app work?
There are three parts. The company's core holds the data, the access rules, one definition per metric, the rules for every action and the state of every multi-step process. Each person's app is a short definition of what to show and which actions to offer. The person's own AI writes that definition.
Before an app goes live, the core checks it against what the company allows and runs it once as that person. From then on, every request runs with that person's access, and every rule is applied by the core, never by the app.
User-defined apps vs low-code, BI and data platforms
Each existing option covers part of the need.
| Who builds | One definition per metric | Governed writes | When the core changes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal software | Anyone, with AI | No | No | Apps drift |
| Business intelligence | Analysts | With a semantic layer | Rare, bolted on | A notice at best |
| Low-code | A few builders | Not enforced | Inside each app | Breaks, or blocks |
| Enterprise data platforms | Builders | Yes | Yes | Blocks breaking schema changes |
| User-defined apps | Anyone, with AI | Yes | Yes | A diff to each app's owner |
How do user-defined apps relate to generative UI and low-code?
- Generative UI creates screens on the fly. It can draw a user-defined app, but the governed core underneath is what makes it one.
- Low-code apps are code the platform trusts. User-defined apps are definitions the core checks.
- Enterprise data platforms ship much of this pattern inside their own licensed runtime. User-defined apps run on open components in your own cloud, and give every person their own app.
How do you get user-defined apps?
ClearMetric builds the governed core on your company's data, in your own cloud, starting with the metrics and actions your teams use most. From there, your people shape their own apps. The full design, including what it does not do, is in the reference architecture.
Questions
What is a user-defined app?
A user-defined app is an app one person builds for their own work, usually with AI, that runs with that person's access on the organization's shared, governed data, metrics, rules and actions.
Is a user-defined app the same as a vibe-coded or personal app?
No. A personal app has its own database and its own definitions. A user-defined app runs on a shared core: the numbers, access rules and actions are the organization's, and only the app is the person's.
How is a user-defined app different from a dashboard?
A dashboard reads. A user-defined app reads, writes through governed actions and runs multi-step processes, and each person owns theirs.
Do you need a licensed data platform to build user-defined apps?
No. The core runs on open components in your own cloud: Postgres or a data warehouse, dbt or Cube, FastAPI, Temporal, and MCP for the AI.
Which AI can build a user-defined app?
Any client that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), such as Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT. The AI works on stand-in data in an isolated environment.
Does user-defined apps mean anything else?
Yes. Network firewalls use user-defined application for a custom traffic signature, and research projects use user-defined apps for apps an AI agent generates for one person on their phone. ClearMetric uses the term for personal apps on an organization's shared, governed data.
Tell us which numbers and requests your team handles by hand today.