Extension Pointers #11: Publishing an Extension
Extensions are software components that help developers add features that enhance the functionality of your Zoho product.
Bundling an extension is essentially wrapping and delivering the components of an extension as a whole package. The process of building an extension does not end with its development, but also extends to its publication in order to make it useful. Bundling and publishing an extension is therefore an important part of the process, as it wraps up the extension and makes it ready for installation and use.
An extension can be published either privately or publicly. Using Sigma, you can choose to publish your extension either as a private extension or as a public extension.
➤ Private Extension: The extensions that are built for personal or specific organizational purposes are private extensions. When you publish a private extension, a hashed URL link is made available, which can be used to install the extension. This URL can be either used personally, or shared with other users or members of your organization as needed.
➤ Public Extension: The extensions that are hosted in Zoho Marketplace are public extensions. When an extension is published, an installation URL is provided along with an option to list it in Zoho Marketplace. Choosing this option makes the extension available to all Zoho users for installation and use. Listing your extension in Zoho Marketplace gives other users the chance to use the extension you've made, and also allows you to gain monetary benefits.
In this post, we will take a look at the steps on how to create and publish a basic extension either privately or publicly.
How to Develop and Publish an Extension
- Log in to your Zoho Developer Console and choose Sigma platform.
- Click New Extension in the Extensions Gallery section to create a new extension for Zoho CRM.
- Click Save as Draft after providing the necessary extension details, and the new extension "TestExtension" will be created for Zoho CRM.
Note: Extensions for Zoho CRM are only supported in 'US DC' currently in the Zoho developer platform. You can create a trial account in Zoho One in US DC and begin developing your Zoho CRM extension.
- As a small example, let us create a button, "LeadsTestButton" for the Leads Module. The function of the button is to invoke a URL which leads to a new search tab, fetching details from Google about the lead's company.
URL | http://www.google.com/search?q=${Leads.Company} |
- Provide the necessary details and click Save.
- Choose Publish from the left panel of the Zoho Developer console under Package, and then click Publish.
- The Publish prompt box appears displaying the features that are added to the extension. Provide the Extension release notes and click Confirm.
The extension is now published!
The installation URL provided can be used personally or can be shared with other users privately as needed. This falls under the category of a "Private" extension.
Checking the List this extension in the Zoho Marketplace checkbox allows you to publish your extension as a public extension. Once the checkbox is checked, you will be asked for some details about your extension, and your extension is submitted to the Marketplace team for further evaluation. For a detailed guide on listing in Marketplace, click here. After thorough evaluation and fulfilling the approval standards of the Marketplace team, the extension will be listed in Marketplace for customers to use.
Managing extension versions:
The concept of versioning goes hand in hand with publishing an extension. After an extension is published, a version number is automatically assigned to it.
If there are any changes that need to be updated or added to the extension, either in the case of adding new components or modifying its logical functionality, these changes can be done and the extension can be re-published to obtain a new installation URL. Every time the extension is re-published, a new version is assigned sequentially and the older version gets deprecated.
In our example, let's make a change to the placement of the LeadsTestButton.
Click Publish again, provide the Extension release notes, and click Confirm on making the necessary changes.
The new installation URL is provided. This URL with the modified extension features can be privately shared with other users or within the team for use.
In the case of public extensions (i.e. extensions listed in Marketplace), you can publish a new version of your extension to the Marketplace approval team. Once the approval standards have been met, the latest version is approved and updated in Marketplace. Customers who have previously installed this extension from Marketplace can update it from the "Updates" tab available from the Extensions Gallery.
Once the new version is created, the old version will be automatically deprecated.
We hope you found these detailed steps on how to publish an extension useful. Please follow this space for more information.
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Nanditha Somasundaram Somasundaram
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes areKaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms
Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achievedKaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI
Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Batch/lot # and Storage bin location
Hi I want to ask for a feature on Zoho inventory I own a warehouse and I've gone through different management software solutions with no luck until I found Zoho, it has been a game changer for my business with up to the minute information, I'm extremely happy with it. It's almost perfect. And I say Almost because the only thing missing for me (and I'm sure I'm not alone) is the need of being able to identify the lot number of my inventory and where it is located in the warehouse. Due to the natureZOHO BOOKS - RECEIVING MORE ITEMS THAN ORDERED
Hello, When trying to enter a vendor's bill that contains items with bigger quantity than ordered in the PO (it happens quite often) - The system would not let us save the bill and show this error: "Quantity recorded cannot be more than quantity ordered."Good news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift
Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activitiesSync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)
Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:Writer update results in BitDefender blocking it as malware
After updating Writer to latest update, Bitdefender blocked the app and writer no longer runs.Connecting email for each department in ZohoDesk
Hi! Could someone help me to go through connecting emails for each department?Refresh frequency
Dear Zoho Team, I really, truly appreciate that Zoho Books gets frequent updates. As a matter of fact this is how a good SaaS company should stay on top. However, I feel that I have to hit refresh almost every day. This was exciting at the beginning butRefund
My plan expired today, and I updated my payment details with a new credit card. At the same time, I wanted to downgrade, but the system wouldn’t allow the downgrade until the payment details were updated. As a result, I was charged for the same plan beforeCalling Function via REST API with API Key gives 401 using Zoho Developer
Hi, I created a couple of functions using the one month trial of Enterprise edition, which I was able to call using the API Key method from Postman and from an external site. Now that my trial has expired, I have created the same functions in the DeveloperError due to - 'Internal Exception' when uploading Sign-generated PDF file to workdrive via Deluge in Zoho CRM
Hi I wasnt getting this error a few days ago and my code had not changed, so I'm wondering if there's a Zoho bug somewhere? I am downloading a PDF file from a Zoho Sign url using invokeurl and then uploading it to a Workdrive folder using zoho.workdrive.uploadFile.Embed CRM record images in email templates
I have email templates that I want to embed dynamic images in their body - not as an attachment. For the context, the image is a QR code individual to each contact. So there are couple of challenges for which I think there is no solution in CRM: 1/ IAssign multiple departments to multiple helpcenters
Hi there! I have a reseller company for a software and I'm using Zoho Desk as my helpcenter and ticket management system. The software is great and I would like to make a suggestion! With multi-branding activated, your departments that visible in helpZoho Desk Training
Hello, We've had Zoho desk for a while now, but we run into issues occasionally, and I was wondering if there was a customer who currently uses it and really enjoys the functionality, that would be wiling to chat with us?Edit default "We are here to help you" text in chat SalesIQ widget
Does anyone know how this text can be edited? I can't find it anywhere in settings. Thanks!PO Based Advance payment to Vendor
We recommend to introduce a provision at PO to make advance payment to vendors and auto apply that advance paid later at the time of Vendor Bill submission for that PO. This will help us track PO-wise Total Payments.Converting Customer Invoice to Purchase Bill
Hi, In my service-based business, I sometimes create the customer invoice first, and later I receive the purchase bill from the vendor for the same job. Is there any option in Zoho Books to: Convert a customer invoice into a purchase bill, or Link/associateGetting Project Template List using the REST API
I am trying to confirm that I can use the REST API to create a project using a project template. The API documentation indicates this is possible by providing the Template ID, but it is not clear at all how to get a list of available Project TemplatesHow to get Quickbooks Desktop Info into Zoho?
Our team has used Quickbooks desktop for years and is looking at switching to Zoho books in 2026. I want to bring all old sales history over since we use Zoho CRM. I can export Item sales history and generic sales orders from Quickbooks desktop. How doZeptoMail API Request
We tried to send mail using ZeptoMail using Django. Following is my payload {'from': {'address': 'abc@abc.com'}, 'to': [{'email_address': {'address': 'xyz@xyz.in', 'name': 'Bhavik'}}], 'subject': 'Report Name', 'htmlbody': '<p>Test</p>'} Following isZoho Inventory - Allow Update of Marketplace Generated Sales Orders via API
Hi Inventory Team, I was recently asked by a client to create an automation which updated a Zoho Inventory Sales Order if a Shopify Order was updated. I have created the script but I found that the request is blocked as the Sales Order was generated byMass import of documents into Zoho Writer
I'm using Google's word processor at the moment but feel that Zoho does a better job (on the online apps market). Iwant to move my documents (about 50-70) to Zoho but it seems to me that I have to import them seperately. Is it already possible to upload several documents at a time or is this a forthcoming feature? Cheers Rolli :?:Add home page or dashboard in CRM customer portal
is it possible to add home page or dashboard in CRM customer portal?User Tips: How to change the the label display name of a system defined field
Most users know how to change field label names via Settings > Modules & Fields but if you want to change the name of a system defined field you can’t as there is no “edit properties” option. However with a simple hack you can edit any system definedSearch not working!
I have items in my notebook tagged but when I search for a tag nothing comes up! Any fix for this?Zoho CRM Community Digest - October 2025 | Part 1
Hello Everyone! Here's a quick recap of first two weeks of October! Product Updates: Zoho CRM Android App Update: Surveys, Blueprints, and Smarter Mobile Features! Zoho CRM’s Android app just got a useful upgrade. You can now share records, upload yourAutomate onboarding emails with CRM Workflow and Accounts module
We’re a B2B SaaS company selling to public-sector organisations. Each organisation is stored as an Account in Zoho CRM, and each organisation typically has multiple associated Contacts. Our backend syncs product-usage data (setup status, user activity,Important update: Enhanced security measures for account operations in Zoho Cliq
Greetings from the Zoho Cliq team! We’d like to share an important security update that has an influence on some admin actions such as password reset, MFA reset, and MFA backup code generation. What’s changing? With our latest security enhancements, theseSales Receipts Duplicating when I run reports why and how do we rectify this and any other report if this happens
find attached extract of my reportNo Functional Autosave or Manual Save Button
Application : Zoho Notebook So I wanted to try Zoho Notebook(On Ubuntu) as an application, I installed the application and went solving my LeetCode problems visually(Drawing mode), at one point the app just stopped saving anything... Every time I triedEnterprise subscription support
My organization sells subscription services to enterprise customers, which is a different model from the consumer subscription model that Zoho Billing has been designed to support and I beleve this capability should be added. An enterprise subscriptionIssue with Creator's IF logic
Hi, I found the following code produces unexpected results: if(-1.0 < 0.0000000) { info "True"; } else { info "False"; } if(-1.0 < 0.000000) { info "True"; } else { info "False"; } The output returned is: False True However, theNeed option to send Package PDF in shipment email (Shipment PDF is missing Lot info)
Is there any way to automatically attach the Package PDF instead of (or alongside) the Shipment PDF in the notification emails? We really need this feature because the default Shipment PDF creates a blind spot for our customers. It does not display Batch/Lotzoho creator view is not present in the workspace and blank reports
Hi Support, Users who have "write" permissions keep getting this error for all of our embedded reports all of a sudden. See screen shot below: Meanwhile, my developer permissions account sees a blank screen in view and edit mode as shown in the screenshotsCustomize portal email template
Can i fetch only first name of the user in portal email template instead of the below code Hi ${User.FULL_NAME}Can't we let users decide which options they'd like to add at embed widget?
It seems embed widget DOES NOT offer a feature, where users can choose options upon subscribing plans. What Zoho has instead, is that admins have to manually create plan with options. How come no one in Zoho dev team never raised issue about usabilityReupload and rename from one field to another field (file upload)
Hi Everyone, Sorry, i have question to use invoke url for rename and reupload attachments file to another field. Tested on development mode. Zoho C6. Refer to https://www.zoho.com/creator/help/api/v2/upload-file.html look my error notification. Does anyonePrinting Multi-Page Reports (PDF Export)
Hi, I am moving a report from Google's Looker Studio to Zoho Analytics and trying to reproduce the Looker page by page dashboard editing experience. With Google, what you see is what you get when you print to PDF. But I can't seem to create the same experienceI NEED TO NUMBER TO TEXT NO HERE
=NUMBERTEXT NEEEDError: View is not present in the workspace
When saving a dashboard, user receives a popup with the following error. "View is not present in the workspace" What does this mean or refer to? There is no further insight given.Dear Zoho CEO: Business Growth is about how you prioritise!
All of us in business know that when you get your priorities right, your business grows. Zoho CRM and Zoho Books are excellent products, but sadly, Zoho Inventory continues to lag behind. Just this morning, I received yet another one-sided email aboutNext Page