dhis2-apps

DHIS2 Application Development

You are helping a developer build a custom DHIS2 web application. DHIS2 is a health information management platform with its own app framework, component library, and Web API. AI assistants frequently get DHIS2 wrong — using deprecated API endpoints, incorrect patterns, or generic libraries instead of the DHIS2-specific tooling. This skill exists to prevent that.

First: determine where you are

Before doing anything, figure out whether you're in an existing DHIS2 project or starting fresh.

Check	How	Result
d2.config.js exists in project root	Glob for d2.config.js	Existing project — skip scaffolding
@dhis2/app-runtime in package.json	Read package.json	Existing project — skip scaffolding
Neither found	—	New project — read references/bootstrapping.md

If it's an existing project, read d2.config.js and package.json to understand what's already configured before making changes.

What does the user need?

Read the references that match the user's task. Most real tasks combine data and UI — read all that apply. When both are needed, read data-fetching.md first so you understand the API shape before building the UI.

Scenario	References (read in order)
Create or scaffold a new DHIS2 app	references/bootstrapping.md
Run, start, or deploy a DHIS2 app	references/running-your-app.md
Fetch or mutate data without building UI (hooks, scripts, bulk operations)	references/data-fetching.md
Build a page that displays data (list, table, detail view)	references/data-fetching.md → references/ui-patterns.md
Build a form to create or edit a resource	references/data-fetching.md → references/ui-patterns.md
Add navigation, page layout, or sidebar	references/routing.md → references/ui-patterns/sidebar.md
Build a dashboard or detail page with widgets	references/data-fetching.md → references/ui-patterns/widget.md → references/ui-patterns/dashboards.md
Creating user interfaces	references/ui-patterns.md
Handle API differences across DHIS2 versions	references/data-fetching.md (§ Feature flags)
Type API responses with DHIS2 types	references/types.md
Write tests for hooks or components	references/testing.md

How to work in this codebase

Before writing code, always read CLAUDE.md (or equivalent agent file) in the project root if it exists — it contains app-specific decisions, conventions, and structure that override general patterns.

As you work:

• Write tests for new features and helper functions. Read references/testing.md for patterns. Tests live alongside source files (e.g. useApps.test.ts next to useApps.ts).
• Comment complex or non-obvious logic. A comment should explain why something works the way it does — a hidden constraint, a DHIS2 quirk, a workaround for a known bug. Skip comments that just restate the code.
• Prefer legible code. Use Boolean(value) rather than !!value, named variables for complex conditions, and explicit returns over ternary chains. Write for the next developer, not for brevity.
• Keep CLAUDE.md up to date. After adding a new feature, hook, or architectural decision, update CLAUDE.md with what was built and why. If there's no CLAUDE.md, create one. This is how future sessions (and teammates) understand the codebase.

Library versions:

@dhis2/ui, @dhis2/app-runtime, and the app platform libraries ship with their source code. Read node_modules/@dhis2/<package>/ directly — it is the most accurate source of truth for component props, hook signatures, and exports. Do not rely on training data or opensrc for these packages.

Library	Source location
@dhis2/ui	node_modules/@dhis2/ui/ — component props, exports, design tokens
@dhis2/app-runtime	node_modules/@dhis2/app-runtime/ — hook signatures and context API
@dhis2/cli-app-scripts	The build tool — scaffold command uses the latest by default

opensrc is a last resort for the DHIS2 backend (dhis2/dhis2-core) — use it only when the @dhis2/api-types OpenAPI spec doesn't cover what you need or something looks wrong. Start with the spec; reach for the Java source only when the spec isn't enough.

Rules

These apply to all DHIS2 work, regardless of which references you read:

• React 18 only. No Suspense for data fetching, no React 19 APIs (use(), useFormStatus, etc.). Handle loading states explicitly with isLoading and CircularLoader.
• Always use @dhis2/ui for UI components. Not MUI, Chakra, Ant Design. Only use custom components if the ui library doesn't provide the component you need.
• Always read source code before writing code. For DHIS2 frontend libraries (@dhis2/ui, @dhis2/app-runtime), read node_modules/@dhis2/<package>/ directly — they ship with source. For the DHIS2 backend API, use opensrc (see references/data-fetching.md). Training data is not reliable for either.
• Use i18n.t() from @dhis2/d2-i18n for all user-facing strings.
• Use displayName instead of name for all dhis2 resources (organisation units, data elements, etc.).
• CSS Modules + DHIS2 design tokens for styling (var(--spacers-dp16), var(--colors-grey900), etc.).
• Verify after each turn. Run pnpm exec eslint and pnpm exec tsc --noEmit after making changes to catch errors early. Fix any issues before moving on. No output means no errors.

Troubleshooting

Common errors you may encounter when building DHIS2 apps:

Symptom	Fix
ESLint import/named errors for named exports that work fine at runtime and show no IDE errors	Install eslint-import-resolver-typescript and configure it in your ESLint config.