Build Your First App in 15 Minutes
Ready to build your first app in CommCare?
Build your first CommCare app in 15 minutes! This quick guide covers creating a project, designing a form, and deploying your app. Let’s get started!
Step 1: Sign Up & Log In to CommCareHQ
To create your first app in CommCare, you need to create a CCHQ (CommCare HQ) account. If you already have a CCHQ account, log in using your credentials. The steps to log in to your CommCare account are:
Visit www.commcarehq.org
Use your credentials to log in to CommCare HQ.
If you don't have an account, click "Sign Up" and follow the prompts as shown in the GIF below.
Step 2: Create your First Application
After creating a CCHQ account, open your CommCare dashboard to create an application.
Click the 'Applications' tab, and then click the 'New Application' button. You’ll be directed to the Application Builder page.
Click the pen icon to name your application 'My First Application,' and then hit the checkmark button to save, as shown in the GIF below
Step 3: Choose the right Menu Type
After creating the CommCare application, let's choose the right menu type to set the basic structure of your app. The steps to do that are:
Select Menu Type: Click the '+Add' button on the left side of the screen to choose your Menu Type.
Survey vs. Case List: Choose "Survey" for simple data collection. For this app, select "Survey” as show in the GIF below. (Case List is used where you need to structure forms that register and follow up on items or people of interest over time).
Step 4: Design your first form
After selecting the Survey menu type, let's create your first survey form.
Name Your Form: Click the gear or pencil icon next to the form name, enter ‘My First Form,' and click 'Save’, as shown in the GIF.
Add Questions: Click the '+Add Question' button to open a drop-down menu with various question types. Let’s add a text question asking, 'What is your name?' Start by selecting the 'Text' question type, as shown in the GIF below. The question will appear on the left, and its properties will be displayed on the right, as shown in the GIF.
Question ID and Display Text: The Question ID is a unique tag for the data, while Display Text is what appears in the application. In the Display Text field, enter ‘What is your name?' CommCare will automatically generate a Question ID based on your Display Text, but you can change it. For now, change it to 'name’, as shown in the GIF.
You can read more details about the form builder at https://dimagi.atlassian.net/wiki/x/PDHKfw. Feel free to add more questions to your form, or move to the next step!
Step 5: Create a Test User
After adding a question to the form, let's create a ‘Test User’ to try it out. The steps are:
Go to 'Users' and select 'Mobile Workers.'
Click ‘Create New Mobile Worker,' enter the basic information, and click 'Create’, as shown in the GIF below. For more details, visit - Create and Manage CommCare Mobile Workers
Step 6: Preview & Install the App on a Mobile Device
After creating a Test User, let's preview and test your app to see how it works. There are two ways to do this:
Preview Method: Click the teal bar on the left side of the screen to access 'Application Preview' and test your app, as shown in the GIF below.
Install on Android:
Download the CommCare app from the Google Play Store. For more information on the installation process follow this YouTube video: Installing CommCare on Android
In CommCare HQ, go to 'Applications' and select your newly created app.
Click 'Make New Version' to access the installation page, where you can manage deployments and release different versions of your app, as shown in the GIF.
Click the 'Publish' button next to the new version.
Follow the instructions for downloading your app to an Android device at this link. For now, use the barcode installation method by selecting 'Scan Application Barcode. For more details, visit - https://dimagi.atlassian.net/wiki/x/BQrKfw.
"Wohooo! Your first application is ready in less than 15 minutes!
Next Steps!
Congratulations on building your first app!
We hope you enjoyed building your first mini-app in less than 15 minutes! Now that you understand how a CommCare app works, you should go back to your application to take it to the next level. Here are some next steps:
Sign up for a self-paced course on Dimagi Academy: https://academy.dimagi.com/offers/
Add Common Logic and Calculations to your questions in your forms.
Add more forms to your app, and group them into modules.
Start using Case Management to connect data across forms, personalize forms for different cases, or target messages to your beneficiaries/clients based on the data gathered in a case.
Upload icons and multimedia to give a nicer look to your application.
Explore our available features here on Affordable CommCare Pricing for Nonprofits & Social Impact Orgs
Want to try a sample CommCare app?
Try a sample CommCare App on your Android device without creating an app on CommCareHQ?
Do you have an Android phone or tablet?
Do you want to just quickly install an application and try it out?
Step 1: Install CommCare for Android
Search for CommCare in the Google Play Store, or scan the following barcode to go directly to the correct page:
Step 2: Install a demo version of the ‘Learn - Pregnancy and Newborn Tracking App’
Open CommCare and then scan this barcode or enter 4fWLi8d as the app code.
Step 3: Login and Explore
username: jonray
password: 123