The Future of AppyBuilder

Hey Koders!

September 15th is finally here, and we’re ready to announce to you the AppyBuilder merge roadmap! 🙂
In case you don’t know already, AppyBuilder is joining forces with Kodular to create a platform more powerful than ever. If you missed it, read the full blog post here: AppyBuilder + Kodular.

In the past few weeks, we’ve been asked a thousand questions about the merger, and today, we would like to lay out all our plans for AppyBuilder and Kodular’s future. More specifically, this blog post will contain all details about Migration of AppyBuilder Projects, AppyBuilder Offline, and AppyBuilder Source Code.
We hope that this post will cover all relevant points and answer all your questions. If there is something else you would like to ask us, drop a comment here or post on our Community.

Stronger together

Migration of AppyBuilder projects

AppyBuilder has several components and features, some of which are not available in Kodular. To ensure parity between Kodular and AppyBuilder components, we’ve come up with the following solution:

• AppyBuilder components not present in Kodular (like the Battery Manager) will be added as new components with the exact same blocks as the AppyBuilder variant.
• AppyBuilder components with Kodular equivalents (like the Spacer) will be added as deprecated components, meaning they will work in existing projects, but not show up in the Palette.

Apart from that, we will try to migrate as many blocks and components as possible so that your switch to Kodular will be as hassle-free as we can make it.
However, we may not be able to ensure 100% compatibility between the two platforms, so you may have to remove conflicting blocks before importing your project to Kodular.

AppyBuilder Offline

AppyBuilder users — we hear you! We understand that you would like to continue using AppyBuilder Offline, which is why it will continue to be available for personal use.
We see that it might not be possible to migrate all your projects to Kodular, and keeping AppyBuilder Offline running will ensure you do not have to delete or refactor your work.

However, do note that AppyBuilder Offline will no longer receive updates apart from a few patches pertaining to the Maps component.

AppyBuilder Source Code

Since the AppyBuilder Source Code has been published on GitHub for quite a while, several forks have been opened — both for personal and professional use.
Henceforth, the AppyBuilder repository will be made private and its components merged into Kodular.

Forks intended for personal use (including retention of AppyBuilder projects) can continue to run as usual. However, we suggest you migrate to Kodular for a better experience overall.
AppyBuilder sources will no longer be available for professional purposes, not excluding forks opened for commercialization or distribution.
Existing professional forks will have to contact us at support@kodular.io for more information regarding their license exemption status.

Important dates

No migration roadmap is complete without concrete dates! Here are some dates you should definitely add to your calendar:

• Partial Migration (1st January 2020)
  From this day on, you will be able to safely import your AppyBuilder projects into Kodular. Consequently, no more updates regarding AppyBuilder are to be expected. However, there can be minor updates and small bug-fixes to add missing AppyBuilder blocks.
• Final Migration (31st March 2020)
  Past this date, no more features from AppyBuilder will be added into Kodular.
• Termination (30th June 2020)
  On this day, AppyBuilder Online will terminate its services and will henceforth redirect users to Kodular Creator.

Recommended next steps

We strongly recommend you make local copies of your AppyBuilder projects between 1st January 2020 (Partial Migration) and 31st March 2020 (Final Migration), and import them to Kodular once Final Migration has concluded.
You will not be able to access AppyBuilder post 30th June 2020, so make sure to download your projects beforehand.

We hope this migration schedule will make your transition to Kodular as smooth as possible. We’re excited to have you over at Kodular and let your imagination run wild.
If you have any queries or suggestions regarding this merger, feel free to write to us in the Community.

Happy Koding!

@Kodular Staff
Conor Shipp
Diego Barreiro
Hossein Amerkashi
Michael Rüdiger
Pavitra Golchha
Sander Jochems
Sivagiri Visakan
Vishwas Adiga