How to configure Message Extension capability within your Teams app

Configure Message Extension capability within your Teams app

Introduction

Message Extension allows users to interact with your web service while composing messages in the Microsoft Teams client. Users can invoke your web service to assist message composition, from the message compose box, or from the search bar.

Message Extensions are implemented on top of the Bot support architecture within Teams. Learn more from Build message extensions for Teams .

Prerequisites

To configure message extension as additional capability, please make sure:

You have a Teams application and its manifest.
You have a Microsoft 365 account to test the application.

For adding message extension to a tab Teams app, please go to: Add message extension to a tab Teams app.

For adding message extension to a bot Teams app, please go to: Add message extension to a bot Teams app.

Add message extension to a tab Teams app:

Following are the steps to add Message Extension capability to a tab app:

Create a message extension Teams app using Teams Toolkit.
Update manifest file.
Bring message extension code to your project.
Setup local debug environment.
Move the application to Azure.

Create a message extension app using Teams Toolkit

Please check the guide Create a message extension app with Teams Toolkit

Configure Message Extension capability in Teams application manifest

You can configure message extension in appPackage/manifest.json. You can also refer to message extension schema if you want to customize.

Example:

 "composeExtensions": [
    {
        "botId": "${{BOT_ID}}",
        "commands": [
            {
                "id": "createCard",
                "context": [
                    "compose"
                ],
                "description": "Command to run action to create a Card from Compose Box",
                "title": "Create Card",
                "type": "action",
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "title",
                        "title": "Card title",
                        "description": "Title for the card",
                        "inputType": "text"
                    },
                    {
                        "name": "subTitle",
                        "title": "Subtitle",
                        "description": "Subtitle for the card",
                        "inputType": "text"
                    },
                    {
                        "name": "text",
                        "title": "Text",
                        "description": "Text for the card",
                        "inputType": "textarea"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "id": "shareMessage",
                "context": [
                    "message"
                ],
                "description": "Test command to run action on message context (message sharing)",
                "title": "Share Message",
                "type": "action",
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "includeImage",
                        "title": "Include Image",
                        "description": "Include image in Hero Card",
                        "inputType": "toggle"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "id": "searchQuery",
                "context": [
                    "compose",
                    "commandBox"
                ],
                "description": "Test command to run query",
                "title": "Search",
                "type": "query",
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "searchQuery",
                        "title": "Search Query",
                        "description": "Your search query",
                        "inputType": "text"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "messageHandlers": [
            {
                "type": "link",
                "value": {
                    "domains": [
                        "*.botframework.com"
                    ]
                }
            }
        ]
    }
]

Bring message extension code to your project

Bring your own message extension app code into your project. If you don't have one, you can use the message extension app project previously created and copy the source code to into your current project. We suggest you to copy them into a bot/ folder. Your folder structure will be like:

|-- .vscode/
|-- appPackage/
|-- env/
|-- infra/
|--public/
|-- bot/           <!--message extension source code-->
|   |-- index.ts
|   |-- config.ts
|   |-- teamsBot.ts
|   |-- package.json
|   |-- tsconfig.json
|   |-- web.config
|   |-- .webappignore
|-- src/            <!--your current source code-->
|   |-- app.ts
|   |-- static/
|   |-- views/
|-- package.json
|-- tsconfig.json
|-- teamsapp.local.yml
|-- teamsapp.yml

We suggest you to re-organize the folder structure and create a root package.json as following. You can create a root package.json using command "npm init -y".

|-- .vscode/
|-- appPackage/
|-- env/
|-- infra/
|-- bot/            <!--message extension source code-->
|   |-- index.ts
|   |-- config.ts
|   |-- teamsBot.ts
|   |-- package.json
|   |-- tsconfig.json
|   |-- web.config
|   |-- .webappignore
|-- tab/           <!--move your current source code to a new sub folder-->
|   |-- src/
|   |   |-- app.ts
|   |   |-- static/
|   |   |-- views/
|   |-- package.json
|   |-- tsconfig.json
|-- package.json <!--root package.json-->
|-- teamsapp.local.yml
|-- teamsapp.yml

Add following to your root package.json:

"scripts": {
  "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1",
  "install:bot": "cd bot && npm install",
  "install:tab": "cd tab && npm install",
  "install": "concurrently \"npm run install:bot\" \"npm run install:tab\"",
  "dev:bot": "cd bot && npm run dev",
  "start:tab": "cd tab && npm run start",
  "build:tab": "cd tab && npm run build",
  "build:bot": "cd bot && npm run build",
  "build": "concurrently \"npm run build:tab\" \"npm run build:bot\""
},
"dependencies": {
    "concurrently": "^7.6.0"
},

Notice: If you are working on a javascript project, the bot doesn't need build. Please remove "build:bot" script and change "build" script to "npm run build:tab".

Setup local debug environment

Modify .vscode/task.json. Add 3 new tasks: Start local tunnel, Start bot, Start frontend. Add Start bot and Start frontend to task Start application's dependOn. Config Start bot and Start frondend's cwd option since we already move tab and bot's code to tab/ and bot/ folder separately. Add Start local tunnel to task Start Teams App Locally's dependOn.

"tasks":[
        {
            // Start the local tunnel service to forward public URL to local port and inspect traffic.
            // See https://aka.ms/teamsfx-tasks/local-tunnel for the detailed args definitions.
            "label": "Start local tunnel",
            "type": "teamsfx",
            "command": "debug-start-local-tunnel",
            "args": {
                "type": "dev-tunnel",
                "ports": [
                    {
                        "portNumber": 3978,
                        "protocol": "http",
                        "access": "public",
                        "writeToEnvironmentFile": {
                            "endpoint": "BOT_ENDPOINT", // output tunnel endpoint as BOT_ENDPOINT
                            "domain": "BOT_DOMAIN" // output tunnel domain as BOT_DOMAIN
                        }
                    }
                ],
                "env": "local"
            },
            "isBackground": true,
            "problemMatcher": "$teamsfx-local-tunnel-watch"
        },
        {
            "label": "Start bot",
            "type": "shell",
            "command": "npm run dev:teamsfx",
            "isBackground": true,
            "options": {
                "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/bot"
            },
            "problemMatcher": {
                "pattern": [
                    {
                        "regexp": "^.*$",
                        "file": 0,
                        "location": 1,
                        "message": 2
                    }
                ],
                "background": {
                    "activeOnStart": true,
                    "beginsPattern": "[nodemon] starting",
                    "endsPattern": "app listening to|Bot/ME service listening at|[nodemon] app crashed"
                }
            }
        },
        {
           "label": "Start frontend",
           "type": "shell",
           "command": "npm run dev:teamsfx",
           "isBackground": true,
           "options": {
                "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}/tab"
            },
            "problemMatcher": {
                "pattern": {
                    "regexp": "^.*$",
                    "file": 0,
                    "location": 1,
                    "message": 2
                },
                "background": {
                    "activeOnStart": true,
                    "beginsPattern": ".*",
                    "endsPattern": "listening to|Compiled|Failed|compiled|failed"
                }
            }
        },
         {
             "label": "Start application",
             "dependsOn": [
                 "Start bot",
                 "Start frontend"
             ]
         },
         {
             "label": "Start Teams App Locally",
             "dependsOn": [
                 "Validate prerequisites",
                 "Start local tunnel",
                 "Provision",
                 "Deploy",
                 "Start application"
             ],
             "dependsOrder": "sequence"
         },
]

Update teamsapp.local.yml. Add action botAadApp/create and botFramework/create under provision. Then update file/createOrUpdateEnvironmentFile action under deploy:

provision:
  - uses: botAadApp/create
    with:
      # The Microsoft Entra application's display name
      name: bot-${{TEAMSFX_ENV}}
    writeToEnvironmentFile:
      # The Microsoft Entra application's client id created for bot.
      botId: BOT_ID
      # The Microsoft Entra application's client secret created for bot.
      botPassword: SECRET_BOT_PASSWORD

  # Create or update the bot registration on dev.botframework.com
  - uses: botFramework/create
    with:
      botId: ${{BOT_ID}}
      name: bot
      messagingEndpoint: ${{BOT_ENDPOINT}}/api/messages
      description: ""
      channels:
        - name: msteams
deploy:
  - uses: file/createOrUpdateEnvironmentFile # Generate runtime environment variables
    with:
      target: ./tab/.localConfigs
      envs:
        BROWSER: none
        HTTPS: true
        PORT: 53000
        SSL_CRT_FILE: ${{SSL_CRT_FILE}}
        SSL_KEY_FILE: ${{SSL_KEY_FILE}}

  - uses: file/createOrUpdateEnvironmentFile # Generate runtime environment variables
    with:
      target: ./bot/.localConfigs
      envs:
        BOT_ID: ${{BOT_ID}}
        BOT_PASSWORD: ${{SECRET_BOT_PASSWORD}}

Here is an sample project for reference.

Open the Run and Debug Activity Panel and select Debug (Edge) or Debug (Chrome). Press F5 to preview your Teams app locally.

Move the application to Azure

Copy the botRegistration/ folder from bot to your infra/. Add following to your bicep file:

param resourceBaseName2 string
param webAppName2 string = resourceBaseName2
@maxLength(42)
param botDisplayName string
@description('Required when create Azure Bot service')
param botAadAppClientId string

@secure()
@description('Required by Bot Framework package in your bot project')
param botAadAppClientSecret string
resource webApp2 'Microsoft.Web/sites@2021-02-01' = {
  kind: 'app'
  location: location
  name: webAppName2
  properties: {
    serverFarmId: serverfarm.id
    httpsOnly: true
    siteConfig: {
      alwaysOn: true
      appSettings: [
        {
          name: 'WEBSITE_RUN_FROM_PACKAGE'
          value: '1' // Run Azure APP Service from a package file
        }
        {
          name: 'WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION'
          value: '~18' // Set NodeJS version to 18.x for your site
        }
        {
          name: 'RUNNING_ON_AZURE'
          value: '1'
        }
        {
          name: 'BOT_ID'
          value: botAadAppClientId
        }
        {
          name: 'BOT_PASSWORD'
          value: botAadAppClientSecret
        }
      ]
      ftpsState: 'FtpsOnly'
    }
  }
}

// Register your web service as a bot with the Bot Framework
module azureBotRegistration './botRegistration/azurebot.bicep' = {
  name: 'Azure-Bot-registration'
  params: {
    resourceBaseName: resourceBaseName
    botAadAppClientId: botAadAppClientId
    botAppDomain: webApp2.properties.defaultHostName
    botDisplayName: botDisplayName
  }
}

// The output will be persisted in .env.{envName}. Visit https://aka.ms/teamsfx-actions/arm-deploy for more details.
output BOT_AZURE_APP_SERVICE_RESOURCE_ID string = webApp2.id
output BOT_DOMAIN string = webApp2.properties.defaultHostName

Additionally, make sure to update the azure.parameters.json file to ensure that necessary parameters are set correctly.

{
"$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentParameters.json#",
"contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
"parameters": {
  "resourceBaseName": {
    "value": "tab${{RESOURCE_SUFFIX}}"
  },
  "webAppSku": {
    "value": "B1"
  },
  "botAadAppClientId": {
    "value": "${{BOT_ID}}"
  },
  "botAadAppClientSecret": {
    "value": "${{SECRET_BOT_PASSWORD}}"
  },
  "botDisplayName": {
    "value": "bot"
  },
  "resourceBaseName2":{
    "value": "bot${{RESOURCE_SUFFIX}}"
  }
}

Update your teamsapp.yml file. Add "botAadApp/create" action in "provision" section. Update "deploy" section to be the following:

deploy:
  - uses: cli/runNpmCommand # Run npm command
    with:
      args: install
  - uses: cli/runNpmCommand # Run npm command
    with:
      args: run build
  # Deploy bits to Azure Storage Static Website
  - uses: azureAppService/zipDeploy
    with:
      workingDirectory: ./tab
      # Deploy base folder
      artifactFolder: .
      # Ignore file location, leave blank will ignore nothing
      ignoreFile: .webappignore
      # The resource id of the cloud resource to be deployed to.
      # This key will be generated by arm/deploy action automatically.
      # You can replace it with your existing Azure Resource id
      # or add it to your environment variable file.
      resourceId: ${{TAB_AZURE_APP_SERVICE_RESOURCE_ID}}
  - uses: azureAppService/zipDeploy
    with:
      workingDirectory: ./bot
      # Deploy base folder
      artifactFolder: .
      # Ignore file location, leave blank will ignore nothing
      ignoreFile: .webappignore
      # The resource id of the cloud resource to be deployed to.
      # This key will be generated by arm/deploy action automatically.
      # You can replace it with your existing Azure Resource id
      # or add it to your environment variable file.
      resourceId: ${{BOT_AZURE_APP_SERVICE_RESOURCE_ID}}

Here is an sample project for reference.

Run Teams: Provision command in Visual Studio Code to apply the bicep to Azure.
Run Teams: Deploy command in Visual Studio Code to deploy your app code to Azure.
Open the Run and Debug Activity Panel and select Launch Remote (Edge) or Launch Remote (Chrome). Press F5 to preview your Teams app.

Add message extension to a bot Teams app:

Since message extensions are implemented on top of the Bot support architecture within Teams, adding Message Extension to a bot Teams app is simpler than adding to a tab Teams app.

Following are the steps to add Message Extension capability to a bot app:

Create a message extension Teams app using Teams Toolkit.
Update manifest file.
Bring message extension code to your project.

Create a message extension app using Teams Toolkit

Please check the guide Create a message extension app with Teams Toolkit

Configure Message Extension capability in Teams application manifest

You can configure message extension in appPackage/manifest.json. You can also refer to message extension schema if you want to customize.

Example:

 "composeExtensions": [
    {
        "botId": "${{BOT_ID}}",
        "commands": [
            {
                "id": "createCard",
                "context": [
                    "compose"
                ],
                "description": "Command to run action to create a Card from Compose Box",
                "title": "Create Card",
                "type": "action",
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "title",
                        "title": "Card title",
                        "description": "Title for the card",
                        "inputType": "text"
                    },
                    {
                        "name": "subTitle",
                        "title": "Subtitle",
                        "description": "Subtitle for the card",
                        "inputType": "text"
                    },
                    {
                        "name": "text",
                        "title": "Text",
                        "description": "Text for the card",
                        "inputType": "textarea"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "id": "shareMessage",
                "context": [
                    "message"
                ],
                "description": "Test command to run action on message context (message sharing)",
                "title": "Share Message",
                "type": "action",
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "includeImage",
                        "title": "Include Image",
                        "description": "Include image in Hero Card",
                        "inputType": "toggle"
                    }
                ]
            },
            {
                "id": "searchQuery",
                "context": [
                    "compose",
                    "commandBox"
                ],
                "description": "Test command to run query",
                "title": "Search",
                "type": "query",
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "searchQuery",
                        "title": "Search Query",
                        "description": "Your search query",
                        "inputType": "text"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "messageHandlers": [
            {
                "type": "link",
                "value": {
                    "domains": [
                        "*.botframework.com"
                    ]
                }
            }
        ]
    }
]

Bring message extension code to your project

If you are adding message extension to a bot Teams app, then you should already have a class that extends TeamsActivityHandler. Bring your own message extension functions, or copy functions from your previously created message extension app to your own class. Below is an example if you copy functions from Teams Toolkit created message extension app:

class YourHandler extends TeamsActivityHandler {
  /**
   * your own code
   */

  //message extension code
  // Action.
  public async handleTeamsMessagingExtensionSubmitAction(
    context: TurnContext,
    action: any
  ): Promise<any> {}

  // Search.
  public async handleTeamsMessagingExtensionQuery(
    context: TurnContext,
    query: any
  ): Promise<any> {}

  public async handleTeamsMessagingExtensionSelectItem(
    context: TurnContext,
    obj: any
  ): Promise<any> {}

  // Link Unfurling.
  public async handleTeamsAppBasedLinkQuery(
    context: TurnContext,
    query: any
  ): Promise<any> {}
}

async function createCardCommand(
  context: TurnContext,
  action: MessagingExtensionAction
): Promise<MessagingExtensionResponse> {}

async function shareMessageCommand(
  context: TurnContext,
  action: MessagingExtensionAction
): Promise<MessagingExtensionResponse> {}

What’s next

There are other commonly suggested next steps, for example:

Set up CI/CD pipelines

Build Apps for Microsoft Teams | Build or Extend Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 | Microsoft 365 Platform Blogs | Microsoft 365 Developer YouTube Channel

Build Custom Engine Copilots

Scenario-based Tutorials

Extend your app across Microsoft 365

App settings and Microsoft Entra Apps

Configure multiple capabilities

Add Authentication to your app

Connect to cloud resources

Deploy apps to production

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

How to configure Message Extension capability within your Teams app

Configure Message Extension capability within your Teams app

Introduction

Prerequisites

Add message extension to a tab Teams app:

Create a message extension app using Teams Toolkit

Configure Message Extension capability in Teams application manifest

Bring message extension code to your project

Setup local debug environment

Move the application to Azure

Add message extension to a bot Teams app:

Create a message extension app using Teams Toolkit

Configure Message Extension capability in Teams application manifest

Bring message extension code to your project

What’s next

Clone this wiki locally