TL;DR

Rippling launched App Studio on July 24, 2025—a no-/low-code environment where HR, IT, and Finance teams can build apps directly on Rippling’s live Employee Graph. These apps inherit Rippling’s security, permissions, workflows, and analytics, making them a powerful replacement for spreadsheets and siloed tools. Unlike the App Shop—Rippling’s marketplace for third-party integrations—App Studio apps are internal-only, built and deployed within your own organization.

What is App Studio?

App Studio is Rippling’s in-platform builder that allows non-engineers (HR leaders, ops managers, finance admins) to create custom apps without waiting on IT.

Key components include:

• Data foundation: every app sits on Rippling’s Employee Graph, giving you structured, real-time people data (roles, pay, devices, departments, managers, third-party data feeds).
• Drag-and-drop UI: create forms, lists, tables, and dashboards to capture or display information.
• Workflow Studio integration: automate reminders, approvals, and downstream actions tied to changes in app data.
• Permission-aware by default: no need to reinvent RBAC—apps respect Rippling’s existing org chart, roles, and approval chains.
• Built-in analytics: app data can be reported, filtered, and visualized without leaving Rippling.

Why the Launch Matters

Rippling positioned App Studio as “the end of one-size-fits-all software.” The promise: organizations no longer have to choose between shoehorning unique workflows into generic systems or managing fragile spreadsheets. Instead, teams can rapidly build tailored apps inside Rippling, where employees already live.

At launch, Rippling highlighted examples such as:

• Visa & immigration tracking apps to replace manual spreadsheets.
• Onboarding task orchestration apps that notify managers in Slack when steps are missed.
• Just-in-time IT access request apps with automatic approval routing and time-boxed expirations.

App Studio vs. App Shop

This is where many people get confused. Let’s set the record straight:

• App Studio: for building custom, internal apps unique to your organization. These are not distributed externally. They live inside your company’s Rippling instance.
• App Shop: Rippling’s integration marketplace—home to third-party software connections (e.g., Slack, Google Workspace, NetSuite). These integrations use the Rippling API to exchange data and extend Rippling into external ecosystems.
• Future roadmap: Rippling has suggested the possibility of eventually enabling broader sharing or monetization of App Studio apps, but as of now, App Studio is strictly internal.

Why PeopleOps Leaders Should Care

1. Operational agility
   Rippling App Studio turns ideas into apps in days, not months. PeopleOps teams can own their tooling roadmap instead of waiting on Engineering.
2. Governance baked in
   Apps inherit Rippling’s permissions and approval workflows, ensuring compliance and reducing risk.
3. Automation at scale
   By plugging into Workflow Studio, App Studio apps can auto-remind, auto-route, and auto-update.
4. Reduced tool sprawl
   Employees interact with apps inside Rippling, alongside payroll, HR, and IT workflows. No extra logins, no “shadow IT.”

High-Impact Use Cases

• Visa & Immigration Tracking: automate reminders for expiring work permits.
• Certification & Licensing Management: track renewals, prevent scheduling expired staff.
• Compensation Cycle Requests: capture, route, and document approvals.
• New Hire Roster: unify onboarding tasks across HR and IT, with Slack nudges to managers.
• Employee Request Hub: a single entry point for policies, requests, and FAQs, saving hours of back-and-forth each week.

Implementation Approach (How We’d Do It With You)

1. Backlog discovery – identify spreadsheet-driven or manual PeopleOps workflows.
2. App design & data modeling – map workflows to Employee Graph data.
3. Pilot build – deliver a focused app (e.g., certification tracking) within 2–4 weeks.
4. Adoption – roll out to end users; monitor and iterate weekly.
5. Scale – replicate success to other workflows (immigration, comp, onboarding).

Common Missteps to Avoid

• Over-customization too early: start lean, iterate later.
• Forgetting permissions: align early with who should see what.
• Leaving workflows in Slack/email: centralize automations in Workflow Studio for auditability.

Final Word

App Studio marks a turning point for Rippling: it’s no longer just an HRIS, but a platform you can build on. For PeopleOps, it means moving from “tool users” to “tool creators,” without compromising compliance or user adoption.

And while the App Shop remains the marketplace for third-party integrations, App Studio gives you the power to design the workflows no off-the-shelf tool will ever quite fit.

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