---
name: "application"
section: "3erl"
platform: "linux"
package: "erlang-manpages"
version: "1:25.2.3+dfsg-1+deb12u4"
release: "Debian 12 (Bookworm)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/application"
---

# application(3erl)

Generic OTP application functions

## NAME

application - Generic OTP application functions

## DESCRIPTION

In OTP, *application* denotes a component implementing some specific functionality, that can be started and stopped as a unit, and that can be reused in other systems. This module interacts with *application controller*, a process started at every Erlang runtime system. This module contains functions for controlling applications (for example, starting and stopping applications), and functions to access information about applications (for example, configuration parameters).

An application is defined by an *application specification*. The specification is normally located in an *application resource file* named *Application.app*, where *Application* is the application name. For details about the application specification, see *[app(5)](/app/5.md)*.

This module can also be viewed as a behaviour for an application implemented according to the OTP design principles as a supervision tree. The definition of how to start and stop the tree is to be located in an *application callback module*, exporting a predefined set of functions.

For details about applications and behaviours, see OTP Design Principles.

## DATA TYPES

```
start_type() =
    normal |
    {takeover, Node :: node()} |
    {failover, Node :: node()}
```

```
restart_type() = permanent | transient | temporary
```

```
tuple_of(T)
```

A tuple where the elements are of type *T*.

## EXPORTS

```
ensure_all_started(Application) -> {ok, Started} | {error, Reason}
```

```
ensure_all_started(Application, Type) ->
                      {ok, Started} | {error, Reason}
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Type = restart\_type()\
 Started = \[atom()\]\
 Reason = term()\

Equivalent to calling *start/1,2* repeatedly on all dependencies that are not yet started for an application. Optional dependencies will also be loaded and started if they are available.

Returns *{ok, AppNames}* for a successful start or for an already started application (which is, however, omitted from the *AppNames* list).

The function reports *{error, {AppName,Reason}}* for errors, where *Reason* is any possible reason returned by *start/1,2* when starting a specific dependency.

If an error occurs, the applications started by the function are stopped to bring the set of running applications back to its initial state.

```
ensure_started(Application) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

```
ensure_started(Application, Type) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Type = restart\_type()\
 Reason = term()\

Equivalent to *start/1,2* except it returns *ok* for already started applications.

```
get_all_env() -> Env
```

```
get_all_env(Application) -> Env
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Env = \[{Par :: atom(), Val :: term()}\]\

Returns the configuration parameters and their values for *Application*. If the argument is omitted, it defaults to the application of the calling process.

If the specified application is not loaded, or if the process executing the call does not belong to any application, the function returns *\[\]*.

```
get_all_key() -> [] | {ok, Keys}
```

```
get_all_key(Application) -> undefined | Keys
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Keys = {ok, \[{Key :: atom(), Val :: term()}, ...\]}\

Returns the application specification keys and their values for *Application*. If the argument is omitted, it defaults to the application of the calling process.

If the specified application is not loaded, the function returns *undefined*. If the process executing the call does not belong to any application, the function returns *\[\]*.

```
get_application() -> undefined | {ok, Application}
```

```
get_application(PidOrModule) -> undefined | {ok, Application}
```

Types:

PidOrModule = (Pid :: pid()) \| (Module :: module())\
 Application = atom()\

Returns the name of the application to which the process *Pid* or the module *Module* belongs. Providing no argument is the same as calling *get\_application(self())*.

If the specified process does not belong to any application, or if the specified process or module does not exist, the function returns *undefined*.

```
get_env(Par) -> undefined | {ok, Val}
```

```
get_env(Application, Par) -> undefined | {ok, Val}
```

Types:

Application = Par = atom()\
 Val = term()\

Returns the value of configuration parameter *Par* for *Application*. If the application argument is omitted, it defaults to the application of the calling process.

Returns *undefined* if any of the following applies:

- \*

  The specified application is not loaded.

- \*

  The configuration parameter does not exist.

- \*

  The process executing the call does not belong to any application.

```
get_env(Application, Par, Def) -> Val
```

Types:

Application = Par = atom()\
 Def = Val = term()\

Works like *get\_env/2* but returns value *Def* when configuration parameter *Par* does not exist.

```
get_key(Key) -> undefined | {ok, Val}
```

```
get_key(Application, Key) -> undefined | {ok, Val}
```

Types:

Application = Key = atom()\
 Val = term()\

Returns the value of the application specification key *Key* for *Application*. If the application argument is omitted, it defaults to the application of the calling process.

Returns *undefined* if any of the following applies:

- \*

  The specified application is not loaded.

- \*

  The specification key does not exist.

- \*

  The process executing the call does not belong to any application.

```
load(AppDescr) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

```
load(AppDescr, Distributed) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

Types:

AppDescr = Application \| (AppSpec :: application\_spec())\
 Application = atom()\
 Distributed = \
\
     {Application, Nodes} \| {Application, Time, Nodes} \| default\
 Nodes = \[node() \| tuple\_of(node())\]\
 Time = integer() \>= 1\
 Reason = term()\

```
application_spec() =
    {application,
     Application :: atom(),
     AppSpecKeys :: [application_opt()]}
```

```
application_opt() =
    {description, Description :: string()} |
    {vsn, Vsn :: string()} |
    {id, Id :: string()} |
    {modules, [Module :: module()]} |
    {registered, Names :: [Name :: atom()]} |
    {applications, [Application :: atom()]} |
    {included_applications, [Application :: atom()]} |
    {env, [{Par :: atom(), Val :: term()}]} |
    {start_phases,
     [{Phase :: atom(), PhaseArgs :: term()}] | undefined} |
    {maxT, MaxT :: timeout()} |
    {maxP, MaxP :: integer() >= 1 | infinity} |
    {mod, Start :: {Module :: module(), StartArgs :: term()}}
```

Loads the application specification for an application into the application controller. It also loads the application specifications for any included applications. Notice that the function does not load the Erlang object code.

The application can be specified by its name *Application*. In this case, the application controller searches the code path for the application resource file *Application.app* and loads the specification it contains.

The application specification can also be specified directly as a tuple *AppSpec*, having the format and contents as described in *[app(5)](/app/5.md)*.

If *Distributed == {Application,\[Time,\]Nodes}*, the application becomes distributed. The argument overrides the value for the application in the Kernel configuration parameter *distributed*. *Application* must be the application name (same as in the first argument). If a node crashes and *Time* is specified, the application controller waits for *Time* milliseconds before attempting to restart the application on another node. If *Time* is not specified, it defaults to *0* and the application is restarted immediately.

*Nodes* is a list of node names where the application can run, in priority from left to right. Node names can be grouped using tuples to indicate that they have the same priority.

*Example:*

```
Nodes = [cp1@cave, {cp2@cave, cp3@cave}]
```

This means that the application is preferably to be started at *cp1@cave*. If *cp1@cave* is down, the application is to be started at *cp2@cave* or *cp3@cave*.

If *Distributed == default*, the value for the application in the Kernel configuration parameter *distributed* is used.

```
loaded_applications() -> [{Application, Description, Vsn}]
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Description = Vsn = string()\

Returns a list with information about the applications, and included applications, which are loaded using *load/1,2*. *Application* is the application name. *Description* and *Vsn* are the values of their *description* and *vsn* application specification keys, respectively.

```
set_env(Config) -> ok
```

```
set_env(Config, Opts) -> ok
```

Types:

Config = \[{Application, Env}\]\
 Application = atom()\
 Env = \[{Par :: atom(), Val :: term()}\]\
 Opts = \[{timeout, timeout()} \| {persistent, boolean()}\]\

Sets the configuration *Config* for multiple applications. It is equivalent to calling *set\_env/4* on each application individually, except it is more efficient. The given *Config* is validated before the configuration is set.

*set\_env/2* uses the standard *gen\_server* time-out value (5000 ms). Option *timeout* can be specified if another time-out value is useful, for example, in situations where the application controller is heavily loaded.

Option *persistent* can be set to *true* to guarantee that parameters set with *set\_env/2* are not overridden by those defined in the application resource file on load. This means that persistent values will stick after the application is loaded and also on application reload.

If an application is given more than once or if an application has the same key given more than once, the behaviour is undefined and a warning message will be logged. In future releases, an error will be raised.

*set\_env/1* is equivalent to *set\_env(Config, \[\])*.

**Warning:**

Use this function only if you know what you are doing, that is, on your own applications. It is very application-dependent and configuration parameter-dependent when and how often the value is read by the application. Careless use of this function can put the application in a weird, inconsistent, and malfunctioning state.

```
permit(Application, Permission) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Permission = boolean()\
 Reason = term()\

Changes the permission for *Application* to run at the current node. The application must be loaded using *load/1,2* for the function to have effect.

If the permission of a loaded, but not started, application is set to *false*, *start* returns *ok* but the application is not started until the permission is set to *true*.

If the permission of a running application is set to *false*, the application is stopped. If the permission later is set to *true*, it is restarted.

If the application is distributed, setting the permission to *false* means that the application will be started at, or moved to, another node according to how its distribution is configured (see *load/2*).

The function does not return until the application is started, stopped, or successfully moved to another node. However, in some cases where permission is set to *true*, the function returns *ok* even though the application is not started. This is true when an application cannot start because of dependencies to other applications that are not yet started. When they are started, *Application* is started as well.

By default, all applications are loaded with permission *true* on all nodes. The permission can be configured using the Kernel configuration parameter *permissions*.

```
set_env(Application, Par, Val) -> ok
```

```
set_env(Application, Par, Val, Opts) -> ok
```

Types:

Application = Par = atom()\
 Val = term()\
 Opts = \[{timeout, timeout()} \| {persistent, boolean()}\]\

Sets the value of configuration parameter *Par* for *Application*.

*set\_env/4* uses the standard *gen\_server* time-out value (5000 ms). Option *timeout* can be specified if another time-out value is useful, for example, in situations where the application controller is heavily loaded.

If *set\_env/4* is called before the application is loaded, the application environment values specified in file *Application.app* override the ones previously set. This is also true for application reloads.

Option *persistent* can be set to *true* to guarantee that parameters set with *set\_env/4* are not overridden by those defined in the application resource file on load. This means that persistent values will stick after the application is loaded and also on application reload.

**Warning:**

Use this function only if you know what you are doing, that is, on your own applications. It is very application-dependent and configuration parameter-dependent when and how often the value is read by the application. Careless use of this function can put the application in a weird, inconsistent, and malfunctioning state.

```
start(Application) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

```
start(Application, Type) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Type = restart\_type()\
 Reason = term()\

Starts *Application*. If it is not loaded, the application controller first loads it using *load/1*. It ensures that any included applications are loaded, but does not start them. That is assumed to be taken care of in the code for *Application*.

The application controller checks the value of the application specification key *applications*, to ensure that all applications needed to be started before this application are running. If an application is missing and the application is not marked as optional, *{error,{not\_started,App}}* is returned, where *App* is the name of the missing application. Note this function makes no attempt to start any of the applications listed in *applications*, not even optional ones. See *ensure\_all\_started/1,2* for recursively starting the current application and its dependencies.

Once validated, the application controller then creates an *application master* for the application. The application master becomes the group leader of all the processes in the application. I/O is forwarded to the previous group leader, though, this is just a way to identify processes that belong to the application. Used for example to find itself from any process, or, reciprocally, to kill them all when it terminates.

The application master starts the application by calling the application callback function *Module:start/2* as defined by the application specification key *mod*.

Argument *Type* specifies the type of the application. If omitted, it defaults to *temporary*.

- \*

  If a permanent application terminates, all other applications and the entire Erlang node are also terminated.

- \*

  If a transient application terminates:

  - \*

    with *Reason == normal*, this is reported but no other applications are terminated.

  - \*

    abnormally, all other applications and the entire Erlang node are also terminated.

- \*

  If a temporary application terminates, this is reported but no other applications are terminated.

Notice that an application can always be stopped explicitly by calling *stop/1*. Regardless of the type of the application, no other applications are affected.

Notice also that the transient type is of little practical use, because when a supervision tree terminates, the reason is set to *shutdown*, not *normal*.

```
start_type() -> StartType | undefined | local
```

Types:

StartType = start\_type()\

This function is intended to be called by a process belonging to an application, when the application is started, to determine the start type, which is *StartType* or *local*.

For a description of *StartType*, see *Module:start/2*.

*local* is returned if only parts of the application are restarted (by a supervisor), or if the function is called outside a startup.

If the process executing the call does not belong to any application, the function returns *undefined*.

```
stop(Application) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Reason = term()\

Stops *Application*. The application master calls *Module:prep\_stop/1*, if such a function is defined, and then tells the top supervisor of the application to shut down (see *[supervisor(3erl)](/supervisor/3erl.md)*). This means that the entire supervision tree, including included applications, is terminated in reversed start order. After the shutdown, the application master calls *Module:stop/1*. *Module* is the callback module as defined by the application specification key *mod*.

Last, the application master terminates. Notice that all processes with the application master as group leader, that is, processes spawned from a process belonging to the application, are also terminated.

When stopped, the application is still loaded.

To stop a distributed application, *stop/1* must be called on all nodes where it can execute (that is, on all nodes where it has been started). The call to *stop/1* on the node where the application currently executes stops its execution. The application is not moved between nodes, as *stop/1* is called on the node where the application currently executes before *stop/1* is called on the other nodes.

```
takeover(Application, Type) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Type = restart\_type()\
 Reason = term()\

Takes over the distributed application *Application*, which executes at another node *Node*. At the current node, the application is restarted by calling *Module:start({takeover,Node},StartArgs)*. *Module* and *StartArgs* are retrieved from the loaded application specification. The application at the other node is not stopped until the startup is completed, that is, when *Module:start/2* and any calls to *Module:start\_phase/3* have returned.

Thus, two instances of the application run simultaneously during the takeover, so that data can be transferred from the old to the new instance. If this is not an acceptable behavior, parts of the old instance can be shut down when the new instance is started. However, the application cannot be stopped entirely, at least the top supervisor must remain alive.

For a description of *Type*, see *start/1,2*.

```
unload(Application) -> ok | {error, Reason}
```

Types:

Application = atom()\
 Reason = term()\

Unloads the application specification for *Application* from the application controller. It also unloads the application specifications for any included applications. Notice that the function does not purge the Erlang object code.

```
unset_env(Application, Par) -> ok
```

```
unset_env(Application, Par, Opts) -> ok
```

Types:

Application = Par = atom()\
 Opts = \[{timeout, timeout()} \| {persistent, boolean()}\]\

Removes the configuration parameter *Par* and its value for *Application*.

*unset\_env/2* uses the standard *gen\_server* time-out value (5000 ms). Option *timeout* can be specified if another time-out value is useful, for example, in situations where the application controller is heavily loaded.

*unset\_env/3* also allows the persistent option to be passed (see *set\_env/4*).

**Warning:**

Use this function only if you know what you are doing, that is, on your own applications. It is very application-dependent and configuration parameter-dependent when and how often the value is read by the application. Careless use of this function can put the application in a weird, inconsistent, and malfunctioning state.

```
which_applications() -> [{Application, Description, Vsn}]
```

```
which_applications(Timeout) -> [{Application, Description, Vsn}]
```

Types:

Timeout = timeout()\
 Application = atom()\
 Description = Vsn = string()\

Returns a list with information about the applications that are currently running. *Application* is the application name. *Description* and *Vsn* are the values of their *description* and *vsn* application specification keys, respectively.

*which\_applications/0* uses the standard *gen\_server* time-out value (5000 ms). A *Timeout* argument can be specified if another time-out value is useful, for example, in situations where the application controller is heavily loaded.

## CALLBACK MODULE

The following functions are to be exported from an *application* callback module.

## EXPORTS

**Module:start(StartType, StartArgs) -\> {ok, Pid} \| {ok, Pid, State} \| {error, Reason}**\

Types:

StartType = *start\_type()*\
 StartArgs = term()\
 Pid = pid()\
 State = term()\

This function is called whenever an application is started using *start/1,2*, and is to start the processes of the application. If the application is structured according to the OTP design principles as a supervision tree, this means starting the top supervisor of the tree.

*StartType* defines the type of start:

- \*

  *normal* if it is a normal startup.

- \*

  *normal* also if the application is distributed and started at the current node because of a failover from another node, and the application specification key *start\_phases == undefined*.

- \*

  *{takeover,Node}* if the application is distributed and started at the current node because of a takeover from *Node*, either because *takeover/2* has been called or because the current node has higher priority than *Node*.

- \*

  *{failover,Node}* if the application is distributed and started at the current node because of a failover from *Node*, and the application specification key *start\_phases /= undefined*.

*StartArgs* is the *StartArgs* argument defined by the application specification key *mod*.

The function is to return *{ok,Pid}* or *{ok,Pid,State}*, where *Pid* is the pid of the top supervisor and *State* is any term. If omitted, *State* defaults to *\[\]*. If the application is stopped later, *State* is passed to *Module:prep\_stop/1*.

**Module:start\_phase(Phase, StartType, PhaseArgs) -\> ok \| {error, Reason}**\

Types:

Phase = atom()\
 StartType = *start\_type()*\
 PhaseArgs = term()\
 Pid = pid()\
 State = state()\

Starts an application with included applications, when synchronization is needed between processes in the different applications during startup.

The start phases are defined by the application specification key *start\_phases == \[{Phase,PhaseArgs}\]*. For included applications, the set of phases must be a subset of the set of phases defined for the including application.

The function is called for each start phase (as defined for the primary application) for the primary application and all included applications, for which the start phase is defined.

For a description of *StartType*, see *Module:start/2*.

**Module:prep\_stop(State) -\> NewState**\

Types:

State = NewState = term()\

This function is called when an application is about to be stopped, before shutting down the processes of the application.

*State* is the state returned from *Module:start/2*, or *\[\]* if no state was returned. *NewState* is any term and is passed to *Module:stop/1*.

The function is optional. If it is not defined, the processes are terminated and then *Module:stop(State)* is called.

**Module:stop(State)**\

Types:

State = term()\

This function is called whenever an application has stopped. It is intended to be the opposite of *Module:start/2* and is to do any necessary cleaning up. The return value is ignored.

*State* is the return value of *Module:prep\_stop/1*, if such a function exists. Otherwise *State* is taken from the return value of *Module:start/2*.

**Module:config\_change(Changed, New, Removed) -\> ok**\

Types:

Changed = \[{Par,Val}\]\
 New = \[{Par,Val}\]\
 Removed = \[Par\]\
\
  Par = atom()\
\
  Val = term()\

This function is called by an application after a code replacement, if the configuration parameters have changed.

*Changed* is a list of parameter-value tuples including all configuration parameters with changed values.

*New* is a list of parameter-value tuples including all added configuration parameters.

*Removed* is a list of all removed parameters.

## SEE ALSO

OTP Design Principles, [kernel(7)](/kernel/7.md), [app(5)](/app/5.md)