Frappe DocType Builder Skill

Build complete DocType definitions with proper field types, permissions, and configurations.

Global Rules

These Frappe conventions apply to everything this skill generates, and override any conflicting example below.

• Bench commands: use bare bench (never ./env/bin/bench or a full path). Always pass --site <site> explicitly — never run a bare bench migrate / bench run-tests. Run bench start in the background and only if it isn't already running. Don't run discovery commands (which bench, bench --version).
• DocType files live at apps/<app>/<app>/<module>/doctype/<name>/<name>.json — the app name appears twice (directory + Python package) — with an empty __init__.py alongside. Never mkdir the folder; write the JSON and run bench --site <site> migrate to create the structure. Don't add creation, modified, owner, modified_by, or docstatus as fields — Frappe manages them.
• Database & ORM: prefer frappe.qb.get_query() over raw frappe.db.sql(). Use frappe.db.get_all() for server logic (ignores permissions) and frappe.db.get_list() for user-facing APIs (enforces them). Never use frappe.db.set_value() on a field with validation or lifecycle logic — load the doc and doc.save() so controller hooks run. Batch-fetch related records; never query inside a loop (N+1).
• Never call frappe.db.commit() in controllers, request handlers, background jobs, or patches — Frappe auto-commits on success and rolls back on uncaught errors. Flush manually only to make a write visible to a subsequent frappe.enqueue() (or pass enqueue_after_commit=True).
• Permissions & APIs: put permission checks inside controller methods (enforced on every call path), not in API wrappers. Type-hint every @frappe.whitelist() parameter so Frappe validates and casts it, and pass methods=[...] to pin the HTTP verb.

Upstream data-model planning (which DocTypes to create, how they relate, reuse vs extend) is done by the frappe-doctype-architect skill; this skill emits the JSON from that plan.

When to Use This Skill