Forget Canvas Apps: It's Time to Let Your Makers Write Code

Microsoft just announced that Code Apps is now Generally Available, so I'm going to make an argument that might ruffle a few feathers in the Power Platform community: your Makers should be using Code Apps, not just your developers.

I'm not talking about your developers picking up another tool. I'm talking about the same citizen developers who currently build Canvas Apps. The ones who aren't software engineers. The ones who've never written TypeScript in their lives.

Let me explain why.

AI changed everything

If you'd asked me two years ago whether a non-developer could build a production-quality web app in React, I'd have said no. The learning curve was too steep. You needed to understand components, state management, build tooling, and a hundred other things that take years to internalise.

That's no longer true.

With modern AI assistants, anyone can build web applications using natural language. You describe what you want, AI writes the code. When you get stuck, you ask. When something breaks, you paste the error and ask for a fix. AI doesn't just write code - it explains, debugs, refactors, and teaches as you go.

I've been vibe coding websites and web apps for a while now, and when Claude Opus 4.5 was released, I noticed a huge step change. Previously, working with AI felt like walking a dog on a lead; you had to guide it constantly or it would wander off. Now, it stays to heel. It builds excellent software without needing technical instructions from me, although technical instructions can undoubtedly improve the output.

This isn't a small improvement. It's a fundamental shift in who can build software.

Canvas Apps are harder than they look

Here's something the Power Platform community doesn't talk about enough: Canvas Apps are deceptively difficult.

Yes, they're easy to get started with. Drag a button onto a screen, connect to a data source, write a simple formula. You can build a basic app in an afternoon.

But try to build something more ambitious. Try to create a smooth, beautiful interface. Try to handle complex data operations. Try to refactor an app that's grown organically over six months. You'll quickly discover that the abstraction layer that made simple things easy makes difficult things incredibly difficult.

Canvas Apps have a reputation for being slow and looking dated. That reputation exists for a reason.

And here's the thing: if you push Canvas Apps far enough, you end up in pro-code territory anyway. You hit limitations that force you towards PCF components, Dataverse plug-ins, JavaScript web resources, etc. The ceiling is lower than it appears.

Code Apps massively raise the ceiling

Code Apps let you build with React, Vue, or any other modern web framework while still benefiting from Power Platform's managed environment. You get:

Microsoft Entra authentication out of the box - no code required
Access to 1,500+ Power Platform connectors, callable directly from JavaScript
Hosting, deployment, and ALM handled for you
Your organisation's governance policies enforced automatically

You're writing real code, which means there's a really high ceiling. If you can describe what you want, AI can help you build it.

"But what about the risks?"

I can already hear the objections. Let me address them.

"Makers won't be able to maintain code they didn't write."

Canvas Apps are notoriously difficult to maintain. Refactoring is almost impossible. With Code Apps, maintenance becomes straightforward, because AI can read the code, understand it, and modify it. If a Maker built it with AI assistance, they can maintain it with AI assistance.

"What about security?"

Authentication is included by default with Code Apps. No code needed. The apps are locked down with Content Security Policies, so Makers can't call external services unless explicitly permitted. Yes, they need to handle authorisation themselves, but that's true of Canvas Apps too.

"Who's going to support these apps?"

Makers should support their own creations. That's always been the model with citizen development, and it doesn't change here.

"They'll need to install developer tools."

They'll need VS Code (with extensions) and Node.js. That's it. Git isn't essential, and Microsoft is simplifying the CLI requirement. Compare that to learning Power Fx delegation rules and how to build responsive designs with Canvas App containers, and tell me which is the bigger barrier.

Code Apps are internal only, and that's the point

One detail worth highlighting: Code Apps are for internal line-of-business applications. They're not for external-facing apps.

This is precisely why it's safe to open them up to Makers. These are internal tools, built by people who understand the business problem, for colleagues they work with. The blast radius is contained. The governance is built in.

A note on licensing

Code Apps require Power Apps Premium licences for end users. If your organisation isn't licensing users, I'd advise sticking to micro apps that aren't business-critical. You shouldn't be building anything important on Power Platform without Premium anyway, and if you're already paying for Premium, Code Apps are included.

What I'm suggesting

I'm not suggesting you throw open the gates tomorrow, although I'm also not inherently against that. Here's what I'd recommend:

Start a pilot. Identify your most technical Makers - the ones who've already pushed Canvas Apps to their limits.
Give them access to Code Apps. Let them experiment. Let them build things. Don't overthink the use cases.
Watch what happens. Analyse the results. See where they succeed, where they struggle, and what they produce.
Expand gradually. As you see successes, and realise there's no harm in it, open access to more Makers.

The barrier to building software has collapsed. The question is whether your organisation will recognise that, or whether you'll keep your Makers confined to tools that were designed for a world that no longer exists.