RouterOS /app YAML Format (7.21+)

RouterOS 7.21 introduced the /app path (built-in app listing and management). The full YAML app creation feature (/app/add) appeared in 7.22 (first seen in 7.22beta5). Think of it as MikroTik's opinionated alternative to docker-compose — but it is NOT docker-compose, with significant differences.

What /app Is

The /app subsystem lets users define one or more containers as a single "application" in YAML. RouterOS parses the YAML, creates containers, volumes, networks, and config files, then manages the lifecycle. Think of it as MikroTik's opinionated alternative to docker-compose.

Key concepts:

• Each /app is defined by a YAML document with services, configs, volumes, and networks
• The YAML is loaded into RouterOS via CLI (/app/add yaml-url=...) or REST API
• Built-in apps ship with RouterOS (visible at GET /rest/app)
• Custom apps can be added from URLs or inline YAML
• App stores (app-store-urls=) provide curated collections

Critical Differences from docker-compose

Top-Level Properties

Category Values (Exhaustive)

productivity, storage, networking, development, communication,
file-management, search, video, media, media-management,
home-automation, monitoring, database, automation, ai,
messaging, radio, security, business

New categories appear when MikroTik adds built-in apps. The CI schema validation catches these.

Service Properties

Each key under services: defines one container. Required property: image.

Port Format — Two Styles

RouterOS supports two port mapping string formats. Both are valid; new apps from 7.23beta2+ prefer the colon style.

Old OCI-style (pre-7.23)

[ip:]host_port:container_port[/tcp|/udp][:label]

Examples:

ports:
  - "8080:80/tcp"
  - "8443:443/tcp:https"
  - "192.168.1.1:53:53/udp:dns"

New RouterOS style (7.23+)

[ip:]host_port:container_port[:label][:tcp|:udp]

Protocol is appended with colon instead of slash:

ports:
  - "8080:80:web:tcp"
  - "8443:443:https:tcp"
  - "53:53:dns:udp"

Long-form (object) syntax

ports:
  - target: 80
    published: 8080
    protocol: tcp
    name: web
    app_protocol: http

IP Addresses and Placeholders in Ports

Port strings can include literal IPs or placeholder expressions:

ports:
  - "[accessIP]:[accessPort]:80/tcp:web"      # Old style with placeholders
  - "[accessIP]:[accessPort]:80:web:tcp"       # New style with placeholders

Placeholders

RouterOS expands these placeholders at deploy time:

Placeholders appear in port mappings, environment values, and config content.

Configs (Inline Files)

Top-level configs: declares config content; services reference them:

configs:
  my-config:
    content: |
      server {
        listen 80;
        server_name [accessIP];
      }

services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
    configs:
      - source: my-config
        target: /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
        mode: 0644

Volumes and Networks

volumes:
  app-data: {}      # Named volume (null or empty object)

networks:
  app-net:
    name: my-network
    external: true   # Use existing RouterOS network

Store Schema (app-store-urls)

RouterOS can load app collections from URLs configured via app-store-urls=. The store format is simply a YAML array of /app definitions:

- name: app-one
  services:
    web:
      image: nginx:alpine
- name: app-two
  services:
    db:
      image: postgres:16

Store files use the .tikappstore.yaml extension by convention.

REST API for /app

// List all /app entries (built-in + custom)
const apps = await fetch(`${base}/app`, auth).then(r => r.json());

// Each entry has: .id, name, yaml (raw YAML string), and metadata
// The 'yaml' field is a RouterOS string containing the full YAML document

// Add a custom /app from URL
await fetch(`${base}/app`, {
  method: "PUT",
  ...auth,
  body: JSON.stringify({ "yaml-url": "https://example.com/my-app.tikapp.yaml" }),
});

Note: The /app endpoint requires the container extra package to be installed.

JSON Schema for Validation

Two schema variants exist for each /app document:

The strict schema has regex pattern on port strings which prevents VSCode autocompletion — the YAML extension won't suggest values for fields with patterns. The editor variant removes these patterns.

VSCode Integration

Add to VSCode settings for YAML autocompletion:

{
  "yaml.schemas": {
    "https://tikoci.github.io/restraml/routeros-app-yaml-schema.latest.json": "*.tikapp.yaml",
    "https://tikoci.github.io/restraml/routeros-app-yaml-store-schema.latest.json": "*.tikappstore.yaml"
  }
}

Use .editor.json URLs for better autocompletion at the cost of less strict validation.

Version History

• 7.22: Initial /app support with basic service properties
• 7.23beta2: New colon-style port format (:tcp/:udp suffix)
• 7.23+: Additional service properties (devices, expose, secrets, attach)

Common Mistakes

• Assuming docker-compose compatibility — not all properties are supported, some behave differently
• Using version: key — RouterOS ignores it; not needed
• Mixing port format styles in a single entry — each port string must use ONE style exclusively
• Uppercase env var names required in strict validation — use *.editor.json for mixed case
• Forgetting the container package — /app returns 404 without the container extra package
• Using deploy: or resources: — not supported by RouterOS

Additional Resources

• For RouterOS fundamentals, CLI syntax, REST API: see the routeros-fundamentals skill
• For running CHR in QEMU (needed to test /app): see the routeros-qemu-chr skill
• MikroTik forum reference: https://forum.mikrotik.com/t/amm0s-manual-for-custom-app-containers-7-22beta/268036/22