Hello, I’m developing a native integration between my SaaS platform and Microsoft Teams by building a custom Teams App. Goal of the Integration: When a user is mentioned in my SaaS (e.g., using @username), I want to send them a direct message on Teams from my app, notifying them about the mention—without impersonating a Teams user. Issue: I’m unable to send a direct message to a user from my app identity without requiring manual installation of the app in the tenant. It seems that before my app can send messages, the organization must manually install it in the Teams app catalog, which is not scalable for a multi-tenant setup. Current Implementation: User Authorization & App Installation Flow In my SaaS platform, users can enable the Teams integration. The user (who must be a Teams admin) is redirected to the OAuth flow to grant admin consent for my app. I store the Teams tenant ID after authorization. Handling Mentions in My SaaS My system listens for mentions (@username). When a user who has enabled the Teams integration is mentioned, I: Authenticate my app with the user’s Teams tenant using the stored tenant ID. Find the mentioned user in the Teams tenant (matching by email, assuming it’s the same in both SaaS and Teams). Attempt to install my app for the user in Teams programmatically. Where It Fails The app does not install automatically in the tenant. A manual installation by the admin seems required. Without this, I cannot send direct messages from my app. Questions: Is it possible to send direct messages from my Teams app without requiring manual installation per tenant? Can my app be installed automatically in a tenant after the admin grants consent during OAuth? Is there a way to programmatically add my app to the tenant’s app catalog (without manual admin intervention)? If not, what is the recommended approach for achieving this in a multi-tenant SaaS model where users enable Teams integration from my platform? I do not want to distribute the app via the Teams App Store; I need installation to happen only when a user enables the integration in my SaaS. Thanks in advance for your guidance! Best regards,

Assistance Needed – Sending Direct Messages from My Teams App in a Multi-Tenant Setup

Vincent Portier 0

Hello,

I’m developing a native integration between my SaaS platform and Microsoft Teams by building a custom Teams App.

Goal of the Integration:

When a user is mentioned in my SaaS (e.g., using @username), I want to send them a direct message on Teams from my app, notifying them about the mention—without impersonating a Teams user.

Issue:

I’m unable to send a direct message to a user from my app identity without requiring manual installation of the app in the tenant. It seems that before my app can send messages, the organization must manually install it in the Teams app catalog, which is not scalable for a multi-tenant setup.

Current Implementation:

User Authorization & App Installation Flow

In my SaaS platform, users can enable the Teams integration.
The user (who must be a Teams admin) is redirected to the OAuth flow to grant admin consent for my app.
I store the Teams tenant ID after authorization.

Handling Mentions in My SaaS

My system listens for mentions (@username).
When a user who has enabled the Teams integration is mentioned, I:
- Authenticate my app with the user’s Teams tenant using the stored tenant ID.
- Find the mentioned user in the Teams tenant (matching by email, assuming it’s the same in both SaaS and Teams).
- Attempt to install my app for the user in Teams programmatically.
Where It Fails
- The app does not install automatically in the tenant.
- A manual installation by the admin seems required.
- Without this, I cannot send direct messages from my app.

Questions:

Is it possible to send direct messages from my Teams app without requiring manual installation per tenant?

Can my app be installed automatically in a tenant after the admin grants consent during OAuth?

Is there a way to programmatically add my app to the tenant’s app catalog (without manual admin intervention)?

If not, what is the recommended approach for achieving this in a multi-tenant SaaS model where users enable Teams integration from my platform?

I do not want to distribute the app via the Teams App Store; I need installation to happen only when a user enables the integration in my SaaS.

Thanks in advance for your guidance!

Best regards,

LiweiTian-MSFT 23,205 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2025-01-31T01:10:43.1266667+00:00

Hi,

Teams tag is mainly focused on the general issue of Microsoft Teams troubleshooting. Since your question is related to Teams Development, which is not in our support scope. To better help you solve the problem, please add the Teams Development tag to the post.

Thank you for your understanding and support.
Meghana-MSFT 4,001 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2025-01-31T17:13:43.8633333+00:00
Hi Vincent Portier -

No, it is not possible to send direct messages from your Teams app without the app being installed in the tenant. The app must be installed in the tenant for it to send messages.

No, the app cannot be installed automatically in the tenant after the admin grants consent during OAuth. The installation of the app in the tenant must be done manually by the admin or programmatically using Microsoft Graph API.

Yes, you can programmatically add your app to the tenant’s app catalog using the Microsoft Graph API. However, this still requires admin consent and permissions.

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Assistance Needed – Sending Direct Messages from My Teams App in a Multi-Tenant Setup

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