Is there a way to deploy a Lightning App in a managed package that would be visible to all users by default?

Question

My second-generation managed package deploys metadata for a Lightning App (CustomApplication) that has a Lightning Tab (CustomTab) with a Lightning Web Component. It also deploys a PermissionSet which gets cloned during PostInstall.

The first post-installation step is for the installer to assign the cloned Permission Set to themselves so they can access the Lightning App.

Is there any way to make the Lightning App visible to all users upon installation without having to assign the Permission Set first (ideally in the CustomApplication metadata)?

The app loads a post-installation configuration page with operations that are for a System Administrator. It would be nice to eliminate the need for the Permission Set to be assigned before they can access the page.

Answer 1

This isn't currently possible, as of the Winter '24 release. Salesforce.com has stated that they would like to make this possible in the future by allowing packages to have something similar to a Permission Set License that would automatically be assigned to users according to the "Grant Access" dialog (all users, selected profiles, or admins only) that appears when installing a package. In the meantime, vote for the Idea.

Answer 2

As it turns out, my Lightning App is automatically visible to System Administrators after the Managed Package is installed (used the option "Install only for admins").

With the scratch org, I had to explicitly grant access to the Lightning App (even to the System Administrator).

Had I selected "Install for all users", I wonder if everyone would have been able to see the app (have not tested this).

In any case, my Lightning App's purpose is to help System Administrators through the post-installation configuration so I'm in good shape with the default behavior. I just wish the scratch org had behaved the same way.