Deploy and publish Office Add-ins
You can use one of several methods to deploy your Office Add-in for testing or distribution to users.
| Method | Use... |
|---|---|
| Sideloading | As part of your development process, to test your add-in running on Windows, iPad, Mac, or in a browser. (Not for production add-ins.) |
| Network share | As part of your development process, to test your add-in running on Windows after you have published the add-in to a server other than localhost. (Not for production add-ins or for testing on iPad, Mac, or the web.) |
| Centralized Deployment | In a cloud deployment, to distribute your add-in to users in your organization by using the Microsoft 365 admin center. |
| SharePoint catalog | In an on-premises environment, to distribute your add-in to users in your organization. |
| AppSource | To distribute your add-in publicly to users. |
| Exchange server | In an on-premises or online environment, to distribute Outlook add-ins to users. |
Note
If you plan to publish your add-in to AppSource and make it available within the Office experience, make sure that you conform to the Commercial marketplace certification policies. For example, to pass validation, your add-in must work across all platforms that support the methods that you define (for more information, see section 1120.3 and the Office Add-in application and availability page).
Deployment options by Office application and add-in type
The deployment options that are available depend on the Office application that you're targeting and the type of add-in you create.
Deployment options for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint add-ins
| Extension point | Sideloading | Network share | Microsoft 365 admin center | AppSource | SharePoint catalog* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content | X | X | X | X | X |
| Task pane | X | X | X | X | X |
| Command | X | X | X | X |
* SharePoint catalogs do not support Office on Mac.
Deployment options for Outlook add-ins
| Extension point | Sideloading | Exchange server | AppSource |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mail app | X | X | X |
| Command | X | X | X |
Production deployment methods
The following sections provide additional information about the deployment methods that are most commonly used to distribute production Office Add-ins to users within an organization.
For information about how end users acquire, insert, and run add-ins, see Start using your Office Add-in.
Centralized Deployment via the Microsoft 365 admin center
The Microsoft 365 admin center makes it easy for an administrator to deploy Office Add-ins to users and groups in their organization. Add-ins deployed via the admin center are available to users in their Office applications right away, with no client configuration required. You can use Centralized Deployment to deploy internal add-ins as well as add-ins provided by ISVs.
For more information, see Publish Office Add-ins using Centralized Deployment via the Microsoft 365 admin center.
SharePoint app catalog deployment
A SharePoint app catalog is a special site collection that you can create to host Word, Excel, and PowerPoint add-ins. Because SharePoint catalogs don't support new add-in features implemented in the VersionOverrides node of the manifest, including add-in commands, we recommend that you use Centralized Deployment via the admin center if possible. Add-in commands deployed via a SharePoint catalog open in a task pane by default.
If you are deploying add-ins in an on-premises environment, use a SharePoint catalog. For details, see Publish task pane and content add-ins to a SharePoint catalog.
Note
SharePoint catalogs do not support Office on Mac. To deploy Office Add-ins to Mac clients, you must submit them to AppSource.
Outlook add-in deployment
For on-premises and online environments that do not use the Azure AD identity service, you can deploy Outlook add-ins via the Exchange server.
Outlook add-in deployment requires:
- Microsoft 365, Exchange Online, or Exchange Server 2013 or later
- Outlook 2013 or later
To assign add-ins to tenants, you use the Exchange admin center to upload a manifest directly, either from a file or a URL, or add an add-in from AppSource. To assign add-ins to individual users, you must use Exchange PowerShell. For details, see Install or remove Outlook add-ins for your organization on TechNet.