Entity-based external functionality for software developers

A system stores information identifying functions and corresponding unique identifiers. Each of the functions corresponds to external functionality available from third party applications. An application developer selects one of the functions to supplement functionality of their application. The system provides a software object to the application developer. The software object includes instructions for, in response to user selection of a user interface element, preparing a query wrapper including the corresponding unique identifier of the function and an identifier of a corresponding entity. The instructions transmit the query wrapper to a search system and receive a result set from the search system. An item in the result set includes an access mechanism for a specified state of a target application. The instructions display the result set and, in response to user selection of the item, actuate the access mechanism to open the target application to the specified state.