Chat with Buildliy

The chat is how you build. You describe what you want in plain English, Buildliy builds it and tells you what it's doing, and you reply with changes. This page explains the chat box, the two modes, what happens while a build runs, and the tools that appear in the conversation.

When Buildliy needs a decision from you, such as an answer, a plan to approve or an OK before a sensitive change, it shows a card above the chat box. Those are covered in Plans, questions and approvals.

Build and Discuss

A switch next to the chat box picks what your next message does.

Every new page load starts in Build. You can't switch modes while a build is running.

Use Discuss when you want to think before you change anything: "What pages should a booking site have?" or "How would sign-in work for my clients?" When you're ready, click Build what we discussed under the latest Discuss reply. Buildliy writes a build request from your conversation (this uses a small amount of credits) and puts it in the chat box in Build mode. Nothing is sent until you check it and press send.

Send a message

Type in the box that says What would you like to build? and press Enter to send. Press ShiftEnter for a new line. A message can be up to 10,000 characters.

Next to the box you'll find:

• + (Add files and more): Add files or photos, Sketch a layout, Start a goal and Add a feature. See Add images and files, Sketch a layout, goal mode and Recipes.
• The Build / Discuss switch.
• The microphone, for voice input.
• Send.

While a build runs

You see Buildliy work in real time. Its reply appears in the chat and grows as it goes:

• A running timer next to the Buildliy name. When the build finishes, the reply's ⋯ menu shows what it cost (Cost, for the project's owner).
• What it's thinking and doing, in plain sentences, with small grey lines for the files it works on. Only the latest steps show; click Show N earlier steps to see the rest.
• A status line such as "Planning the change", "Making your changes" or "Checking your app". If nothing new appears for a minute, it adds "Bigger changes can take a few minutes."
• A live checklist on bigger builds (five or more steps). It lists the parts being built. A part gets a tick only after a real check has loaded its page since it last changed, not just because the AI says it's done. Click the line to open the full list.
• Heads-up lines: amber lines starting "Heads up:" when a change has a consequence you should know about, such as a page that no longer needs a sign-in. Each has an Undo button. See heads-up lines.

You can keep using the rest of the workspace while it builds, and the preview updates when the build finishes. If a build runs far longer than usual, it's wrapped up automatically: anything the AI finished is saved, and you can send a follow-up to keep going.

Send more while it builds

You don't have to wait. Start typing during a build (the box says Queue follow-up…) and choose where your message goes.

Add a note to the current build

In Build mode, once the build is under way, a switch appears in the chat box as you type:

• Add to this build (the default): your note joins the running build at its next step, without restarting it. Use this to steer: "Use green instead of blue" or "Also add a phone number field".
• Queue for after: your message runs as its own request when this build finishes.

Your note shows in the chat with Added to this build once the AI has it, and the reply mentions it. Adding a note doesn't start a new build. If the build ends before it reaches its next step, the note shows Didn't make it into this build; click Edit and resend to send it as a new request.

Some messages can't join a running build and are queued instead, with a short note saying why: messages about an element you picked or pinned in the preview, notes over 2,000 characters, and anything after the build's fifth note or once it's wrapping up. You can't add files while a build is running.

Queue requests with Up next

Messages you queue appear in Up next above the chat box. They're sent one at a time after the current build, in order.

• Edit a request before it sends.
• Pause or Resume one request, or use Pause all / Resume all.
• Reorder by dragging, with Move up / Move down, or by pressing Tab to a request and then AltUp / AltDown (OptionUp / OptionDown on a Mac).
• Remove one with ×, or click Clear (then confirm) to remove them all.

The queue is saved, so it survives a page refresh, and teammates on the project see it too. It holds up to 20 requests. Each request is a normal message and uses credits like any other.

If a queued request can't be sent (for example, you're out of credits), it's paused and keeps its place in the list. Click Resume on it when you're ready.

Stop a build

While a build runs, the send button becomes a square Stop current build button. Click it to stop the build.

• Anything the AI had already written is kept as a new version, and the chat says so: "You stopped this build. What I'd built so far is saved…". Open the preview to see where it got to. If it hadn't written anything yet, your app stays as it was and the chat says Build canceled. (on a brand-new app, you get a simple starter page instead).
• Stopping doesn't refund credits. You pay for the work done so far, with the usual 1-credit minimum for a build.
• The project's owner and Admins on the team can stop any build. Members can stop builds they started; for someone else's build, Members don't see the Stop button. See Teams.

When a build finishes

The reply ends with a short summary of what changed. The newest reply has a Worked for … line you can open to see every step.

Hover over a build reply to see its actions:

• Restore this version: rolls your preview back to this build. Restoring is free (your live preview uses a small amount of credit while it's running), and later versions stay in your history. See Version history.
• Copy message.
• Thumbs up (Looks good) or thumbs down (Something's wrong). After a thumbs down you can say what went wrong.
• ⋯ (More actions): depending on the build, See screenshot, What you asked for, See what I did (on older replies), See changed files, See the pictures, Checked before handing over, Copy message link and Save as my recipe. It can also show short information lines, such as Checklist with how many parts are done. If you own the project, it also shows how long the build took and what it cost.

Checked before handing over only appears in the menu of the newest build when its checks left a note. If a check found something you should act on, that card shows under the reply instead, and if everything passed, nothing extra is shown. See How builds are checked.

If something needs your attention, a Build report appears under the reply. It can list Decisions I made (on a new app's first build), what you asked for and how much was done, sample content to replace, and anything unfinished. On the newest build, each has a button that fills in the chat box for you, so you can check it before sending. When nothing needs you, the same report opens from ⋯ → What you asked for.

Hover over a message you sent for Edit (puts the text back in the chat box without sending), Copy message, and Re-run from here. Re-run takes your app back to how it was before that message, then sends the message again. That uses credits like any build, and later versions stay in Build history.

Suggested next steps

When nothing is running and nothing else is offering a next step, up to two suggestion chips can appear above the chat box with ideas for what to do next. Clicking one improves the wording and puts it in the chat box for you to check. It isn't sent until you press send. Improving a suggestion uses a small amount of credits.

When the newest build reply ends with an offer, such as "Want me to add a contact form?", a Yes, do it button may appear under it. That one sends your yes right away as a Build message, without waiting for you to press send.

Point the AI at a page, file or project

Type @ at the start of a word to open a list of things to point at:

• Pages in your app.
• Files from your latest build.
• Other projects you can open, so the AI can borrow from them.

Use the arrow keys and Enter to pick, or click. Your picks show as chips under Pointing at. You can point at up to 5 things per message.

Make @Pricing page match the style of @Studio website, but keep our own prices.

You can also point at an element by picking it in the preview. See Edit by clicking.

Source links and explainer visuals

• Source links: when the AI looks something up on the web during a build, the live feed shows what it searched for, and the reply ends with a Sources line. Click it to see the links the search found.
• Explainer visuals: some replies include a small visual, such as a Who can see what table showing which people can see which data, a table, a chart or numbered steps. Under a build reply it shows as a one-line title you click to open or close; under a Discuss answer it starts open.

Ask about your plan or credits

Ask in the chat, for example "How many credits do I have left?" or "When do my credits reset?". Buildliy answers in the chat instead of starting a build, even in Build mode, and shows a card with your plan, the credits you have left and when they reset. If you own the project, the card also says what your last build used and the usual range for builds like it. On a team project, teammates see the shared credits instead. The answer costs about as much as a Discuss reply. If you're out of credits, you still get an answer: it shows your balance, when your credits reset and why building is paused, and it doesn't use any credits.

This only works for a short question on its own. A message that also asks for a change, like "How many credits do I have, and add a pricing page", is built as usual.

Talk instead of typing

Click the microphone, speak, and click it again to stop. Or hold CtrlShiftM (CmdShiftM on a Mac) while you talk and let go when you're done. Your words are added to the chat box when you stop, so you can check them before sending. Press Esc to cancel.

You can change the shortcut in Settings → Voice. Voice input isn't available in Firefox. If it doesn't start, check that your browser is allowed to use the microphone.

Who can chat

On a team project, the owner, Admins and Members can all send messages and build, and every build uses the owner's shared credits. See Teams.

Related

• Plans, questions and approvals
• Write great prompts
• Add images and files
• Credits and usage