Quick start

This guide takes you from a blank prompt box to an app that anyone can open on the web. You'll describe your idea, watch the first build, try the result, make a few changes and publish it.

You need an email address, or a Google or GitHub account. The Free plan is enough to follow along.

Build your first app

1. 1

   Describe your idea

   Go to the Buildliy home page (or your dashboard, if you're already signed in) and type what you want into the box. Say what the app is for, who uses it and what they should be able to do. You don't need to mention any technology.

   PromptCopy

   A booking website for my dog grooming business, Fluffy Paws. Show our services with prices, let customers pick a service, a day and a time, and save each booking so I can see them in a list. Friendly and playful, with soft blues.

   A few things in the box can help:

   • On the home page, Start with an idea chips under the box write a full example request for you to edit.
   • As you type, small chips after Add: suggest details your idea is missing, such as Who it's for or Business name. Clicking one adds a short sentence with a blank in [brackets] for you to fill in. These don't use the AI or credits.
   • The wand button (Enhance prompt) rewrites your idea into a clearer request for you to review before sending. It uses the AI, so you need to be signed in, and it uses a small amount of credit (you need at least 1 credit to run it).
   • The paperclip attaches a file. You can also drag an image onto the box or paste a screenshot.

   Click the arrow button, or press CmdEnter (CtrlEnter on Windows), to start.

2. 2

   Create your account or sign in

   If you're not signed in yet, Buildliy shows "Create a free account to build this — we saved your idea." and takes you to the sign-up page. Sign up with Google, GitHub or your email.

   If you use email, confirm your address with the link we send you. You need a confirmed email before you can build. Your idea is waiting in the box on your dashboard (in the same browser, for up to a day). Check it and send it again. See Create your account for details.

3. 3

   Watch the first build

   Your project opens with the chat on the left and the preview on the right. What happens next depends on your idea:

   • Most ideas start building straight away. The chat replies with something like "Got it — building your first version now. This usually takes a few minutes; the preview appears the moment it's ready."
   • A very short idea (just a word or two, like "a website") may get a few quick choices first, such as Which color palette fits this best? or How deep should v1 go? Pick an option for each one (or type your own in the Write your own… box), click Next to move on, and click Build on the last one. Or click Skip all to let Buildliy decide the rest and start building from your idea and any picks you've already made.

   While it builds, the chat narrates what the AI is doing, step by step. Bigger builds also show a checklist of the parts being made, and a part is only marked as tested once a check passes. If the AI needs a decision from you, it asks in the chat with answer choices (often with a recommended answer and a Use your best guess option) and waits for your answer.

   The preview side shows Building your app, then Loading preview…. Near the end, Buildliy loads your pages to make sure they work and tries to fix any problems it finds before handing over.

   Tip:

   On your very first project, a short tour points out the main parts of the screen. To replay it later, click the question-mark (Help) icon in a project, then Replay the tour.

4. 4

   Try your app

   When the build finishes, the preview shows your app running for real. Click buttons, fill in forms and move between pages. Use the screen-size buttons above the preview to see it on a tablet or phone.

   The AI's reply in the chat explains what it built. On your first build, a one-line report appears under the reply; click it to see Decisions I made, such as where data is saved and which details are samples. If something you asked for isn't finished, the report says so and offers a button to finish it. Its buttons only put a ready-made request in the chat box; nothing is sent until you send it.

   Hover over the reply and open its ⋯ menu for more: Cost shows exactly what the build used, and What you asked for (when the report isn't already showing) marks each request as done, partly done or not done.

   Warning:

   Anyone who has your preview's link can open it. Don't put real customer data into an app you're still testing.

5. 5

   Make changes

   Ask for changes in the chat box, one or two at a time. Each change is a new build and saves a new version.

   PromptCopy

   Add a gallery page with a grid of before-and-after photos.

   PromptCopy

   Make the header smaller and change the main color to a warm teal.

   PromptCopy

   Let me sign in so only I can see the bookings list.

   When a change adds sign-in or payments that your app doesn't have yet, Buildliy usually shows a plan card first, listing what it will build. Nothing is built until you click Build it, or you can click Change the plan.

   Other ways to change things:

   • Click to edit. Click the pencil icon left of the preview's address bar, then click text or a button in your app to change its words, colors, size or alignment, and click Save. These edits don't use the AI, so they're free. See Edit by clicking.
   • Ask without changing anything. Switch the chat to Discuss to talk through an idea. The AI answers without touching your app.
   • Go back. Click your project's name and choose Undo last build, or open Build history to restore an earlier version. Restoring is free, apart from the small amount of credit your live preview uses while it's running. See Version history.
6. 6

   Publish it

   Click Publish at the top right. A safety check runs first. Serious problems have to be fixed before you can publish, and Buildliy can fix them for you (that's a normal build, so it uses credits). Warnings are optional.

   On the Free URL tab, you can choose the first part of your web address, before .buildliy.app. Click Publish. When it's done, you get a link you can share. Later changes don't reach your live app until you publish again, so you can keep working without visitors seeing half-finished edits.

   The Free plan includes 1 live app. Pro has unlimited live apps and lets you connect your own domain or buy one. See Publish your app.

What uses credits

Your balance is shown at the bottom of the dashboard sidebar, and in the project menu when you're in a project. A typical build or change is about 4–6 credits — small changes cost less, big features cost more.

The actions in the right-hand column are free, but your app's live preview uses a small amount of credit while it's running, for example after you open a project, restore a version or start a template. Every build uses at least 1 credit. A build that runs into an error still uses credits for the work the AI did, and you see that amount too. If you stop a build, you pay for the work done so far, with the same 1-credit minimum. See Credits and usage.

If something goes wrong

• If the preview says This preview hit an error, click Fix it to have the AI repair it, or describe what you see in the chat.
• If a change made things worse, use Undo last build from the project menu.
• For anything else, see Fix problems.

Related

• Write great prompts
• The project workspace
• Start from a template
• Publish your app