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Build your first app in five minutes

Create an account, describe your app in a few sentences, and press Build it. crisp sets up the project, builds the app and opens it in the preview.

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This guide takes you from a new account to a working app. You only need a web browser.

Create your account#

  1. Go to Sign up. Use your GitHub account, or an email address and a password of at least 10 characters.
  2. If you used an email address, open the email from crisp and click the link to confirm your address. You need to do this before you can start building, and your free monthly usage starts when you do. If the email does not arrive, press Send the link again on your dashboard. Signing in with GitHub does not need this step.

Describe your app#

Your dashboard asks What are we building? Write two to four sentences in the box. Say who uses the app, what they need to do, and what matters most.

Vague

A CRM.

Clear

A simple CRM for a two-person design studio. We track clients, the projects we do for each one, and when we last spoke to them. Show who we have not contacted in 30 days at the top.

The second description names the people, the records and the one thing that matters most. You get something much closer to what you want on the first try. Not sure what to write? Click one of the suggestions under the box, or copy one from Example prompts.

Start the build#

  1. Press Build it, or press Enter. Use Shift and Enter for a new line.
  2. crisp opens the workspace and sets up your project. This usually takes under a minute.
  3. crisp writes a short plan in the chat: the pages, the data, the look, and anything it assumed.
  4. It builds the app. Each file it creates or edits, and each command it runs, appears in the chat as a short line. Click a line to see the details.
  5. It tests the app and fixes problems it finds. Then it writes a short summary with something to try first.
The workspace: (1) the top bar, (2) the chat, (3) the message box and (4) the Preview and Code tabs.

Try your app#

The preview on the right is your real app, with real saved data. Click around, fill in forms, and add a few records. Use the width buttons above the preview to see how it looks on a phone. Use the preview explains every control.

Ask for changes#

Type the next change in the box at the bottom of the chat and press Enter. Small, specific requests work best:

A good next request

On the clients page, add a filter for clients we have not contacted in 30 days. Keep everything else the same.

After each build, crisp also suggests a few next steps above the message box, such as Add sign-in. Click one to send it.

Publish it#

When you are happy with your app, press Publish in the top bar. Your app gets its own address that anyone can open. See Publish your app.

Next steps#

Write good prompts Describe the people, the records and the one thing that matters most. Ask for one change at a time, describe the problem rather than the fix, and say what should stay the same. Change your app by chatting Type a change in the chat and press Enter. crisp changes the app, checks it, and tells you what to try. You can stop a build at any time. Publish your app Press Publish to give your app its own address that anyone can open. Keep building afterwards: people see your changes only when you publish again, and Roll back brings the previous version back. Your app's data Every crisp app has its own database. crisp designs it from your description and fills it with realistic sample records. Here is how to look at your data, change its shape and remove the samples.

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