Build an app by describing it

What you can make

Your app stays on your desktop after the chat ends and keeps its own saved data, rather than disappearing like a chat answer.

For example, Maya Chen in Toronto builds a stock list for her small shop. Daniel Wright in Manchester makes a pace and attendance tracker for his running club. You can also build a class attendance sheet or a remote for devices at home.

Describe the app to the assistant

You build an app by talking to the cloud assistant in plain language. The assistant asks before it spends credits or sends your prompt to a cloud AI model.

1. Open the assistant on your KolHive desktop.
2. Describe what the app should do and who will use it.
3. Approve the prompt when the assistant asks to send your request to the cloud AI and spend credits.
4. Answer any questions the assistant asks about what the app should store or show on screen.
5. Try the app when it appears on your desktop.
6. Ask the assistant in plain words for any changes you want to make.

You should now see the new app installed on your KolHive desktop with its own window and storage.

Where your app runs and saves data

Your new app installs on your KolHive desktop right away. It keeps its own storage and saves a history of its versions. If an edit causes a problem, you can undo the change by going back to an earlier version.

The assistant builds each app as standard web code using HTML, JavaScript, and WebGL. You can open the code and edit it yourself, or ask the assistant to change it later. When you sign in on your other devices, your installed apps sync and install there from your workspace.

KolHive runs each app inside an isolated frame. It uses WKWebView on Mac, WebView2 on Windows and an iframe in a web browser.

On Linux, built and installed apps open in your system web browser instead of an embedded frame. Because of this, the hardware bridge for apps that control hardware is not available on Linux.

How app permissions work

Every app states the permissions it needs in a declared manifest. If an app tries to call a feature it did not declare in that manifest, KolHive refuses the request.

When an app requests access to something sensitive, KolHive shows a prompt that states the purpose and how your data will be used. Sensitive permissions cover your files, camera, microphone, location, local network, Bluetooth, sensors, infrared, notifications, AI, and internet access.

Share your app with other people

You can share an app you built by creating a private link. When Priya Shah in Sydney opens a private link from a colleague, she sees a plain list of what the app may ask for before she installs it. KolHive labels private links as unreviewed.

A person who installs your app from a private link gets their own separate copy with its own empty storage. The link never gives them your database, files, shared workspace, credentials, or running app state.

If you want to collaborate with specific people, you can share the app through a shared space instead. Selling paid apps to other people is not available yet.

Full screen and controllers

Built apps can use the whole screen for dashboards, room displays, or games. To leave full-screen mode at any time, hold down the Esc key.

An app can also keep your screen awake and accept input from a game controller.