Creating an Application

Anybuild creates a working business application through a guided four-step wizard. Each step builds on the previous one - you define what the system should do, review and shape the data model, choose how it looks, and give it a name before the platform generates the live application.

The wizard can be started from the Anybuild home screen. Once all four steps are complete, the application is immediately available for use.

Step 1 - Design Specification

What this step does: Define what your application should do, before any data model or UI is created.

The specification is the foundation. Everything the platform generates - the data model, the forms, the navigation - comes from what is defined here. Taking time to get the specification right before moving forward leads to a better first version and less rework later.

Two ways to provide a specification

Type a description Type a description of your application in the text box at the bottom of the screen. This can be as short as a single sentence or as detailed as a full paragraph. The AI will interpret the description and generate a structured specification from it.

Example prompts shown in the interface:

Internal CRM for managing leads and opportunities
Invoice approval and payment tracking system
Asset and equipment tracking with audit history
Vendor and contract management system
Compliance tracking with approvals and history

Clicking any of these example chips places the text in the input box, which you can then send as-is or edit before submitting.

Upload a specification document If you already have a requirements document, you can upload it directly. The platform accepts DOCX format files up to 50MB. Click the Browse File button in the upload area to select a file from your computer.

This is particularly useful when you have an existing business requirements document, a functional specification from a previous system, or detailed notes prepared in advance. The AI reads the document and uses it as the basis for the generated specification.

Reviewing and refining the specification

After submitting a prompt or uploading a file, the screen splits into two panels:

Left panel - Application Specification The AI generates a structured specification document. This is not a data model yet - it is a human-readable description of the system, organised by entity. For each entity it describes:

What the entity represents in the real world
What information it stores, field by field
Any important notes about how the platform handles certain things automatically

Read through this carefully. The specification reflects what the AI understood from your input and what it assumed. It is editable - you can change any part of it before moving forward.

Right panel - AI chat The AI explains the decisions it made and asks clarifying questions about anything it was uncertain about. For example, it might ask:

Whether a contact can be associated with multiple companies or only one
Whether the system needs a product catalogue or whether opportunities are single-line values
Whether certain fields should be mandatory or optional

These are not just confirmatory - your answers change what gets generated in Step 2. You can respond to any question or ask the AI to make specific changes via the “Suggest changes, additions, or clarifications…” input at the bottom of the right panel.

The AI also notes things it decided not to model explicitly - for example, attachments and free-text notes are handled automatically by the platform and do not need to be listed as fields. Understanding these platform defaults helps you focus the specification on what is genuinely specific to your application.

You can iterate as many times as needed before clicking Generate Data Model to proceed.

Step 2 - Design Data Model

What this step does: Review and refine the data model generated from your specification.

The platform generates an Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) from the specification. This is the structural blueprint of your application - every entity, its fields, and the relationships between entities.

The ERD canvas

The main area shows the data model as an interactive diagram. Each entity appears as a card listing its fields. Relationships between entities are shown as connecting lines between cards.

You can:

Pan around the canvas by clicking and dragging
Zoom in and out using the + and − buttons in the bottom toolbar, or by scrolling
Fit to screen using the fit button in the bottom toolbar
Toggle grid using the grid button

Each entity card has an edit icon. Clicking it opens that entity for manual editing - you can add, remove, or rename fields, change field types, and adjust relationships.

To add a new entity that was not generated, click + Add Table in the top right.

Model & History panel

The right panel continues the AI collaboration from Step 1. It shows:

Questions the AI is asking about specific modelling decisions
A record of changes made and why
The “Describe the changes you want to make” input for requesting further AI-assisted refinements

This is useful for things that are difficult to express in a diagram - for example, asking the AI to “add support for multiple currencies on opportunities without making it mandatory” or “split the address into separate street, city, and postcode fields.”

The AI responds by updating the diagram and explaining what it changed and any further questions it has. You can apply suggested models directly from the chat using the Apply this model link.

Both work simultaneously. You can click directly into an entity card to make precise changes, and use the chat panel for broader structural requests. There is no requirement to use the AI for refinements - if you know exactly what you want, editing the diagram directly is often faster.

When you are satisfied with the data model, click Continue to UI Design to proceed.

Step 3 - Choose UI Template

What this step does: Choose the visual style of your application. The template defines the default layout, navigation, and page structure.

Selecting a template

The left panel shows the template selector. Use the dropdown to browse available named themes. Clicking a theme name shows a live preview of your application with that theme applied on the right side of the screen.

Customising the template

Each template can be customised across five tabs:

Colors Set the colour values for specific UI elements - topbar background, sidebar, base colours, and more. Each colour has a HEX input and a full colour picker with RGB sliders. Changes apply immediately to the preview.

Layout Control the structural dimensions of UI regions - sidebar width, topbar height, base spacing, and similar layout properties.

Typography Set font families, sizes, and weights for headings, body text, and UI labels.

Components Adjust the visual style of specific UI components such as buttons, inputs, and tables.

Other Additional display options such as dashlet padding.

The live preview on the right shows a realistic representation of what the application will look like, including sample dashboard charts, data grids, and navigation elements. Changes to the template settings update the preview in real time.

Once you are happy with the theme, click Apply UI Template to proceed.

Step 4 - Finalize Setup

What this step does: Name the application, upload logos, choose the home page, and organise the main menu.

Application name

Enter the name for your application. This appears in the browser tab, the login screen, and throughout the application header.

Logo

Two logo variants are required:

Collapsed logo - shown when the sidebar is in its compact (icon-only) state. This should be a square or near-square icon. SVG format is recommended.

Expanded logo - shown when the sidebar is fully open, alongside the application name or as the full wordmark. SVG format is recommended.

Click Replace on either card to upload a different file. Click the × to remove an uploaded logo.

Home page

Use the Home page dropdown to select which screen users land on after logging in. The dropdown lists all the main views generated from your data model.

The menu is automatically populated with items generated from your data model, each with an icon assigned by the platform. Before creating the application, you can:

Reorder items by dragging the handle (⋮⋮) on the left of each item
Change an icon by clicking the icon next to any item
Remove an item by clicking the delete icon on the right
Add a new item using the + Add Item link
Add a folder (for grouping menu items) using the + Add Folder link

This is the structure users will see in the left navigation sidebar. Items that are not relevant to the initial version of the application can be removed here and added back later from the Designer.

When everything is set, click Create Application.

Application Ready

Once the platform has built the application, a confirmation screen appears:

Your application [Name] is Ready!

From here, two options are available:

Open Application Opens the live application as your users will see it. The application has its own branded login screen, its own URL, and is ready for data entry immediately.

Open Designer Opens Anybuild Creator - the design environment where the application can be extended and refined. Use this to add workflows, adjust entity definitions, configure security, build custom views, and anything else beyond the initial generated version.

Both options are available at any time after this point.

What Gets Generated

When the application is created, the platform generates:

A PostgreSQL database with all tables, constraints, and relationships defined in the data model
Forms and list views for every entity, ready for data entry
Navigation based on the menu structure defined in Step 4
A branded login screen using the application name and uploaded logos, styled with the chosen theme
Role-based security with default access controls in place
Draft/Submit workflow on every entity, so records move through a review state before being marked live

None of this requires manual setup. The starting point is a complete, working application - not a blank canvas.

After Generation - The Evolve Phase

The generated application is a starting point, not a finished product. Most applications will need further work in the Designer before they are ready for all users. Common next steps include:

Adjusting field layouts and form arrangements
Adding business logic through workflows
Configuring security roles for different user types
Building custom views and reports
Adding calculated fields and default values
Connecting to external data sources

All of this is done in Anybuild Creator (the Designer), which is covered in the Creator Guide.