Build a web app with Computer
Ask Computer to build a small web app, get a link you can share, update it, and let it save data through Manas.
A web app is a small website Computer builds for you: a tracker, a form with a table, a calculator, a quiz with several screens. Computer writes it on your cloud computer, publishes it, and gives you a link on manas.kapiva.tech/artifacts/ that opens like any live artifact.
Use a web app when one page isn't enough: several screens, a bigger layout, images and fonts of its own. For a single small page, an ordinary artifact is quicker.
Ask for one
Chat with the Computer agent (or ask Manas to hand over to Computer) and say what you want. For example:
- "Build a web app to track this week's sample requests: a form to add one, and a table I can filter by status."
- "Make a small web app for our team's leave calendar. Everyone in the channel should see the same calendar."
- "Build a quiz app on our product range with a start screen, 10 questions and a score page."
Computer builds the app on your cloud computer. This takes a minute or two; you can watch it in the live view.
It publishes the app with Publish a web app and gives you the link.
Open the link and sign in with your @kapiva.in Google account.
In Slack, a card appears in the thread with the app's title, Web app and an Open app button.
Who can open it
The same rules as any artifact:
| Where you asked | Who can open it |
|---|---|
| A web chat | Only you, until you share it |
| Your DM with Manas in Slack | Only you, until you share it |
| A Slack channel | The people who can see that conversation |
To let others in, click Share on the app's page (or ⋯ → Share… on the Slack card). See Share it.
Change it
Ask in the same chat: "Add a column for the courier", "Make the buttons bigger". Computer rebuilds and publishes again: the same link, now showing the new version. Older versions stay on the page in the version menu. In Slack, the card updates and a note says the app has a new version.
Saving data
An app can keep data between visits. It saves it through Manas, not on any other website:
- My data: only you see it. For example your own entries or settings.
- Shared data: everyone who can open the app sees it and can change it. For example a team list or votes.
The first time an app wants to save or delete shared data for you, it asks:
Save data everyone here can see?
This page wants to save data in Manas as you, in its shared space: everyone who can open this page can see and change it. Its creator decides who that is (Share).
- Allow lets it save shared data for you, now and on later visits.
- Don't allow stops it. Your own data still works.
The footer of the app's page shows what you said, for example Saving shared data allowed. Click Reset to forget your answer; the app asks again next time.
Data is the same in every version of the app.
What apps can't do
- No outside websites. An app can't load anything from other websites or call other services' APIs, and can't sign in to other tools. Give Computer the data it needs, or let the app keep it in Manas.
- Size. At most 20 MB and 500 files.
- File types. Web pages, scripts, styles, JSON and text, images (PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, SVG, icons), fonts and WebAssembly. Other files, such as PDFs, videos or spreadsheets, can't be part of an app.
- Data limits. 64 KB per item, 1 MB for your own data and for the shared data, and 5 MB and 5,000 items for the whole app.
Remove it
Only the person the app was made for can remove it: Share → Remove artifact on its page, or ⋯ → Remove… on the Slack card.
Removing is for good: the link stops working for everyone, and all the app's saved data is deleted, yours and everyone's.