Whether you want to validate a product concept with a working prototype or deploy an internal business tool your team will use every day, you can use Aha! Builder to go from insight to running application, no engineering resources required. Describe what you want to build, and Elle, the AI assistant in Aha! software, generates the designs, code, and database inside a secure, enterprise-grade environment.
If you are just getting started, welcome! Use this article for a quick tour of the product, and please contact our Customer Success team if you have any questions. We do not have salespeople here, just product experts who respond fast.
Click any of the following links to skip ahead:
Create your first application
Every application starts on the Applications page. Click Create to open the creation wizard, then decide how you want to start:
Refine a prototype to test a concept with real data and gather feedback before investing in a production build.
Build an application to go straight to a fully functional, database-backed tool your team will rely on.
Elle will ask a short series of questions to understand what you want to build. You do not need a detailed specification to start.
Keep your answers high-level and short. Elle works best from a clear, concise prompt — long pasted requirements tend to produce weaker results.
Describe your application and name it.
Define the user roles who will work in it.
Outline the key capabilities the application needs.
Upload a screenshot if you want Elle to match an existing design or brand direction.
Choose a navigation layout and share your design preferences.
Decide who on your team should have access.
If you already know what you want to build and would rather start from a blank canvas, click Skip in the wizard to jump straight into a chat with Elle.
Once you finalize the direction, Elle generates a complete application — frontend, backend, and a PostgreSQL database — in about 10 minutes.
Need some inspiration? Walk through how to build a robust prototype or how to build an internal business application.
Preview and refine with Elle
After the build completes, Elle will show you a preview of your application. Interact with it the way your users will, then use the Elle panel on the right side of the screen to refine anything through natural language prompts.
Any time you want to see the preview again, click the Preview button in the upper right to open your application.
I want to... |
Try this |
|---|---|
Change a page layout or component |
Describe the change in the Elle chat panel. You do not need to wait for one prompt to finish before submitting another — Elle will queue your requests. |
Update a specific element |
Click the Select elements button in the preview toolbar, then click the element you want to change. Elle will use it as context for your next prompt. |
Fix an error in your application |
Click the Fix with AI button on the error, then refresh the page. |
See my application the way end users will |
Click the Open in a new window icon in the preview toolbar. |
Add a new feature or capability |
Click Make an improvement or Suggest a new feature in the Elle panel, or type your request directly. |
Explore Aha! Builder
The top navigation bar organizes your work across three areas — Plan, Implement, and Operate — alongside the Preview and Production buttons.
I want to... |
Try this |
|---|---|
Review my application strategy |
Navigate to Plan -> Strategy. The Overview tab shows the description, status, and key details you defined when you first built the application. |
Adjust the look and feel of my application |
Navigate to Implement -> Design to update typography, corner radius, colors, and overall theme. To match an existing app or site, upload a screenshot and Elle will redesign your application using the image as context. |
Plan new features and track improvements |
Navigate to Implement -> Features to manage work on the Board or the User story map. Click Add features to create new work items, or open a feature and click Build feature to prompt Elle to implement it. |
Inspect or work with the application code |
Navigate to Implement -> Code to browse the full codebase. You own all code created in Aha! Builder and can download it at any time. |
Manage application settings |
Navigate to Operate -> Configuration to control authentication, integrate your application with external tools, or view the database, server logs, and issues. |
Store reference documentation |
Navigate to Operate -> Documents create reference information alongside your application. Elle can also generate a user guide based on the context you have provided. |
Review security and compliance |
Navigate to Operate -> Documents -> Security for code security reviews, privacy scans, hosting details, and business continuity information. Elle reviews your application against security and privacy protocols and produces reports you can share with stakeholders. Did your application fail a review? Give the report to Elle and collaborate on a resolution! |
Configure your application
Every Aha! Builder application includes built-in authentication, data, and hosting. Navigate to Operate -> Configuration to manage how your application runs.
I want to... |
Try this |
|---|---|
Control who can access my application |
Open the Authentication tab. Enable or disable identity providers — Password, Aha!, Google, GitHub, and Microsoft — and toggle Allow signup to control whether new users can create their own accounts. Your end users do not need an Aha! account. Aha! Builder Scale plan customers can also authenticate with SAML-based single sign-on (SSO). |
Connect to external APIs or services |
Open the Integrations tab to store API keys, Model Context Protocol (MCP) connections, and other credentials your application needs to reach external systems like Salesforce, Zendesk, Slack, Hubspot — or your Aha! account. |
View your application database |
Open the Database tab to inspect the PostgreSQL database that backs your application. |
Monitor application activity and send emails to users |
Open Server logs to review request and application logs, and open Issues to triage errors Elle detects during runtime. Open the Emails tab to manage email templates and view sent emails. |
See Aha! Builder governance FAQs for detailed information about code ownership, data security, and how Aha! manages ongoing maintenance.
Invite your team
Access to create and modify applications is granted per-application. Each teammate you invite can be given access to the specific applications you want them to work on.
Navigate to User menu -> Settings -> Account -> Users to add new users to your Aha! Builder account.
On each user's row, set Applications access for the applications you want them to help build, or invite them to create their own.
Today, per-application access is either Owner or None.
Deploy to production
When your application is ready, click Production in the upper right, then click Deploy to publish it.
Aha! Builder runs on the same AWS infrastructure as the rest of the Aha! suite and manages framework and security updates on your behalf, so your applications stay current without additional effort.
As your users share feedback, refine the application with Elle and redeploy. You now manage a working application, designed and maintained through your prompting guidance.
You own all code and intellectual property created in Aha! Builder. You can download the full codebase at any time and run it independently.