> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.polymet.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Prototype an app idea with AI, from first prompt to live link

> Turn one written idea into a three-screen prototype people can open on a live link, with the exact prompt, what it cost and how to check it worked.

This guide takes an app idea from one prompt to a prototype on a live link that anyone can open. The example is Fresh Bowl, an app for ordering lunch. Use your own idea; the steps are the same.

<video controls playsInline preload="none" poster="/images/docs/guides/guide-prototype-an-app-idea-video-light.jpg" src="https://mintcdn.com/polymet/s74RQUsL8YOC1snC/videos/guide-prototype-an-app-idea-light.mp4?fit=max&auto=format&n=s74RQUsL8YOC1snC&q=85&s=74ea1451941cfaaaa8b2b77760cb0783" />

The six steps in under a minute, on a different example (a small store): prompt, queue a follow-up, look on the canvas, Select, edit by hand, publish. The agent's runs are sped up.

![Three phone screens of the Fresh Bowl app: a menu of lunch bowls with a View cart button, a cart with two bowls and a total, and a checkout with address, delivery time and a Pay button](https://mintcdn.com/polymet/DrFFR1dAltUlhtUR/images/docs/guides/prototype-three-screens.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=DrFFR1dAltUlhtUR\&q=85\&s=bab0eaac02037e19b9e739cd9b3cf08a)

What you end with: three linked, working screens. These are from the run this guide is written from.

**Open the result:** [fresh-bowl-blog-cs4oh13v.polymet.app](https://fresh-bowl-blog-cs4oh13v.polymet.app). Add a bowl, open the cart and pay. It is a second run of the same prompt, so it looks a little different from the screenshots here. Yours will too.

* **Who it is for:** a founder or product manager with an idea and no designer.
* **What it costs:** the run below used 85 credits and took under five minutes. Every organization gets 500 free credits every 30 days, and can spend at most 250 of them a day, so this fits in one day on the Free plan.
* **What you need:** a Polymet account. Nothing to install.

## 1. Write the idea as a prompt

A prompt that works says four things: what the app is for, which screens it has, what is on each, and what to leave out.

```text theme={null}
Fresh Bowl is a mobile web app for ordering a healthy lunch in under a
minute. Build only the core flow as a prototype with three linked pages,
designed for a phone first:

1. Menu: six lunch bowls in a list, each with a photo, name, one-line
   description, price and an add button. A sticky "View cart" button at
   the bottom shows the item count and total.
2. Cart: the chosen bowls with quantity steppers, subtotal, delivery fee
   and total, and one main button, "Checkout".
3. Checkout: delivery address, a delivery time choice (ASAP or a time
   slot), a saved card ending 4242, and one main button, "Pay" with the
   total.

After paying, show an order confirmed state with an estimated arrival time.

Style: warm and clean. Off-white background, one orange accent for the
main action, dark ink text, generous spacing, rounded cards, large tap
targets. One main action per screen. No profiles, notifications or reviews.
```

Two phrases in it do most of the work. "As a prototype with three linked pages" is what gets you a prototype you can publish, not three separate screens. "No profiles, notifications or reviews" stops the agent from adding what you did not ask for.

On the projects page, paste your prompt into the prompt input and send it. Polymet creates a project and opens it on the canvas.

## 2. Let the agent build

The agent may ask a few **Quick questions** first. Pick an answer for each, or type your own. If you do not answer, it continues on its own after a short countdown.

Then it builds. You see its steps in the chat on the left and the screens appear on the right. When it stops, the chat shows what the generation cost.

**You're done with this step when** the chat ends with a summary of each screen and the screen on the right responds when you click it.

## 3. Click through it like a user

Open the prototype and do the main task from start to finish. For Fresh Bowl: add two bowls, open the cart, check out, pay.

Check the things a drawing cannot show you:

* Does the cart total add up?
* Does every button go somewhere?
* Is there one obvious next step on each screen?

## 4. Fix what is off with Select

Click **Select** in the toolbar, click the element you want to change, and write the change. Each note gets a number and appears under **PENDING EDITS** above the prompt input. You can hold up to 10 notes at a time. Send them together with the send button, and then you can add more.

![The Fresh Bowl menu with Select on: the headline and a price each carry a numbered orange marker, and the Pending edits list shows the two matching notes](https://mintcdn.com/polymet/DrFFR1dAltUlhtUR/images/docs/guides/prototype-select-two-notes.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=DrFFR1dAltUlhtUR\&q=85\&s=db19125bbef261acf2b7c8246e0cb844)

Two notes on two elements, sent to the agent in one go.

A whole-screen change is easier as a prompt: "On the cart, move the delivery fee above the subtotal." A change to one element is easier with Select.

If a change makes things worse, go back. Every generation saves a version: see [Versions and rollback](https://docs.polymet.ai/team/versions.md).

## 5. Publish

1. Click **Publish** in the canvas header. The popover says **Not published**.
2. Click **Publish**.
3. The popover now says **Published** and shows the live link. Copy it with the copy button.

![The Publish popover showing Published, a live link on polymet.app with copy and open buttons, and a Manage domains button](https://mintcdn.com/polymet/DrFFR1dAltUlhtUR/images/docs/guides/prototype-published.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=DrFFR1dAltUlhtUR\&q=85\&s=de8024e9009f9b8816d2d3c6c748b318)

After publishing: the live link, with buttons to copy it or open it.

Anyone with the link can open the prototype. They do not need a Polymet account.

## You're done when

* The live link opens in a private browser window, where you are signed out.
* On a phone, you can add a bowl, open the cart and reach the confirmation screen.
* The total on the checkout matches the cart.

## If it goes wrong

* **The Publish popover says "There are no prototypes yet".** The agent built pages but no prototype. Click **Create a prototype** and send the draft it puts in the prompt input.
* **Publish is disabled and a notice says "Only main can be published"** (with your default branch's name). You are on another branch. Click **Switch to main**.
* **The live link shows an older version.** A link keeps showing what you published. Open the popover and click **Update**.
* **A generation will not start.** On the Free plan you may have reached the daily limit of 250 free credits. It resets at 00:00 UTC. See [How credits work](https://docs.polymet.ai/plans/credits.md).

## Next

* [Share a project](https://docs.polymet.ai/publish/share.md): let teammates into the project itself, not only the live link
* [Compare options side by side](https://docs.polymet.ai/canvas/compare.md): ask for two or three versions of a screen and pick one
* [Add a backend](https://docs.polymet.ai/backend/overview.md): keep real data and let people sign in
* [Write better prompts](https://docs.polymet.ai/guides/prompting/write-better-prompts.md): get closer on the first generation


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.