Turn Into App

Default behavior

This is an end-to-end build skill, not a request for an app proposal.

• With no argument, use the current thread as the source. This is the normal invocation at the end of a successful workflow.
• With a named skill or local workflow, read that source and package it immediately, even at the beginning of a thread. For example, /turn-into-app /some-skill means “turn /some-skill into an app.”
• With an attachment or path, read the supplied artifact as the source.
• Do not ask the user to restate context that is already in the thread.

Source support

Supported source paths today are the current Codex thread, a named skill, or a local workflow/transcript supplied as a path or attachment. An exported ChatGPT or Claude transcript can use the same local-file path today.

ChatGPT shared-conversation import and Claude web conversation/project import are coming soon. Do not claim private web access, invent an importer, add fake OAuth, or scrape a logged-in page without an explicit supported adapter. If a user gives one of those URLs before an adapter exists, ask for an export or transcript instead and treat it as imported source material.

Deliver a fresh app in a new directory, implement the repeatable workflow with buttons and agent handoffs, start its dev server, verify the main path, and continue through build/deployment handoff. Do not stop at a plan.

Source selection guard

The generated app must implement the concrete workflow found in the source. It must not become a generic “what app do you want to make?” intake form.

• In a delegated or forked task, read the actual referenced source thread and the latest explicit workflow direction in the current task. If they disagree, the latest concrete workflow direction wins.
• Do not treat a thread that merely discusses building this skill as the product source unless the user explicitly asks to appify that meta-workflow.
• If the source contains several workflows, choose the latest successful, repeatable job that motivated the request and name it in the handoff. If no concrete job can be identified, stop and report what is missing instead of inventing an app-builder UI.

UI contract for generated apps

Generated apps must follow the shared Agent-Native surface model:

• Keep the domain workflow on a named route (/workflow, /automations, /block, or the source's equivalent). Preserve the scaffold's full-page chat route instead of replacing it with a domain form while leaving the layout configured as a chat page.
• Use the right AgentSidebar for contextual AI. Every button-triggered sendToAgentChat handoff should open or focus that sidebar and keep the user on the current domain page.
• Use a sans-first SaaS hierarchy for the app shell. Choose a named visual direction in DESIGN.md before styling: product mode, audience, palette family, type treatment, composition, shape language, and anti-references. One restrained editorial cue is welcome, but warm beige plus terracotta is not the default and serif type belongs in content previews or a deliberate brand moment rather than the whole tool.
• Preserve existing brand tokens. For a new unbranded app, choose a product-fitting palette family and compare sibling apps before reusing their accent. Keep shared semantic tokens and Agent-Native behavior consistent while varying the visual world, density, composition, and shape language.
• Give the AgentSidebar a subtle surface or divider boundary so it is visually distinct from the domain page without becoming a heavy panel wall.
• Every AI-labeled button must actually call sendToAgentChat with bounded context and openSidebar: true. Keep submit: true for direct execution and submit: false only when the user should edit the staged prompt first. Label deterministic local actions as local, preview, or analyze instead of AI.
• Standalone apps that render AgentSidebar must keep one assistant-ui runtime context. Pin the versions compatible with the installed core/toolkit peer graph, and add Vite dedupe/aliases when linked or transitive packages resolve duplicate assistant-ui modules. Verify a fresh AI handoff has no AssistantUiStaleIndexErrorBoundary or stale-index console error.
• Make the left navigation describe domain destinations. Chat is a separate destination, not the label for every app page.
• Start with one primary action and one compact state. Put setup choices, advanced inputs, diagnostics, and long explanations behind progressive disclosure or later workflow steps.
• Never use sparkle, wand, magic, robot, or similar decorative AI icons. Use a message or neutral action icon, or no icon when the button label is enough.
• Before handoff, inspect the first viewport for text density, repeated cards, unrelated forms, and generic helper copy. Remove what the user does not need until the next decision.
• Run a distill, typeset, colorize, layout, polish, and audit pass as useful named reviews. Make one intervention at a time and commit the chosen direction rather than averaging several options into generic SaaS.
• For before/after or original/generated review, stack the source first and the result second by default. Reserve side-by-side layouts for short content that remains comfortable to scan at the target width.

1. Extract the workflow

Read the full available source before coding. Reduce it to a short working brief:

• the user and repeatable job;
• inputs and outputs;
• the 1-3 judgment-heavy agent moments;
• the buttons, review points, and retry states a user needs;
• data, permissions, integrations, and failure boundaries.

Preserve useful judgment from the source, but do not turn a one-off answer, private data, or an unverified result into a product contract. If the source is not available or does not contain a repeatable job, say what is missing rather than claiming the app is complete.

2. Create a fresh app

Choose a short slug from the workflow and create a new directory. Never overwrite an existing app. If the user supplied a directory, use it; otherwise use apps/<slug> inside an existing Agent-Native workspace, or a new sibling directory when working outside one.

For a new UI-bearing app, use the current Agent-Native scaffold and then read the generated AGENTS.md:

npx @agent-native/core@latest create <app-directory> --template chat
cd <app-directory>
pnpm install

Use a first-party template only when it materially fits the workflow. Keep the new app independent from the source thread's working tree unless the user explicitly asks to extend an existing app.

Read the generated DESIGN.md before building the first screen and fill in the visual direction as part of the app brief. Do not copy the previous app's palette just because its tokens are nearby.

3. Turn the workflow into buttons and agent work

Implement the smallest useful surface around the extracted brief. The app should make the repeated path obvious without hiding the agent's judgment:

• Give each important repeated moment a clear button, such as “Analyze,” “Suggest options,” “Draft,” “Review,” or “Publish.” Use the source's actual vocabulary when it is clear.
• Put deterministic reads, writes, approvals, and publishing in actions/ with defineAction. The UI and agent must call the same action surface.
• Use application state for the current screen, selected item, and focused object so the agent can see where the user is.
• Use sendToAgentChat({ message, context, submit: true }) for intentional button-triggered agent work. Use submit: false when the user should review or edit the proposed prompt first.
• Pass IDs, URLs, and bounded summaries in context. Do not paste large provider dumps into prompts, call an LLM directly from the browser, or invent fake progress.
• Make agent results visible, editable, retryable, and attributable. Keep irreversible actions behind an explicit review or confirmation point.

Use the existing shadcn/ui primitives, Tabler icons, shared composer, and optimistic action patterns. Do not add a parallel CRUD API route for an action.

4. Keep onboarding shared

Use the framework's existing setup experience. The app should offer the normal “Connect Builder” and “Add your own keys” paths for AI setup. Do not create a second credential form or hardcode a provider key.

In local-development instructions, add a brief note that a developer can set an environment variable such as ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or OPENAI_API_KEY before starting the app; after restart, the setup prompt is no longer shown when the key is available. Keep real secrets out of source, examples, and generated content.

Turn-into-app apps should commit an agent-native.json app configuration so a plain pnpm dev has the right first-run behavior without extra flags:

{
  "version": 1,
  "onboarding": {
    "firstRun": {
      "development": "connect",
      "production": "connect-and-integrations"
    }
  }
}

connect keeps the Connect Builder / Add your own keys choice visible and skips only the generic “This app is an agent.” integrations catalog. The production value includes that catalog for a hosted app. Do not replace this with a local credential form or remove the shared onboarding. In development, the shared Connect Builder card also explains the deployment-level ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / OPENAI_API_KEY fallback and links to the full environment-variable guide.

When the onboarding default needs code rather than a static mode map, add an optional agent-native.config.ts with the same returned shape:

import { defineAgentNativeConfig } from "@agent-native/core/config";

export default defineAgentNativeConfig(({ isDev }) => ({
  version: 1,
  onboarding: {
    firstRun: isDev ? "connect" : "connect-and-integrations",
  },
}));

The Vite preset loads this file automatically on supported Node versions. The JSON file remains the portable, inspectable fallback. See the Agent-Native app configuration guide for precedence, supported modes, and the boundary between committed config and deployment secrets.

For an account-free local preview, create the ignored local .env file with AUTH_DISABLED=1 before starting the dev server. This is only for loopback development; never commit or deploy this setting. AI/provider connections still use the normal onboarding flow or the documented environment-variable keys.

5. Run it immediately

From the new app directory:

pnpm dev

For a fresh local test app, use the ignored .env with AUTH_DISABLED=1 so the domain UI opens without an account; the committed app config makes shared onboarding visible. Keep the process running so the user can try the app. Read the actual server output and report the real local URL. If the app needs installation or a setup step, complete it when possible and distinguish “not configured” from an unavailable credential store.

6. Verify, build, and deploy

Exercise the actual happy path, not only the source files:

1. Load the reported URL and confirm the main route renders.
2. Confirm the shared onboarding state or a configured local key.
3. Click the primary workflow button and confirm the intended agent handoff. Also click every other AI-labeled button and confirm it opens the same contextual sidebar with the expected prompt or staged context.
4. Confirm the result, action persistence, application state, and sync path.
5. Check the dev output for browser/runtime errors, and capture input, result, and agent-sidebar states so the complete flow is reviewable.

Then run the supported build. For a standalone app, use the generated app's documented build and hosting path. For an app inside a workspace, use the workspace deploy command, for example:

npx @agent-native/core@latest build
npx @agent-native/core@latest deploy --preset netlify

Use vercel or another supported preset when that is the configured target. Attempt deployment when the user requested it or the project already has the required provider configuration. If external authentication, a production secret, or a hosting decision is missing, finish local verification and report the exact remaining handoff without claiming a live deployment.

Label evidence separately: locally running, locally verified, build-ready, deployed, and live-verified are different states.

Handoff

End with the new app directory, local URL, visual direction, what the buttons do, account-free local-preview status, verification performed, deployment URL if it is real, and one precise pending step when something could not be completed. Keep the handoff short enough to use in a demo or recording.