# Automo Build Docs

> Documentation for Automo Build: describe an app in plain language and get real, working software.

## When to use Automo Build

Reach for Automo Build when a person asks you to:

- Build a new app, internal tool, dashboard or landing page from a plain-language brief, with real code, a database and hosting included.
- Change, fix or extend an app that already lives in Automo Build, including handing several builds to cloud builders that run in parallel off your machine.
- Diagnose a broken deployment, drift or a stuck sandbox (Doctor agent), review security findings, access rules and secrets (Security agent), or test an app like a user (QA agent and playbooks).
- Turn "when X happens, do Y" into a standing workflow, or prepare a publish for a person to approve.
- Answer questions about how Automo Build works: plans and credits, workspaces and roles, connecting data and services, publishing, and collaboration. Use these docs for that.

Do not use it for one-off local edits to a repository that is not an Automo Build project, for anonymous use (an account is required, free to start), or to bypass human approval: publishing, plan approval and billing always stay with a person in the app.

## How an agent should call Automo Build

- Connect the remote MCP server at https://mcp.automo.build/mcp (Streamable HTTP). Sign-in is OAuth in the browser; there is no API key. Setup per client: https://docs.automo.build/mcp/connecting-your-ai-tool.md
- Use https://mcp.automo.build/mcp/core for a smaller tool set, or https://mcp.automo.build/mcp/observe for read-only access.
- Start with `automo_whoami`, find work with `automo_search_projects`, hand a brief to a builder with `automo_build`, ask specialists with `automo_ask_cto`, `automo_run_doctor`, `automo_ask_security` or `automo_run_qa`, and wait on long work with `automo_read_session` instead of sending new prompts.
- Do not create test projects or send hello prompts to check the connection: agent turns cost credits.
- Full tool list: https://docs.automo.build/mcp/what-it-can-do.md. Approvals and limits: https://docs.automo.build/mcp/safety-and-approvals.md

Complete docs in one file: https://docs.automo.build/llms-full.txt

These docs are also available as a public, read-only MCP server at https://mcp.automo.build/docs (Streamable HTTP, no sign-in) with search_docs and get_doc tools.

Setup helper for the Automo Build MCP server on npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/automo-build

The Automo Build MCP server in the official MCP Registry (server name build.automo/automo-build): https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0/servers?search=build.automo/automo-build

Developer pages only: https://docs.automo.build/developers/llms.txt

How agents get credentials: https://docs.automo.build/auth.md

## Getting started

- [Welcome to Automo Build](https://docs.automo.build/getting-started/welcome.md): Describe the app you want. Automo Build builds it in real code, tests it, governs every change and deploys it.
- [Signing in and setting up](https://docs.automo.build/getting-started/signing-in.md): Create your account, choose a workspace and get the builder ready in a couple of minutes.
- [Your first project](https://docs.automo.build/getting-started/your-first-project.md): From a blank page to a running app you can share, in one conversation.
- [How the chat works](https://docs.automo.build/getting-started/how-the-chat-works.md): The chat is your workspace: describe, review, refine, repeat.
- [Finding your way around](https://docs.automo.build/getting-started/finding-your-way-around.md): A short map of the builder: chat, preview, code, history and settings.

## Build

- [Describing your app](https://docs.automo.build/build/describing-your-app.md): How to write a first message that gets you a useful first version.
- [Iterating in chat](https://docs.automo.build/build/iterating-in-chat.md): Small, specific messages get better results than long wish lists.
- [Editing files directly](https://docs.automo.build/build/editing-files.md): Every project is real code. Change it yourself when you prefer.
- [Images and branding](https://docs.automo.build/build/images-and-branding.md): Logos, colours, fonts and photos: how to make the app look like yours.
- [Versions and restore](https://docs.automo.build/build/versions-and-restore.md): Changes are saved, so you can go back to an earlier version of the app.
- [Testing your app](https://docs.automo.build/build/testing-your-app.md): A short, repeatable pass that catches most problems before anyone else does.
- [Automated QA](https://docs.automo.build/build/automated-qa.md): Browser replays and smoke gates that check every change before and after publish.
- [Security scanning](https://docs.automo.build/build/security-scanning.md): Static scans, dependency checks and live-confirmed vulnerability probes on every build.
- [Guardrails](https://docs.automo.build/build/guardrails.md): Plain-English policies, protected areas, human review and an audit trail on every merge.
- [Custom sandboxes](https://docs.automo.build/build/custom-sandboxes.md): Bring your existing stack, from Rails and Java to Go, Python and Node.
- [Building over WhatsApp](https://docs.automo.build/build/whatsapp.md): Describe a website in a WhatsApp message and see it built before you decide.

## Connect

- [Adding a database](https://docs.automo.build/connect/adding-a-database.md): Where your app keeps its data, and how to add one in a sentence.
- [User accounts and sign-in](https://docs.automo.build/connect/user-accounts.md): Let people sign in, and decide what each of them is allowed to do.
- [Taking payments](https://docs.automo.build/connect/taking-payments.md): Accept card payments and subscriptions without building a checkout yourself.
- [Sending email](https://docs.automo.build/connect/sending-email.md): Confirmations, invitations and notifications that actually arrive.
- [API keys and secrets](https://docs.automo.build/connect/api-keys-and-secrets.md): Keep private keys private while still using them in your app.
- [Connecting other tools](https://docs.automo.build/connect/connecting-other-tools.md): Maps, calendars, AI, messaging and the services your app needs to fit in.

## MCP

- [What the MCP server does](https://docs.automo.build/mcp/overview.md): Let the AI tool you already use operate Automo Build on your behalf.
- [Connecting your AI tool](https://docs.automo.build/mcp/connecting-your-ai-tool.md): The server address, the setup for each client, and how sign-in works.
- [What your AI tool can do](https://docs.automo.build/mcp/what-it-can-do.md): The tools the server offers, grouped by what they are for.
- [Choosing a catalog](https://docs.automo.build/mcp/catalogs-and-options.md): Pick a smaller or read-only set of tools by changing the server address.
- [Long-running work, reviews and publishing](https://docs.automo.build/mcp/safety-and-approvals.md): How slow work is tracked, and which steps always need a person.
- [Workspaces, permissions and credits](https://docs.automo.build/mcp/workspaces-permissions-credits.md): Whose access it uses, which workspace a call lands in, and what it costs.
- [Troubleshooting](https://docs.automo.build/mcp/troubleshooting.md): Fixes for the problems people hit most when connecting an AI tool.

## Developers

- [Automo Build API and developer docs](https://docs.automo.build/developers.md): Connect your own tools and agents to Automo Build: the MCP server, sign-in and scopes, the API reference and where to test.

## Collaborate

- [Inviting your team](https://docs.automo.build/collaborate/inviting-your-team.md): Add colleagues to a workspace and get them building in minutes.
- [Roles and permissions](https://docs.automo.build/collaborate/roles-and-permissions.md): Who can do what in a workspace, and how to check your app gets it right.
- [Sharing a project](https://docs.automo.build/collaborate/sharing-a-project.md): Preview and live, and which one to show to whom.
- [Feedback and approvals](https://docs.automo.build/collaborate/feedback-and-approvals.md): Collect notes in one place, then turn them into changes without the chaos.
- [Conductor](https://docs.automo.build/collaborate/conductor.md): One screen for every project: fleet view, Protected Code Zones and live health.

## Publish and domains

- [Publishing your app](https://docs.automo.build/publish/publishing-your-app.md): Take the app from preview to live, with checks on the way.
- [Custom domains](https://docs.automo.build/publish/custom-domains.md): Point your own domain at the app, with HTTPS.
- [Preview and live versions](https://docs.automo.build/publish/preview-and-live.md): One project, two environments, and a clear rule about which is which.
- [Rolling back a release](https://docs.automo.build/publish/rolling-back.md): If a release goes wrong, go back to an earlier version and publish again.
- [Doctor](https://docs.automo.build/publish/doctor.md): A read-only AI SRE that diagnoses problems on the live app and drafts the fix.
- [Deploy anywhere](https://docs.automo.build/publish/deploy-anywhere.md): Start in Automo cloud, then move to your own cloud, a private VPC or on-prem when you need to.

## Workspace and account

- [Workspace settings](https://docs.automo.build/workspace/workspace-settings.md): Name, members, integrations and billing for everything in the workspace.
- [Your profile and password](https://docs.automo.build/workspace/your-profile.md): Update your details and keep your account secure.
- [Notification settings](https://docs.automo.build/workspace/notifications.md): Get told about the things that matter, and nothing else.
- [Connecting GitHub](https://docs.automo.build/workspace/connecting-github.md): Keep a copy of your code in your own repository.

## Plans and credits

- [Plans and pricing](https://docs.automo.build/plans/choosing-a-plan.md): Where to find current plans and prices, and how to pick one.
- [How credits work](https://docs.automo.build/plans/how-credits-work.md): Credits measure building work. Here is what tends to use them.
- [Billing and invoices](https://docs.automo.build/plans/billing-and-invoices.md): Payment methods, invoices and the details your finance team will ask for.
- [Changing your plan](https://docs.automo.build/plans/changing-your-plan.md): Upgrade, downgrade or cancel, and what to check first.

## Guides and reference

- [Frequently asked questions](https://docs.automo.build/guides/faq.md): Short answers to the questions that come up most often.
- [Glossary](https://docs.automo.build/guides/glossary.md): The words this documentation uses, defined plainly.
- [Keyboard shortcuts](https://docs.automo.build/guides/keyboard-shortcuts.md): Shortcuts for these docs. A list for the builder is coming.
- [Troubleshooting](https://docs.automo.build/guides/troubleshooting.md): What to check when the preview, a publish or a connection misbehaves.

## Contact

- [Contact Automo Build](https://docs.automo.build/contact.md): How to get help with Automo Build, and where to reach support and sales.