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Every folder you run predev in is a project. What differs is how much of pre.dev it switches on:
  • A folder that already has code (a git repo, an app manifest such as package.json, or source files) starts as a full project.
  • Any other folder starts chat only. You get the agent and all of its tools, and nothing else is set up until you build something.
When a folder starts chat only, the CLI says so in one line, and its top bar shows chat only until the project is full.

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What each one does

Both are billed the same way: by the credits the agent uses.

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When it becomes a full project

A chat-only project becomes a full project as soon as building starts:
  • the agent writes code into the folder (source files or an app manifest),
  • a plan or a build starts, including /plan, /sprint, /reverse, and /publish,
  • you type /project, or choose Make it a full project on the project’s page or in its menu on the web.
The CLI says so in one line, then starts what was off. Files a chat leaves behind as an answer, such as notes, an HTML page, a SQL query, a shell script, or data files, keep it chat only. A folder that gets code some other way, for example a git clone, opens as a full project the next time you run predev there. A full project made from a chat-only one gets only the keys you set for the project in its .env.

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Folders that stay chat only

Your home folder, Desktop, Downloads, and Documents are always chat only, so pre.dev never syncs them. /project there tells you to make a folder for the app:

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On the web

Chat-only projects are in the same Projects list as every other project, with a Chat only tag and where they run, such as On your Mac or Mac offline. A chat-only project you opened but never wrote in stays out of the list. Its page has a Chat only tag beside the name and shows Plan, Code, and Preview switched off, with a Make it a full project button for the owner. When it becomes a full project, from the CLI, the web, or a cloud run, they switch on in the open page by themselves. You can keep the chat going from the web or your phone. Messages run on the computer the project runs on: While the computer is offline, Open on my Mac opens the project there (predev open <project>), in the folder it last ran in, or in a fresh folder in your home directory when that folder is gone. Run in the cloud instead runs the message in the cloud; it becomes a full project once that run builds something.

pre.dev CLI

Install the CLI and work in a local folder.

CLI commands

Every command, key, and launch flag.