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Turn a prompt into a full-stack Next.js web app — with hosting, sandbox, database, auth, AI, GitHub sync, multitenancy & custom domains built in.

A free, self-hosted, white-label alternative to v0, Lovable, Bolt and Replit. Run it yourself, or drop a first-class AI app builder straight into your own SaaS.

🚀 Quick Start · 🧩 Embed in your SaaS · ☁️ Deploy · 📚 Docs · ⭐ Star this repo

What is this?

AI App Builder Open is an open-source, no-code AI app builder. A user types what they want — "a CRM with kanban boards and Stripe billing" — and the AI builds, previews, and deploys a real, full-stack Next.js application. Live preview, code editor, database, logs, versioning and GitHub sync are all included, out of the box.

It's powered by the Totalum VCaaS API (Vibe-Coding-as-a-Service), which handles the heavy backend infrastructure — hosting, sandboxes, databases, AI agents, custom domains and GitHub — behind a single API key. You bring the front-end (this repo, or your own SaaS); Totalum brings the platform.

In one sentence: clone this repo, paste one API key, and you have your own AI app builder running in minutes — for yourself, or for your customers.

🌟 Why you'll want this

For… What you get

🧑‍💻 Builders & indie hackers Your own free, self-hosted v0 / Lovable / Bolt alternative. Prompt → deployed app.

🏢 SaaS & software companies Embed a first-class AI app builder into your new or existing product. Let your users build full-stack apps inside your app.

🎨 Agencies & no-code teams Ship client apps faster. White-label the whole experience.

🧪 Tinkerers & non-tech users No infrastructure to manage. One key, and everything just works.

✨ Features

Everything below works with one API key — no separate cloud accounts, no glue code:

🤖 Prompt → full-stack app — describe an app in plain English, the AI agent builds a complete Next.js project.

👀 Live preview — see the running app update in real time as the agent works.

🧑‍💻 Built-in code editor — Monaco (VS Code) editor to read and inspect every generated file.

🗄️ Managed database — each app gets a real database; browse, query, and edit records in the UI.

🔐 Secrets & env vars — manage API keys and environment variables per project, per environment.

🚀 One-click hosting & deploy — every project gets a live URL; publish to production instantly.

🌐 Custom domains — attach your own domain with guided DNS setup.

🔗 Bidirectional GitHub sync — connect a repo and push/pull changes both ways.

🕓 Version history — every AI build is a restorable checkpoint; roll back anytime.

📜 Live server logs — inspect runtime logs from preview and production.

🧱 Sandboxes — each project runs in an isolated sandbox environment.

🏢 Multitenant-ready — spin up isolated projects per user or per customer, no extra work.

🎁 Pretty git-diff viewer — review exactly what the AI changed, file by file.

🌍 Deploy anywhere — Vercel, a container, or any Node.js host. Fully deployment-agnostic.

🚀 Quick Start

Get your own AI app builder running locally in under 3 minutes.

1. Clone & install

git clone https://github.com/totalumlabs/ai-app-builder-open.git cd ai-app-builder-open npm install

1. Add your API key

Create a .env (or .env.local) file in the project root:

TOTALUM_VCAAS_API_KEY=your_key_here

👉 Don't have a key yet? It's free to start — see Getting your API key below.

1. Run it

npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000, type what you want to build, and watch the AI do the rest. 🎉

Requirements: Node.js 20+ and npm. That's it.

🔑 Getting your API key

The only thing this app needs to run is a Totalum VCaaS API key. Getting one is quick and the first 50 AI credits are free:

Create an account at www.totalum.app.

During onboarding, choose the "Use the Totalum API" option.

Copy your API key and paste it into your .env file as TOTALUM_VCAAS_API_KEY.

That single key unlocks hosting, databases, AI, custom domains, GitHub sync and sandboxes — no other providers required. 📖 Full details in the Totalum Docs.

⚙️ Environment variables

Variable Required Description

TOTALUM_VCAAS_API_KEY ✅ Yes Your Totalum VCaaS API key — the only variable the app needs. Kept server-side only; never exposed to the browser.

NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL ⬜ Optional Public base URL of your deployment (e.g. https://your-domain.com). Used to allow-list your origin for CSP/CORS in production. Defaults to same-host.

Copy the example file to get started:

cp .env.example .env.local

🔒 Security: the API key is read only on the server (src/lib/vcaas.ts) and is never bundled into client-side JavaScript. It is not a NEXT_PUBLIC_ variable.

☁️ Deployment

This is a standard Next.js app with no platform lock-in — deploy it wherever Next.js runs.

Deploy to Vercel (one click)

Import the repo, set TOTALUM_VCAAS_API_KEY in Environment Variables, and deploy. No extra configuration.

Deploy to any Node.js host (VM, container, Docker, Railway, Render…)

npm run build npm start # serves on $PORT (default 3000)

Set TOTALUM_VCAAS_API_KEY in your host's environment, point a process manager or container at npm start, and you're live. Works great behind Nginx, in Docker, on a VPS, or on any PaaS.

🧩 Embed it in your own SaaS

This is the part that makes AI App Builder Open special: it's not just a standalone tool — it's a drop-in AI app-builder layer for your product.

Whether you're launching something new or already have a live SaaS, you can offer your users a first-class, in-product AI app builder without building any of the infrastructure yourself:

🏢 Multitenant by design — every generated app is an isolated Totalum project. Create one per user, per team, or per customer and keep everything separated. No extra plumbing.

🎨 White-label — it's your codebase and your UI. Rebrand it, restyle it, and embed it inside your existing dashboard.

🔌 One integration, full platform — a single API key gives your users hosting, databases, AI, domains, GitHub and sandboxes. You don't stitch together five vendors.

📈 Add a new revenue stream — resell app-building, hosting or premium AI credits on top of your current product.

The pitch to your customers: "Build and ship a full-stack app right here, inside our platform." — powered by this repo + Totalum, with no backend for you to operate.

Read the integration guide in the Totalum Docs → www.totalum.app/docs.

🔐 Auth, database & third-party providers

The generated apps come with a managed database and everything they need to run. On top of that, you're free to add any third-party provider you like — nothing is locked down:

Auth — plug in Better Auth (already included as a dependency), Supabase Auth, Clerk, Auth0, or your own.

Database — use the built-in database, or connect Supabase, Postgres, PlanetScale, MongoDB, etc.

Payments — Stripe is included out of the box for billing and subscriptions.

AI — the Vercel AI SDK is included; bring any model or provider.

Add a provider by dropping in its SDK and configuring a secret in the Secrets panel — no framework fighting required.

🏗️ How it works

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ This repo (Next.js front-end / your SaaS) │ │ │ │ UI components ──► vcaasApi (client catalog) │ │ │ same-origin fetch │ │ ▼ │ │ /api/vcaas/* (server proxy routes) ──► attaches api-key │ └────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┘ │ HTTPS + secret API key ▼ ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Totalum VCaaS API ║ ║ hosting · sandboxes · database · AI ║ ║ agents · GitHub · domains · multitenancy ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝

The browser never sees your API key. Client code calls same-origin /api/vcaas/* proxy routes; the server attaches the credential and forwards the request to Totalum.

One service file (src/lib/vcaas.ts) documents every Totalum endpoint the app uses — easy to read, extend, and audit.

Totalum handles the hard parts (compute, storage, deploys, AI orchestration), so this repo stays a clean, hackable Next.js app.

🗂️ Project structure

src/ ├─ app/ │ ├─ page.tsx # Dashboard — prompt box + your projects │ ├─ project/[projectId]/ # The workspace (chat, preview, code, DB, …) │ └─ api/ │ ├─ vcaas/[...path]/ # Proxy to the Totalum VCaaS API │ └─ config/ # Reports whether the API key is configured ├─ components/ │ └─ workspace/ # Chat, Preview, Code, Database, GitHub, Logs… ├─ lib/ │ ├─ vcaas.ts # 🧠 The single VCaaS service (client + server) │ └─ vcaas-types.ts # Shared API types └─ proxy.ts # CORS / CSP boundary

❓ FAQ

Is it really free?

The code is free and open source. Running it needs a Totalum API key, which is free to start (your first 50 AI credits are on the house). You only pay as you scale usage. See pricing on totalum.app.

Do I need to set up a database, hosting, or AI provider?

No. That's the whole point — the single Totalum API key provides hosting, databases, AI, domains, GitHub and sandboxes. You can still add your own providers (Supabase, Stripe, etc.) if you want.

Can my users build apps inside my own product?

Yes. It's multitenant and white-label by design — see Embed it in your own SaaS.

What can it build?

Full-stack Next.js web apps — dashboards, CRMs, internal tools, marketplaces, SaaS MVPs, landing pages with backends, and more.

Where's the API key stored? Is it safe?

Server-side only. It's read in src/lib/vcaas.ts and never shipped to the browser (it's not a NEXT_PUBLIC_ variable). Client requests go through same-origin proxy routes.

Can I self-host without Vercel?

Absolutely. npm run build && npm start runs on any Node.js host — VM, container, Docker, Railway, Render, Fly.io, etc.

🆚 How it compares

AI App Builder Open v0 · Lovable · Bolt · Replit

Open source ✅ ❌

Self-hostable ✅ ❌

White-label / embeddable in your SaaS ✅ ❌

Multitenant out of the box ✅ Limited

Built-in hosting + DB + domains + GitHub ✅ (one key) Varies

Bring your own providers (Supabase, Stripe…) ✅ Limited

Deploy anywhere ✅ ❌

📚 Documentation

Full platform documentation, API reference, and integration guides live at:

👉 www.totalum.app/docs

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Whether it's a bug fix, a new panel, docs, or a feature idea:

Fork the repo and create a branch: git checkout -b my-feature

Make your changes and run npm run build to verify.

Open a pull request describing what and why.

Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue.

📄 License

Released under the MIT License — free for personal and commercial use. See the LICENSE file for details.

If this project helps you, please give it a ⭐ — it helps others discover it.

Open-source AI app builder · self-hosted v0 / Lovable / Bolt / Replit alternative · prompt-to-app · full-stack Next.js · multitenant · embeddable AI app builder for your SaaS.

Built with ❤️ on top of the Totalum VCaaS API · Docs · Get your free API key

About

Open-source AI app builder — turn a prompt into a full-stack Next.js web app with built-in hosting, sandbox, database, auth, AI integration, github bidirectional, multitenant, custom domain & more. Self-hosted, no-code. A free v0 / Lovable / Bolt / Replit alternative. ⭐

Topics

typescript

database

nextjs

sandbox

domain

hosting

auth

self

[truncated for AI cost control]