WS5 · Full day · hands-on
Idea to App
Learn to take a tool from idea to live on the internet in one day. How to scope it so it actually ships, how to build it with a coding agent, how to add a database and logins, how to put it on a real URL, and how to keep it alive after the workshop. You end the day with your staff opening it on their phones.
I’m interestedPeople comfortable directing a coding agent. Coding Agents - Zero to One covers exactly that.
A working coding agent, free GitHub, Vercel, and Supabase accounts created, and your tool idea written in three sentences. All verified before the day.
01 / Learn
Get the
idea.
Open a topic to see what we’ll cover.
01Why small ships
One form, one list, one login. Every failed workshop app died of a second feature. Version 2 is next week, from your office.
02How the web works
A frontend people see, a backend that does the work, and APIs as the way the two talk.
03Why JavaScript and TypeScript
The language that runs everywhere on the web, and why TypeScript's checking catches the agent's mistakes early.
04What a framework is
Next.js gives you the standard pieces so nothing is built from scratch. Agents build best on popular frameworks: more examples, fewer wrong guesses.
05What a database is
Your records survive between visits and live in one place. Why Postgres: the boring, proven default the whole industry runs on.
06Backend options
A service like Supabase bundles database and login. Running your own is the alternative. What each costs and when to switch.
07What a login does
Each person sees what they should. Who sees what is decided in the database, not on the screen. This is what turns a page into an internal tool.
08Hosting
Where your app actually lives, what Vercel does, what the free plans cover, and when you'd pay.
09What GitHub is
Your code, backed up, yours forever.
10Local versus live
The app on your laptop and the app on the internet are two copies. Changes travel one way: laptop, GitHub, live.
11Secrets
Passwords and keys live in environment variables, never inside the code. Real damage happens when people get this wrong.
12What a domain is
The free URL versus yourtool.yourcompany.com, and what a domain costs.
13Why phones come first
Your staff will never open this on a laptop.
14What logs are
The app writes down what happened. That record is how you find out why something failed.
15What backups actually mean
A copy that exists somewhere else, tested once, not assumed.
16Where the money goes
What free tiers cover, the first thing you'd pay for, and roughly what a small team costs per month.
17What keeping it alive means
Tools die of neglect in month two, not of bugs on day one.
02 / Try it
Put it
to work.
Things you’ll practise during the workshop.
- 01
Write a spec: what it does, who uses it, what version 1 leaves out.
- 02
Cut a big idea down to something that ships today.
- 03
Direct the agent to build form, list, and login.
- 04
Set up the database and logins.
- 05
Keep secrets out of the code and set them where the host wants them.
- 06
Push code to GitHub and deploy to a live URL.
- 07
Read the stack: when someone says API, backend, or Postgres, know what they mean.
- 08
Read the logs when something breaks and tell the agent what you found.
- 09
Take a backup of the database and know how you'd restore it.
- 10
Run the change loop - plan, build, check, push - without an instructor.
- 11
Keep it alive: what to back up, what to check monthly, when to ask for help.
03 / Make it
Your laptop.
Your turn.
Work through these exercises using your own material.
- 01
Cut your idea down to one form, one list, one login.
- 02
Set up the project: the agent scaffolds it, you see it run on your laptop.
- 03
Set up the database and connect it.
- 04
Build the form and the list, working locally.
- 05
Add the login.
- 06
Set your environment variables: secrets in the right place, nothing in the code.
- 07
Push the code to GitHub.
- 08
Deploy to a live URL.
- 09
Connect a domain, or watch it done live.
- 10
The phone test: open it on a phone, use it end to end.
- 11
Solo: make one small change and push it live.
Questions, answered
What do I need to know before coming?
You need to be comfortable directing a coding agent: plan, instruct, review, approve. The Coding Agents workshop teaches exactly that and is the right preparation. The prerequisite is enforced, because one unprepared attendee consumes the whole room's time.
What kind of tool can I build?
An internal company tool: a leave tracker, an enquiry register, a service-visit log, an expense claim form. One form, one list, one login. If your idea is bigger, we trim it to a version 1 by email before the day.
What does hosting cost?
Nothing to start. Vercel and Supabase free plans comfortably run an internal tool for a small team. You will know exactly what the paid tiers cost and when you would need them.
What happens when my staff ask for changes?
That is the keeping-it-alive part of the day, and it is why this workshop exists. You learn the change loop: make the change with the agent, check it, push it live. The tool grows with you instead of dying in month two.
What if it breaks after the workshop?
You leave with the maintenance habits, the rewind skill, and a line to me when you are genuinely stuck.
Interested in Idea to App?
Email us about this workshop. We’ll reply with the next dates and details.
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