# Slipway ⛵

**Build and ship real apps directly from Claude or ChatGPT — free, open source, and yours.**

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[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue.svg)](LICENSE)
![Node](https://img.shields.io/badge/node-%E2%89%A5%2022.5-brightgreen)
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![Slipway demo: dashboard, built-in auth, and per-user data isolation](demo/slipway-demo.gif)

*40-second demo of an app Claude built through Slipway — dashboard, signup, private per-user notes ([mp4 version](demo/slipway-demo.mp4)).*

Claude and ChatGPT can already write you an app. Getting it live is another story — git, hosting, databases, email services, push providers: a stack that was never built for you.

Slipway fixes that with one MCP ([Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io)) server. Connect it, and the model **you already pay for** can scaffold apps, edit code, run live previews, share them at a public URL, store data, send email, send push notifications, deploy to real hosting, and hand you the finished repo. No meter, no credits, no lock-in: Slipway just executes what your model decides, on your machine, into your accounts.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    A["Claude / ChatGPT<br/>(the subscription you already have)"] -- MCP --> B["Slipway<br/>(your machine)"]
    B --> C["Apps in ~/.slipway/apps<br/>plain directories — yours"]
    B --> D["Live preview<br/>+ public share URL"]
    B --> E["SQLite · SMTP email · Web Push"]
    B --> F["Deploy: Vercel / Netlify / Cloudflare<br/>+ export to your GitHub"]
```

## The 60-second demo

```bash
git clone https://github.com/Sandeepbhuiya29/Slipway.git && cd Slipway
npm install && npm run build
claude mcp add slipway -- node "$PWD/dist/index.js"
```

Then tell Claude:

> "Build me a habit tracker with streaks. Keep the data in the database, give me a link to try it, and a public link I can open on my phone."

It scaffolds the app, writes the code, starts a preview, opens a `share_preview` tunnel, and hands you both URLs. Say "ship it" and it deploys; say "give me the repo" and `export_app` pushes the code to your own GitHub, secrets excluded.

## How it compares

| | Slipway | Hosted AI app builders |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, MIT-licensed | Their pricing, their terms |
| AI usage | Your existing Claude/ChatGPT subscription, any model tier | Depends on their integration |
| Where your code lives | Plain directories on your machine + your GitHub | Their platform |
| Hosting | Your Vercel/Netlify/Cloudflare accounts (free tiers, your domains) | Their infrastructure |
| Database | Built-in SQLite per app, zero setup | Their managed backend |
| Email / push | Any SMTP · Web Push with local VAPID keys | Their bundled providers |
| Lock-in if the company disappears | None — it's all on your disk | Everything |
| Inspect what the AI can do | Read `src/server.ts`, it's one file | Closed |

## The full tool surface (22 tools)

| Capability | Tools |
|---|---|
| Apps | `create_app` (static · react · api · fullstack · **saas with built-in user accounts**), `list_apps`, `delete_app` |
| Code | `write_file`, `read_file`, `list_files`, `delete_file`, `install_dependencies` |
| Preview | `start_preview`, `preview_logs`, `stop_preview` |
| **Share** | `share_preview` — free public HTTPS URL via Cloudflare quick-tunnel |
| Data | `query_database` — per-app SQLite, zero config |
| Secrets | `set_env`, `list_env` (values are write-only through the AI) |
| Deploy | `deploy` / `undeploy` — local hosting that **survives restarts**, or Vercel · Netlify · Cloudflare Pages |
| **Own it** | `export_app` — one call turns the app into your GitHub repo |
| Email | `send_email` — any SMTP provider |
| Push | `push_generate_keys`, `push_send` — Web Push, no third-party service |
| Meta | `server_status` |

**Plus a web dashboard**: run `node dist/index.js --http 8788` and open `http://localhost:8788` — every app with preview/share/deploy buttons and live logs. The `saas` template ships working signup/login (scrypt-hashed passwords, cookie sessions, per-user data in SQLite) with zero dependencies.

**New here? The full walkthrough with copy-paste prompts is in [GETTING_STARTED.md](GETTING_STARTED.md).**

## Connecting

**Claude Code**

```bash
claude mcp add slipway -- node /absolute/path/to/Slipway/dist/index.js
```

**Claude Desktop** — add to `claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "slipway": { "command": "node", "args": ["/absolute/path/to/Slipway/dist/index.js"] }
  }
}
```

**ChatGPT, claude.ai on the web, or your phone** — run the HTTP transport and tunnel it:

```bash
SLIPWAY_TOKEN=some-long-secret node dist/index.js --http 8788
cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8788
```

Point the client's MCP connector at `https://<your-tunnel>/mcp` with header `Authorization: Bearer some-long-secret`. ChatGPT accepts remote MCP connectors in developer mode; claude.ai accepts custom connectors.

## Where things live

Apps are plain directories in `~/.slipway/apps/<name>` (override with `SLIPWAY_HOME`). Per app:

- `data.sqlite` — the database
- `.env` — secrets, injected on preview/deploy, never echoed back through the AI
- `.slipway-push.json` — Web Push VAPID keys; the private key never leaves your machine

Nothing is proprietary about the output: every app is ordinary code you can open in an editor, `export_app` to GitHub, or move anywhere.

## Email and push, without the SaaS

- **Email**: `set_env` the five SMTP values (`SMTP_HOST`, `SMTP_PORT`, `SMTP_USER`, `SMTP_PASS`, `MAIL_FROM`) — a Gmail app password is enough to start — and `send_email` works.
- **Push**: `push_generate_keys` gives your frontend a VAPID `applicationServerKey`; `push_send` delivers to any browser subscription. No OneSignal, no accounts.

## Security model

Slipway executes code on the machine it runs on — that is the point — so the design is containment:

- All file operations are jailed to the workspace; path traversal is rejected.
- Secrets are write-only through the AI (`list_env` returns names, never values).
- `delete_app` requires explicit confirmation; `export_app` defaults to private repos and gitignores secrets before staging.
- HTTP mode warns loudly unless `SLIPWAY_TOKEN` is set. Treat a tunneled Slipway like SSH access, because that's what it is.

Details and reporting: [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md).

## Verified, not vibes

`npm run smoke` drives the built server over a **real MCP stdio session**: create → write → preview → fetch the page over HTTP → SQLite roundtrip → env → push keys → teardown. CI runs it on every push, on Linux and macOS, Node 22 and 24.

## Roadmap

- Postgres behind the same `query_database` tool
- Magic-link login (email-based) in the saas template
- More templates: Next.js, Expo, Astro
- A hosted multi-tenant mode so one Slipway can serve a team
- Windows support

Contributions welcome — see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md). Good first issues are listed there.

## License

[MIT](LICENSE). Slipway is an independent open-source project, not affiliated with Anthropic, OpenAI, or Cloudflare.