Bring an Existing Prototype to Stardeck
Turn a prototype made with Claude, Codex, or another local coding tool into a real Stardeck app
If you already built a prototype with Claude, Codex, or another local coding tool, you do not need to start over. Create the app first, as in the browser quickstart. Then upload the prototype to it and plan the production version with Starcat Developer.
The example here is Lamp Coffee again: the owner mocked up a table-booking page with Claude and
saved it as a folder named booking-mockup.
Building locally with your own coding agent? Copy the prototype folder into your app's clone and give your agent the prompt in step 2. The rest of this page is for the browser.
Remove .env files, API keys, credentials, and other secrets before uploading. You do not need to
upload generated folders such as node_modules, .next, dist, or build.
1. Upload Your Prototype
Open Lamp Coffee and select the Code tab. The tab appears on desktop in developer mode. In the Files panel, choose:
- Upload files to add a standalone HTML file or a small set of files
- Upload folder to add a complete prototype and preserve its folder structure
For example, uploading the booking-mockup folder adds it to the repository as booking-mockup/.
Each file can be up to 25 MB. Generated dependency and build folders are skipped automatically.
Keep the prototype in its own folder instead of replacing the app's existing files. This gives Starcat Developer a clear reference to inspect while it builds the production version in the right parts of the app.
Files Starcat Developer can inspect
Starcat Developer can read source code, HTML, Markdown, JSON, CSV, and other text files directly from the repository. It can also extract content from PDFs, DOCX documents, XLSX spreadsheets, and PPTX presentations, and describe common image formats such as PNG and JPEG.
Name the relevant file or folder in your prompt so Starcat Developer knows what to inspect. Files can be up to 25 MB each; images must be 10 MB or smaller for Starcat Developer to analyze them. Archives and other unsupported binary formats can remain in the repository, but Starcat Developer cannot inspect their contents directly.
2. Plan the Real App with Starcat Developer
On the Build tab, switch the chat to Plan mode and ask it to inspect the uploaded prototype before changing code. Explain what the prototype demonstrates and what the production app needs to do.
You can start with this prompt:
I uploaded a prototype of Lamp Coffee's table-booking page in
booking-mockup/. Inspect it and plan how to build it into this app on the Booking Module. Preserve the useful design and interactions, identify placeholder data and incomplete flows, and plan the real data, sign-in, permissions, integrations and tests. Do not change code yet.
If you uploaded one HTML file, name it in the prompt, for example booking-mockup.html.
3. Review the Plan
Before approving implementation, make sure the plan answers:
- Which screens, interactions, and visual details should be preserved?
- Which hard-coded or sample data should move into Data Stores?
- Does the app need sign-in, roles, or permissions?
- Which forms, payments, emails, uploads, or external services need real integrations?
- What should be tested before the app goes live?
Tell Starcat Developer what to change if the plan misses something. When the plan looks right, approve it and let the agent build the app in the normal Stardeck structure.
4. Test the Production Flows
Use the preview to test the real workflows, not only whether the imported prototype still looks right. Check forms, saved data, permissions, mobile layouts, error states, and any connected services. Continue refining the app with Starcat Developer until it is ready to publish.
Next: Refining and Polishing
Keep changing Lamp Coffee and test it as you go