---
title: "Start from an idea"
description: "Turn a description into a brand-new custom app - Evonx scaffolds the web app and API repos and boots them for you."
url: https://evonx.ai/docs/build/start-from-an-idea
locale: en
updated: 2026-09-04
---

# Start from an idea

Turn a description into a brand-new custom app - Evonx scaffolds the web app and API repos and boots them for you.

When nothing off the shelf fits, describe the app you wish existed. Evonx builds a
custom project from scratch: a web application for the people who'll use it and an
API with its own database behind it — real code, in repositories you own.

## When to choose this path

Start from an idea when your need is specific to how you work: a workshop tracker
with your exact job states, a niche booking flow, an internal tool nobody sells.
If your need matches a common shape — bookkeeping, CRM, inventory, appointments,
field service — [starting from a template](/docs/build/start-from-a-template) gets
you further faster. And if the software already exists in a Git repository,
[import it from GitHub](/docs/build/import-from-github) instead.

## How scaffolding works

1. Describe the app in your business chat: who uses it, what they must be able to
   do, and what data matters. One or two paragraphs is plenty.

2. Evonx classifies the request and, for a custom idea, scaffolds a **greenfield
   custom project**: a repository ending in `-web` (the user interface) and one
   ending in `-api` (the backend and its Postgres database).

3. The AI generates the first version — screens, data model, API endpoints, and
   seed data matching your description — and suggests starting a
   [preview](/docs/preview-and-debug/preview-hub).

## What the first version includes

- Working screens for the main flows you described, with navigation between them.
- A data model and database migrations to match, plus seed data so previews aren't
  empty.
- A REST API the web app talks to — also usable by other tools later.
- Repositories you can open, read, and take anywhere. There's no lock-in layer
  between you and the code.

> **Tip**
> Treat the first version as a strong draft, not a final product. The fastest route
> to the app you actually want is: preview it, list what's off, and request changes
> one at a time through
> [Evolution Threads](/docs/evolve/evolution-threads).

## Costs and limits

Scaffolding and evolving consume AI credits from your plan. What each plan includes
is on the [pricing page](/pricing).

## Related

- [Build your first app](/docs/get-started/build-your-first-app) — the guided
  version of this path, with the Garage Usta example.
- [Preview your app](/docs/get-started/preview-your-app) — see the scaffold run.
- [Effective prompting on Evonx](/docs/evolve/effective-prompting) — write first
  descriptions that build right.