ZapDev

ZapDev is an AI-powered app builder for generating and iterating on web projects with live sandboxes, streaming agents, and persistent project state.

What It Does

• Generates app code from natural language prompts
• Streams agent progress in real time
• Runs generated projects inside isolated E2B sandboxes
• Persists projects, messages, usage, and billing state in Convex
• Supports background execution through Inngest workflows
• Uses Clerk for authentication and Polar for subscriptions

Stack

• Next.js 16
• React 19
• TypeScript
• Tailwind CSS v4
• tRPC
• Convex
• Inngest
• E2B
• OpenRouter
• Clerk
• Polar

Project Structure

src/
  app/          Next.js App Router pages and API routes
  agents/       Primary agent orchestration and sandbox utilities
  inngest/      Background workflows
  modules/      Feature modules
  prompts/      Agent and framework prompts
  trpc/         API router and client wiring
convex/         Database schema, queries, mutations, actions
sandbox-templates/
  nextjs/
  react/
  vue/
  angular/
  svelte/
tests/          Jest tests and mocks

Requirements

• Bun
• Node.js 20+
• A Convex deployment
• An E2B account and API key
• An OpenRouter API key
• Clerk and Polar credentials for full auth/billing flows

Local Setup

1. Install dependencies:

bun install

2. Copy the environment template:

cp env.example .env.local

3. Fill in the required values in .env.local.

Minimum keys for meaningful local development:

• NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL
• NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_SITE_URL
• OPENROUTER_API_KEY
• E2B_API_KEY
• NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY
• CLERK_SECRET_KEY
• CLERK_JWT_ISSUER_DOMAIN
• POLAR_ACCESS_TOKEN
• POLAR_WEBHOOK_SECRET

4. Start the frontend:

bun run dev

5. Start Convex in a second terminal:

bun run convex:dev

If you use Inngest locally, point it at http://localhost:3000/api/inngest.

Available Commands

bun run dev
bun run build
bun run start
bun run lint
bun run convex:dev
bun run convex:deploy
bun run migrate:convex

Environment Variables

The repo ships with env.example. Important groups:

• App: NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL, NEXT_SERVER_ACTIONS_ENCRYPTION_KEY
• Convex: NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL, NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_SITE_URL
• AI providers: OPENROUTER_API_KEY, OPENROUTER_BASE_URL, CEREBRAS_API_KEY, FIREWORKS_API_KEY
• Sandbox: E2B_API_KEY
• Auth: Clerk keys and JWT settings
• Billing: Polar product, price, and webhook settings
• Optional integrations: Brave Search, Firecrawl, Sentry, UploadThing, OAuth providers

E2B Sandbox Templates

ZapDev uses framework-specific E2B templates from sandbox-templates/.

Current template names used by the app:

• zapdev
• zapdev-angular
• zapdev-react
• zapdev-vue
• zapdev-svelte

The Next.js template includes local build scripts in sandbox-templates/nextjs.

Notes

• Use Bun, not npm or pnpm, for repo commands.
• Convex is the active database layer; Prisma-based setup instructions are obsolete here.
• Jest is configured under jest.config.js, but there is currently no test script in package.json.