Buildora

An AI website builder you run as your own business. Your customers describe their business in a sentence, the AI writes a multi-page website, they edit every block, and publish it to a free address or their own domain. You sell plans with Stripe and run everything from an admin panel.

1. Welcome

Thank you for choosing Buildora. This guide takes you from the download to a running website-builder business. It is written for beginners: every command is shown in full, and every setting says where to find it.

What you get

• The builder for your customers: an AI site wizard, a block editor (14 section types, drag and drop, undo, autosave), AI rewrite for any section, themes, SEO settings, phone and tablet preview, publishing with version history, a form inbox, custom domains and billing.
• Published websites: fast server-rendered pages, each on name.yourdomain.com, at yourdomain.com/s/name, or on the customer's own domain with automatic HTTPS. Each site gets its own sitemap and robots file.
• The admin panel for you: revenue, users, sites, plans, payments, templates, AI settings, a setup check for every outside service, and branding.
• An install wizard, eight ready templates, three plans and sample sites, so the app is full the first time it opens.
• One-command self-hosting with Docker (app, PostgreSQL, file storage and optional HTTPS).

What is in the download

Screenshots

The builder (your customers)

Install and admin panel (you)

2. Requirements

You need one of these:

• Docker (recommended): any Linux server or computer with Docker Engine 24+ and Docker Compose v2. A VPS with 2 GB RAM and 2 CPU cores is enough for a start; the first build needs about 4 GB of free disk.
• Without Docker: Node.js 20 or newer (22 recommended), pnpm 10 or newer, and PostgreSQL 15 or newer.

For a public launch you also need a domain name (for example yourbuilder.com) where you can add DNS records.

Everything else is optional and can be added later: an AI key, a stock photo key, Stripe, SMTP email and S3 storage. Without them Buildora still works, using its built-in demo writer, a test checkout, log-only email and local file storage.

Third-party services (accounts you will create)

3. Quick start (Docker)

This runs Buildora on your own computer or server in about ten minutes.

1. Unzip the download and open a terminal in the deploy/ folder.
2. Create your settings file:

   cp .env.example .env

3. Open .env in any text editor and fill in the three required values:

   POSTGRES_PASSWORD=pick-a-long-password       # letters and digits only
   APP_SECRET=paste-a-random-string-here         # generate: openssl rand -hex 32
   S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=pick-another-password    # at least 8 characters

   Leave APP_URL=http://localhost:3000 for now.
4. Start everything:

   docker compose up -d --build

   The first build takes 3 to 6 minutes. It starts PostgreSQL, MinIO (file storage), runs the database migrations and starts the app.
5. Open http://localhost:3000. The install wizard opens: create your admin account, set your brand, and choose whether to add sample sites.

4. Put it online (VPS, HTTPS)

The Docker stack includes Caddy, a web server that gets free HTTPS certificates automatically: for your app, for every free site address, and for every customer domain once its DNS points at you.

1. DNS records

At your domain registrar, add these records (replace 203.0.113.10 with your server's IP address):

2. Settings

In deploy/.env:

APP_URL=https://yourbuilder.com
ROOT_DOMAIN=yourbuilder.com
CNAME_TARGET=sites.yourbuilder.com
SERVER_IP=203.0.113.10

3. Start with HTTPS

Open ports 80 and 443 in your server's firewall, then:

docker compose --profile https up -d --build

Open https://yourbuilder.com. The first visit to each address takes a few seconds while its certificate is issued. Caddy asks Buildora before every new certificate, so only your app, real site addresses and connected customer domains get one.

5. Other hosting

A server without Docker

1. Install Node.js 22, pnpm (npm install -g pnpm) and PostgreSQL. Create a database and a user for Buildora.
2. In buildora_web_nextjs/: cp .env.example .env, then set DATABASE_URL, APP_URL and APP_SECRET.
3. Install, migrate and build:

   pnpm install
   pnpm prisma:migrate:deploy
   pnpm build

4. Start it and keep it running with a process manager such as PM2:

   npm install -g pm2
   pm2 start "pnpm start" --name buildora
   pm2 save

5. Put Caddy in front for HTTPS (copy deploy/Caddyfile and change web:3000 to 127.0.0.1:3000).

Uploads go to buildora_web_nextjs/uploads/ unless you set the S3_* keys. Back that folder up with your database.

Vercel with a managed database

Buildora runs on Vercel with a managed PostgreSQL (Neon, Supabase, Vercel Postgres…) and S3-compatible storage (Vercel has no permanent disk):

1. Import the buildora_web_nextjs folder as a new Vercel project (framework: Next.js).
2. Add the environment variables: DATABASE_URL, APP_URL, APP_SECRET, the five S3_* keys, and any optional keys.
3. Run the migrations once from your computer: DATABASE_URL=… pnpm prisma:migrate:deploy.
4. Deploy, open the app and finish the install wizard.

6. Install wizard and sample data

The first visit to a new install opens the wizard at /install:

1. Check the server: Node.js version, uploads folder or storage bucket, and required settings.
2. Database: confirms the connection and that the migrations ran.
3. Admin account: your name, email and password.
4. Brand: app name, brand colour and tagline (change them later in Admin → Settings).
5. Sample content: the three plans and eight templates are always added. Tick "Add three sample sites" to see a finished account.

Remove the sample sites later in Admin → Settings → Sample data. The wizard locks itself once an admin exists.

7. Setup check

Admin → Setup lists every outside service, the keys it reads from .env, and its state: Working, Check or Not set. Press Test all to make a small live call to each (database, AI provider, Stripe, SMTP, storage, stock photos). Keys live only in .env; after changing one, restart the app (docker compose up -d) and test again.

From a terminal you can run the same check: pnpm doctor in buildora_web_nextjs/.

8. AI providers and credits

1. Get a key from OpenAI, Anthropic or Google AI Studio.
2. Add it to .env (OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY or GEMINI_API_KEY) and restart.
3. Open Admin → AI settings, pick the provider, check the model name, and press Test connection.

Defaults: OpenAI gpt-5-mini, Claude claude-opus-5-5, Gemini gemini-2.5-flash. Any model your key can use works; type its name in AI settings, or set OPENAI_MODEL, ANTHROPIC_MODEL or GEMINI_MODEL in .env (the .env value wins). Smaller models cost less per site.

Credits

Each plan includes AI credits per month. In AI settings you set what each action costs: a whole new site (default 25), a new page (5) and one section rewrite (1). Credits reset each billing month.

When the provider fails

With Fall back to the demo writer on (the default), a user still gets a complete site if the provider times out or rejects the key; they see a short notice. The demo writer is a built-in template engine that fills each section from the business description. Turn the switch off to show an error instead.

Extra instructions for the AI (tone, words to avoid, house style) go in the Writing instructions box in AI settings.

9. Stock photos

Add a free PIXABAY_API_KEY (pixabay.com/api/docs) or PEXELS_API_KEY (pexels.com/api). Then AI drafts come with matching photos and the editor's Find a photo searches them. A chosen photo is copied into your storage, so sites never depend on the photo site. Without a key, sections show a soft colour until the customer uploads a photo.

Photos are subject to each provider's licence; both allow use on websites without attribution.

10. Site addresses and custom domains

Free addresses

With ROOT_DOMAIN=yourbuilder.com and a wildcard DNS record, each site lives at name.yourbuilder.com. Without ROOT_DOMAIN, sites live at yourbuilder.com/s/name, which needs no extra DNS. Customers change the name on the site's Publish page.

Custom domains

On plans with custom domains, the customer enters their domain on the Publish page and sees the exact DNS record to add:

• CNAME for www (or any subdomain) pointing at CNAME_TARGET (default sites.ROOT_DOMAIN).
• A record for the bare domain pointing at SERVER_IP, when you set it.

Buildora checks the DNS when the domain is saved, when the customer presses Check DNS now, and every 10 minutes in the background. Once it points at you, Caddy issues the HTTPS certificate on the first visit.

11. Plans and payments (Stripe)

Plans

Admin → Plans edits each plan: name, monthly price, number of websites, AI credits, custom domains, whether the "Made with Buildora" badge can be removed, and which plan new users get. Three plans are included: Starter (free, 1 site, 50 credits), Growth ($12, 10 sites, 500 credits, custom domains) and Agency ($39, 50 sites, 3,000 credits).

Test checkout

Without Stripe keys, upgrades go through a test checkout: the plan changes at once and a payment marked "Test checkout" is recorded, so you can try everything. Set DEMO_PAYMENTS=false to hide paid plans until Stripe is set.

Connect Stripe

1. In the Stripe dashboard copy the secret key into STRIPE_SECRET_KEY. Use a sk_test_… key first.
2. Stripe → Developers → Webhooks → Add endpoint: URL https://yourbuilder.com/api/billing/webhook, events checkout.session.completed, invoice.paid, invoice.payment_failed and customer.subscription.deleted.
3. Copy the endpoint's signing secret into STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET, restart, and test in Admin → Setup.
4. Turn on the Customer portal in Stripe (Settings → Billing → Customer portal) so customers can change cards and cancel.

Products and prices are created by Buildora at checkout from your plan settings, so there is nothing to copy from Stripe. A price change applies to new checkouts; existing subscriptions keep their price until you change them in Stripe.

12. Email

Set SMTP_HOST, SMTP_PORT, SMTP_USER, SMTP_PASS and SMTP_FROM with the details from your email provider. Buildora sends password-reset links and new form-message alerts. Without SMTP, each email is written to the app log instead (docker compose logs web), which is handy while testing.

13. File storage

Logos, uploads and copied stock photos are stored:

• in the MinIO container of the Docker stack (default), or
• in any S3-compatible bucket (AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, DigitalOcean Spaces…): set S3_BUCKET, S3_ENDPOINT, S3_REGION, S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID and S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, or
• in a local folder (UPLOAD_DIR, default ./uploads) when no bucket is set.

Files are served through the app at /media/…, so the bucket stays private.

14. Using the builder

Create a site with AI

Dashboard → New site with AI. The customer enters the business name, type, a description, location, language and the pages to create, picks a style (or lets the AI choose), and presses Generate my site. About 20 to 60 seconds later the draft opens in the editor.

Or start from a template

Templates → Use copies a finished site (café, clinic, law firm, photographer, gym, landscaping, restaurant, salon) into the account.

The editor

• Click any section on the page to edit its text, links, photos and layout on the right (Content and Layout tabs).
• The floating bar on a section: Rewrite with AI, move up or down, duplicate, delete.
• Left panel: pages (add, rename, reorder, delete), the sections of the current page (drag to reorder, eye icon to hide), Add section (14 types, or describe one and the AI writes it).
• Theme: six styles, every colour, heading and body fonts, button shape. SEO: page name, search title, description, with a Google preview.
• Desktop, tablet and phone preview; undo and redo; everything saves automatically.
• Publish makes the changes live. Each publish is kept as a version you can roll back to from the Publish page.

Forms

The Contact form section stores every message in the customer's Form inbox (filters, unread, starred, CSV export) and emails them when SMTP is set.

15. The admin panel

16. Rebrand without code

In Admin → Settings: app name, support email, tagline, logo, favicon, brand colour (any colour; the app's buttons and highlights follow it), heading font, default light or dark mode, terms and privacy links, and whether anyone can sign up. Changes apply at once to the landing page, the builder, emails and receipts.

The landing page text lives in src/app/page.tsx if you want to rewrite it in your own words.

17. Every key, explained

All keys go in deploy/.env (Docker) or buildora_web_nextjs/.env (no Docker). Only the first three are required.

The Docker stack also reads POSTGRES_DB, POSTGRES_USER, POSTGRES_PASSWORD (it builds DATABASE_URL from them) and WEB_PORT.

18. File structure

buildora_web_nextjs/
  src/app/                 pages and API routes (App Router)
    page.tsx               your landing page
    (auth)/                sign in, sign up, password reset
    install/               the install wizard
    app/                   the builder (dashboard, sites, editor, inbox, billing…)
    admin/                 the admin panel
    s/ d/ t/               published sites (free address, custom domain, template preview)
    api/                   JSON API used by the builder and admin
  src/components/          React components (editor/, app/, admin/, site/, marketing/)
  src/lib/blocks.ts        the 14 section types: fields and defaults
  src/lib/themes.ts        the six styles, colours and fonts of published sites
  src/lib/server/          auth, AI adapters, billing, email, storage, stock photos, jobs
  src/database/            Prisma schema, migrations and seed data
  src/tests/               unit and API tests (Vitest)
  e2e/                     browser tests (Playwright)
deploy/
  docker-compose.yml       the whole stack
  Caddyfile                automatic HTTPS
  .env.example             every setting, explained

19. Customise the code

Run it for development

cd buildora_web_nextjs
cp .env.example .env        # set DATABASE_URL, APP_URL=http://localhost:3000, APP_SECRET
pnpm install
pnpm prisma:migrate:deploy
pnpm dev

Checks: pnpm lint, pnpm typecheck, pnpm test (uses TEST_DATABASE_URL or DATABASE_URL; the tests work in their own schema), pnpm e2e.

Add a section type

1. Add its fields and defaults to BLOCK_KINDS in src/lib/blocks.ts. The editor builds its form from these fields, and the AI is told about them automatically.
2. Draw it in src/components/site/site-renderer.tsx, next to the existing types.

Add a style

Add a preset to src/lib/themes.ts (colours, fonts, button shape). New fonts go in src/app/fonts.ts; they are self-hosted at build time, so published sites call no font server.

Add an AI provider

Providers live in src/lib/server/ai/providers.ts. Each one takes a system prompt and a user message and returns JSON; add yours there and to the provider list in AI settings.

20. Updating

1. Back up your database (docker compose exec postgres pg_dump -U buildora buildora > backup.sql) and your .env.
2. Replace the buildora_web_nextjs/ folder with the new one. Keep deploy/.env.
3. Run docker compose up -d --build. Migrations run automatically before the app starts.

If you changed the code, compare your changes with the new version first (a Git repository makes this easy). Read CHANGELOG.md for what changed.

21. FAQ and troubleshooting

The page says "Install" again after a restart.

The app cannot see its database. Check docker compose ps and docker compose logs migrate; in a non-Docker install check DATABASE_URL.

AI drafts look generic.

No AI key is set, or the provider failed and the demo writer answered. Open Admin → AI settings, press Test connection, and look at docker compose logs web for lines starting with [ai].

Sites have no photos.

Add a Pixabay or Pexels key (see Stock photos). Existing sites keep their sections; use Find a photo in the editor.

A customer domain stays "Waiting for DNS".

DNS changes can take up to an hour. Check the record with dig www.customer.com: it must show your CNAME_TARGET or SERVER_IP. Cloudflare users must set the record to "DNS only" (grey cloud).

HTTPS does not work for a domain.

Ports 80 and 443 must be open, the app must be started with --profile https, and the domain must already point at the server. docker compose logs caddy shows each certificate request.

I forgot the admin password.

Use "Forgot password" on the sign-in page (with SMTP set, or read the link in the log).

Upgrades do not change the plan with Stripe.

The webhook is missing or its secret is wrong. Check Stripe → Webhooks for failed deliveries and Admin → Setup → Payments.

Port 3000 is already used.

Set WEB_PORT to a free port in deploy/.env and run docker compose up -d.

22. Credits

Buildora is built with these open-source projects, each under its own licence (MIT unless noted):

• Next.js and React
• Prisma (Apache 2.0) and node-postgres
• Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui and Base UI
• Lucide icons (ISC)
• Sonner, Zod, Nodemailer (MIT-0)
• Stripe Node, Anthropic SDK, AWS SDK for JavaScript (Apache 2.0)
• Fonts from Google Fonts (SIL Open Font Licence): Geist, Bricolage Grotesque, Fraunces, Playfair Display, DM Serif Display, Archivo, DM Sans, Inter, Lato, Outfit. They are self-hosted at build time.
• Docker images: PostgreSQL, MinIO (AGPL 3.0, runs as a separate service) and Caddy (Apache 2.0).

The photos in our live demo come from Pixabay and are not included in the download. Templates in the download have no photos; with a stock photo key, photos are fetched for each new site.

23. Changelog

Version 1.0.0 (16 October 2026)

• First release: AI site wizard (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and a built-in demo writer), block editor with 14 section types, AI section rewrite and "describe a section", six styles, SEO, phone and tablet preview, publishing with version history.
• Free subdomains, path addresses and custom domains with DNS checks and automatic HTTPS (Caddy on-demand TLS).
• Plans, AI credits, Stripe subscriptions with webhook and customer portal, invoices, test checkout.
• Admin panel: overview, users, sites, plans, payments, templates, AI settings, setup check, settings and branding.
• Install wizard, eight templates, sample data, Docker Compose stack, Vitest and Playwright tests.

24. Support and licence

Questions, bug reports and help with installation: use the Support tab on the item's page on the marketplace. Please include your Buildora version, how you host it (Docker, Node.js or Vercel) and what you see (a screenshot or the lines from docker compose logs web). Never send us your API keys or passwords.

Support covers questions about the item's features, help with bugs and help with installing it as described here. It does not cover custom changes to the code or third-party services.