--- title: "Build your own internal tools, apps and software." description: "Build your own internal tools with AI instead of paying for SaaS. Start from a working app with sign-in and a database, and host it free on Cloudflare." url: "https://web.popcomputer.com/build-your-own-app" updated: "2026-10-30" --- # Build your own internal tools, apps and software. If you can describe it, you can build it: a tracker for your team, a portal for your customers, or the side project you’ve been putting off. Start from the template, which already has sign-in, accounts and a database working, and ask your AI for the part that’s yours. ## Internal tools The spreadsheet everyone edits, the shared inbox, the form that gets copied into three places: each can be a small app your team signs in to. Put people in teams with roles, such as owner, admin and member, and keep pages to the roles that need them. - A CRM for your deals and customers, like [the CRM example](/examples#crm). - Approvals, rotas, bookings and stock. - A team retro board, like [the retro example](/examples#retro). - Dashboards over the data you already keep. ## A worked example: a CRM of your own A CRM is the kind of tool teams usually rent by the seat. Claude Code built [the CRM example](/examples#crm) from the template in about 30 minutes, from three sentences: 5,300 lines of new code and 29 tests, all passing. It has: - A pipeline board in six stages, with drag and drop by mouse, touch or keyboard. - Deals, contacts and companies, searchable, each with its own page. - A timeline of notes, calls, emails, meetings and tasks on every record. - A task list, and a dashboard with a weighted forecast. - Sign-in, sessions and rate limits from the template. Another member’s deal is the same “not found” as a missing one. ## What the CRM costs to run Nothing to host, while it stays within Cloudflare’s free plan: 100,000 requests a day, and 500 MB of data. [Its README](https://github.com/PatrickOgilvie/popcomputer-web-crm#deploying) says a free Cloudflare account is enough to deploy it. If 20 people each open 100 pages a day, that’s 2,000 requests, a fiftieth of the free plan. If it outgrows that, the paid plan is $5 a month for 10 million requests, and [what a web app on Cloudflare Workers costs](/cost) works out the bill from there. What’s left is your AI subscription, and your time: when your team needs something new, you ask for it. ## Apps for your business Give customers something better than an email address. The [landing page example](/examples#landing) takes enquiries through a form, checks them with Turnstile, keeps them in the database and emails the owner each one. The [blog example](/examples#blog) is a small CMS with drafts, publishing and an RSS feed. ## Your side project Accounts, a database and hosting are the parts that stall a side project before it starts. They’re done before your first prompt, so it goes on your idea. Payments aren’t built in: ask your AI to add a provider such as Stripe when you need it. ## Why start from the template A blank page gives your AI every decision to get right. The template has already made the dull ones: - Sign-up, sign-in and signed-in devices, working. - A database with migrations, and records only their owner sees. - Forms checked field by field, with errors beside the field. - Tests through the app, and the checks your AI runs after each change. - Commands to deploy, check the new version, and roll back. ## It’s yours Your app’s code lives in your own repository and runs on your own Cloudflare account. There’s no builder platform in between, nothing to rent per seat, and nothing to export if you ever move on. The framework is open source under the MIT licence. A developer who knows Laravel will find its shape familiar: it’s [a Laravel-style framework for Cloudflare Workers](/laravel-for-cloudflare-workers), in TypeScript. ## What it costs Hosting starts free on Cloudflare: 100,000 requests a day, and a database of up to 500 MB. The paid plan is $5 a month when you need more. [What a web app on Cloudflare Workers costs](/cost) works out the bill at each step, and [Do these apps scale?](/scaling) has the limits. You’ll also need a subscription to an AI such as Claude or ChatGPT. ## Questions people ask ### Can I build my own internal tools with AI instead of paying for SaaS? Yes, for tools shaped around how your team works, such as a CRM, a rota or an approvals queue. You swap a subscription for an app you own, change when you like and look after yourself. [The CRM example](/examples#crm) took Claude Code about 30 minutes, and costs nothing to host within Cloudflare’s free plan. ### Do I own the code? Yes. It’s in your repository and runs on your Cloudflare account. The framework it builds on is open source under the MIT licence. ### Can my team sign in with Google? Yes. Better Auth, which the template uses for accounts, adds Sign in with Google, and the framework’s docs show how. ### Can I build a phone app? You build web apps, which work in the browser on any phone. They aren’t native apps in the App Store or Google Play. ### What if I get stuck? Paste the error into your AI first: the framework’s messages say what to change. Popcomputer and The East Anglia Software Company also [maintain and support](https://angliasoft.com) the framework. ## Read next - [Do these apps scale?](https://web.popcomputer.com/scaling) - [How to get started with vibe coding.](https://web.popcomputer.com/vibe-coding) - [A Laravel-style framework for Cloudflare Workers.](https://web.popcomputer.com/laravel-for-cloudflare-workers) - [What does a web app on Cloudflare Workers cost?](https://web.popcomputer.com/cost)