What is a software factory? (and when Croft is one)

Quick answer

A software factory is a system that repeatedly turns a description of software into a working app, with the production steps already handled. Croft is a software factory for private internal apps: you describe the app (Croft Build or your AI), and you get a live private app on your server with deploy, database, company login, backups, and rollback. Your team opens a normal link.

What a software factory does

In plain terms, a factory has an input, a line, and an output:

• Input: what you want built (a forecast tool, a stocktake app, an approvals tracker)
• Line: the steps that turn that description into something people can use
• Output: a live app, not a chat preview or an HTML file in email

Vendors use the phrase for different jobs. Some focus on large engineering teams and fleets of coding agents. Some focus on regulated enterprises that need a full development control plane and heavy audit trails. Croft focuses on private internal tools for finance and small businesses: the line includes hosting, sign-in, data, and backups so the app is safe to share with colleagues.

Croft’s factory line

Step	What happens
Describe	Plain language: the tracker, model, or ops tool you need
Build	Croft Build credits and/or Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT via MCP
Private server	Deploy onto your croft
Login + access	Company login in front; share app by app
Data + backups	SQLite-backed app data; continuous encrypted backups
Version / rollback	Undo a bad AI deploy in one click

That is why the app survives past the chat window. Colleagues get a URL, shared data, and a way back when a change goes wrong.

How Croft compares

	Croft	Cursor	8090.ai
Best when you need	A private internal tool your team can open	Coding agents helping engineers ship product software	Enterprise systems with strict process and audit needs
You get	Live private app on your server	Code and agent-driven changes in the engineering workflow	Controlled enterprise delivery
Built in	Deploy, database, company login, backups, rollback	Autonomous coding capacity	Development control plane and enterprise programs
Pricing shape	Flat Solo / Team	Engineering tooling	Enterprise programs

If you already build in Cursor, you can still host the app on Croft when it needs to stay private for the team. Prefer building in chat? Croft Build sits on the same line.

Who Croft is for

• Accounts and finance people turning models into shared apps
• Small businesses replacing spreadsheet stocktake, quotes, or hiring trackers
• Anyone who vibe-coded something useful and needs to host and share it privately

If you need a public consumer product at internet scale, or a platform team running your own cloud, Croft is not the fit. If you need a private tool for your people this week, it is.

FAQ

Is Croft a software factory?

Yes. You describe the app. Croft runs the line: deploy, data, login, backups, and versioning. The result is a live private app your team can open.

Is this the same as Cursor or 8090?

No. Cursor helps engineering teams write and change code with agents. 8090 serves regulated enterprises that need a full development control plane and audit trails. Croft is for private internal tools: describe the app, deploy it, share it with company login, data, and backups. See also software factory and /software-factory/.

How do I start?

Get your croft, connect Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT, or use Croft Build. Describe the app and deploy. Solo from $24/mo annual; Team $99/mo annual; 7-day trial.

Where else should I read?

AI app hosting, vibe coding hosting, and deploy an internal tool without managing servers.

Get your croft →  ·  Software factory →  ·  Pricing →

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