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Glossary

Software factory

A production line that turns an app description into a live private app your team can open.

Definition

A software factory is a system that takes a description of software and repeatedly produces working apps with the operational pieces already handled: deploy, data, access, backups, and a way to version or undo. Some products focus on enterprise development control planes for regulated programs. Some focus on fleets of coding agents for engineering teams. Croft is a software factory for private internal apps: you describe the app with Croft Build credits and/or Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT via MCP, and the output is a live private app on your server that your team opens behind company login.

Why it matters

Finance and SME teams vibe-coding trackers, models, and ops tools need the factory floor, not a chat preview. Without deploy, an app database, sign-in, backups, and rollback, the prototype never becomes the tool the team actually runs. A software factory that only writes code, with nowhere private for the result to live, still leaves you emailing HTML or chasing spreadsheet copies.

How Croft fits

Croft’s factory line is build to deploy to login to data to backups to version and rollback. Bring your own AI or use Croft Build. Apps land on your private server with SQLite-backed data, continuous backups (including Litestream-backed continuous replication), company login, and access control. Solo from $24/mo annual; Team $99/mo annual; 7-day trial. See the Software factory landing, Croft Build, and AI app hosting.

Related terms

  • Vibe coding Building software by describing what you want to an AI and steering until it is right.
  • AI-built app An app whose code was written by an AI assistant from your prompts, then run as real software.
  • Deploy an app Putting your app onto a server so people can open it at a real URL.
  • Private app hosting Hosting where only invited people can open the app, not the open internet.
  • Internal tool Software built for your own people to do work, not a public product for customers.
  • Backups Continuous encrypted copies of your app data so you can recover after mistakes or failures.
  • Version control A history of changes to your app so you can see what changed and restore an earlier version.
  • Rollback Restoring a previous working version of your app after a change goes wrong.
  • SSO Company login. People sign in once with your organisation's identity to use your apps.
  • Access control Rules for who can open which apps and what they can do once they are signed in.

Keep reading

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is a software factory in plain English?

A setup that repeatedly turns an app description into a live app, with hosting, data, access, and backups already part of the line, not bolted on later.

Is Croft a software factory?

Yes, for private internal tools. You describe the app (Build or your AI), and Croft runs the line so the team gets a private URL with login, data, backups, and rollback.

How is that different from an enterprise AI software factory?

Enterprise factories often focus on regulated development control planes or coding agents for large engineering orgs. Croft is for finance and SME teams shipping internal tools without a platform team, on flat Solo and Team pricing.

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