Prompting an AI app builder for a real backend: database, auth, and payments
App builders default to a front end with mock data unless the prompt names the backend. What to specify, in what order, and where prompting stops.
7 min read·Updated Sep 6, 2026
Stage 1 of 8
Overview
You describe a marketplace. Ninety seconds later there is a browsable app with product cards, a filter bar, and a checkout button that does nothing. The listings are a hardcoded array inside a component file. There is no database, no login, no order record, and no way for a second person to add anything.
1 / 25
Use ← → arrow keys to move between cards
Get the next guide when it lands
One email on Sunday with new /learn guides, tool updates, and a couple of links worth reading.