Build and change apps from Slack

With MonstarX in Slack, you can turn an idea into an app without leaving the chat you already use all day. Send MonstarX a message like you would a colleague — “a booking app for my salon” — and it builds it, shows its progress, tests it and publishes it, right in your direct messages.

Everything you do in Slack happens in your real MonstarX projects, so you can open the same project in the browser at any time and carry on there.

How do I add MonstarX to Slack?

Someone installs the app in your Slack workspace once. Then each person connects their own MonstarX account.

1. Open Settings›Integrations in MonstarX and click Add to Slack on the Slack card.

2. Slack asks you to pick the workspace and allow the MonstarX app. MonstarX installs in one workspace at a time; organisation-wide installations aren’t supported yet.

3. You land on MonstarX is installed. Click Open MonstarX in Slack.

How do I connect my MonstarX account in Slack?

Every person connects their own account, so builds always happen in their own projects and use their own credits. Nothing is built until you are connected.

1. Open MonstarX in Slack (the app’s Home tab or a direct message) and choose Connect account.

2. Pick one of two ways:

   • Email me a code — MonstarX emails a six-digit code to the address on your Slack profile. Type it into the Verification code box and click Verify & connect. The code expires in five minutes; you can ask for another after one minute. If you have no MonstarX account yet, this creates one.
   • Use browser login — for a different email, two-step sign-in or company sign-in. MonstarX opens in your browser; sign in and click Connect this account. Then go back to Slack and confirm it there.

3. Slack now shows which account you are Connected as.

Note

Connecting lets Slack read your project conversations, build and edit your apps, and use your MonstarX credits — the same as working in the browser. You can disconnect at any time.

How do I start a new app from Slack?

Send MonstarX a direct message with your idea. You can attach screenshots, pictures and documents too — up to 10 attachments per message.

• Say hello, and MonstarX offers three choices: New project, Plan a new project and Open existing.
• Or skip the hello and send the idea straight away. Your first app is assumed to be new: MonstarX says it is starting in about 15 seconds, and offers Start now, Plan first and Use an existing project in case you meant something else.
• Or type a command in any conversation:
  • /monstarx new followed by your idea — start a new app.
  • /monstarx plan followed by your idea — plan it first, answering MonstarX’s questions before it builds.
  • /monstarx open — choose one of your projects.
  • /monstarx help — a short reminder of these commands.

If you mention MonstarX in a channel, it moves the conversation to your direct messages, so your projects stay private.

How do I keep working on an app?

Each app gets its own thread. Reply in that thread to ask for changes — “make the buttons green”, “add a waiting list” — and attach files if they help. A thread always stays with one project; to work on another app, use Home → Open existing and it starts a new thread.

While MonstarX works, one card in the thread updates as it goes: what it is thinking, the features it has built and checked (Features · 5/7 built · 3 verified), and QA checks as they run. The card’s menu switches between Build, Plan and Chat mode, and has Features & QA. You can Stop build, or Cancel queued request for one that is waiting.

In Plan mode, MonstarX asks its questions in Slack with suggested answers. When you have answered, it shows your app brief: click Build app to start, or Keep planning.

Can I test and publish from Slack?

Yes. After a build, the thread offers:

• Open preview — try the app in your browser.
• Run QA — MonstarX tests the app in a real browser. You can also reply “run QA”. Results show each check (Passed, Failed, Needs setup and so on), with Watch replay links to the recordings. Use Fix & retest or Rerun checks when offered, and Stop QA to stop.
• Publish — MonstarX asks Publish this app? first, because anyone with the link can then open it. Click Publish app (or Keep private), and the live link appears in the thread.
• Edit in MonstarX — opens the project in your browser, for visual editing, design and settings.

Ideas for what to build next are under Features & QA. Each Build this starts a new request using your credits.

Can I use Slack in Japanese?

Yes. MonstarX follows the language you write in. To fix it, choose Language on the Home tab (Automatic, 日本語 or English), or send “日本語でお願いします” or “Reply in English”. This only changes Slack; your MonstarX account language stays as it is.

How do I disconnect?

Click Disconnect on the MonstarX Home tab in Slack, or beside your Slack connection in Settings›Integrations. Your projects stay in MonstarX. If you connect again later, start a new thread for each project.

What can’t Slack do yet?

• Channels: MonstarX works in direct messages. Shared channel conversations and other people’s projects aren’t supported yet.
• Visual editing, design previews, and account or billing settings open in MonstarX in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

Does building from Slack cost extra?

No. It uses the same MonstarX credits as building in the browser, from the account you connected.

Can my teammates see my projects in Slack?

No. Each person connects their own MonstarX account and works in their own direct messages. Mentions in a channel move to a private conversation.

I don't get the email code. What now?

Check your spam folder, wait a minute and click Resend code, or choose Use browser login instead.

Can I switch between Slack and the browser?

Yes. It is the same project. Click Edit in MonstarX to open it in the browser; changes you make there show up in the project, and you can keep replying in the Slack thread.

Can I add MonstarX to our company-wide Slack (Enterprise Grid)?

Not yet. Install it in an individual workspace.

Related

Plan firstLet MonstarX ask its questions before it builds.

QA testingHow MonstarX tests your app in a real browser.

Publish your appPut your app online.

NotificationsGet told when a build is done.