Build an app from an RFP, a spec or other documents
In shortAttach your documents to the prompt box on Projects and press Build it — words are optional. MonstarX reads every document (scans included), writes a requirements brief of features, rules and roles, and builds from it. Later documents, such as an addendum, are read and merged, and the later one wins where they disagree.
If what you want is already written down — a request for proposals (RFP), a specification, a product brief, a slide deck — you do not have to retype it. Attach the documents and MonstarX reads them, works out the requirements, and builds the app they describe. It keeps the documents’ own words and numbers, and remembers them for every later request.
How do I build from documents?
Section titled “How do I build from documents?”-
On Projects, click the paperclip and choose your documents — for example the RFP and its addendum. (You can also drop them onto the box.)
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Add a line if you like, such as who the app is for. It is optional: the hint reads Anything to add? MonstarX reads your documents and builds what they describe…
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Press Build it. With no words, the request reads Build what these documents describe. With Plan first on it reads Plan what these documents describe: ask me only what they leave open.
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In the workspace, the reply opens with a card showing each document as it is read, then the plan of features built from them.
Which documents can MonstarX read?
Section titled “Which documents can MonstarX read?”PDF, Word (.docx and the older .doc), OpenDocument text and slides (.odt, .odp), RTF, PowerPoint (.pptx), text and Markdown, web pages (.html), and a .zip of any of these. A spreadsheet inside a zip of documents is read along with them.
- Scans — a PDF without a text layer is read with text recognition (read with OCR).
- Long documents — read closely in parts (Reading the long documents closely — part 2 of 4…). A PDF is read up to its first 1,500 pages.
- Up to 10 files per request, each up to 50 MB.
A document that cannot be read says why — for example the PDF is password-protected. Remove the password and attach it again. Spreadsheets you want as the app’s data belong in Build from a spreadsheet instead, and log or data files are kept as they are, not treated as requirements.
What is the requirements brief?
Section titled “What is the requirements brief?”For longer documents, MonstarX writes a requirements brief after reading them — Working out the requirements… on the card. The card then shows the brief’s title and a count such as 13 features · 4 roles · 8 kinds of data · 12 business rules · 3 conflicts resolved, and a View requirements button.
The Requirements window (also opened from Requirements beside the feature plan) holds the whole brief:
- Features in build order, each with its priority, the checks that prove it works, and the sections of the documents it comes from.
- Who uses it, Data, Business rules, Services, Constraints and Look and feel.
- Where the documents disagree and what won.
- Not part of the app — procurement and contract content such as how to submit a proposal, insurance or pricing forms.
- Assumptions and Open questions.
- The Documents themselves, with links to open them.
Copy as Markdown copies the whole brief. A few short documents do not need a brief: MonstarX simply keeps their full text with every request, and the card just lists them, as in the picture above.
The feature plan the build follows is written from the brief, so it can be long — up to 40 features, built across several requests. Press Continue building when a request ends with features still to build. See The feature plan.
How do I add an addendum later?
Section titled “How do I add an addendum later?”Attach it in the project’s chat, with a line like Addendum 2 is attached. The new document is read on its own and the brief is written again from all of them — Read 3 documents · updated the requirements brief. Where documents conflict, the later one wins (an addendum over the RFP it changes), and every conflict is listed with its resolution.
Can I leave a document out?
Section titled “Can I leave a document out?”Yes. In the Requirements window, click the eye button beside a document — useful for a wrong file or a superseded draft. MonstarX stops reading it into the requirements, and the next build request writes the brief again from the rest. Click the eye again to bring it back.
What if reading stops halfway?
Section titled “What if reading stops halfway?”If you stop the request (or it fails) while documents are being read, the card closes with Stopped before the documents were ready; they are read on the next request. Nothing is lost: whatever was read is kept, and the next request carries on.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”Will MonstarX build the procurement parts of an RFP?
No. Submission instructions, evaluation criteria, insurance and pricing forms are listed under Not part of the app — only the software is built.
What if the documents ask for something MonstarX cannot do?
It builds the closest honest alternative and says so under Assumptions in the brief.
Can I use Plan first with documents?
Yes. MonstarX then asks only the questions the documents leave open.
Can I ask questions about the documents?
Yes. Switch the chat to Chat mode and ask. MonstarX answers from the documents without changing the app.
What name does the project get?
Started from documents alone, the project takes its name and description from the brief's title and summary, unless you have named it yourself.