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Import an existing project

Build usually starts from a sentence. It can also start from code you already have: pick a repo from your GitHub account and it opens in Build like any other app — a live preview, the agent ready to work, and every change saved back to your repo.

What you need​

  • A GitHub account connected to Corte with the Corte app installed (Build asks for this the first time you import). Corte only sees the repos you grant it.
  • A Next.js site with its package.json at the root of the repo. Sites that live inside a larger monorepo, or that are built on another framework, can't be imported yet — the picker tells you which before anything happens.

Corte reads the repo with your own GitHub access. Nothing is copied anywhere but your app's workspace, and files like .env never leave it.

Import a repo​

  1. Open Build and choose New app.
  2. Under the description field, choose Import from GitHub.
  3. Connect GitHub if you haven't, then pick the account and search for the repo.
  4. Select it. Build checks the repo and tells you what to expect:
    • Ready to import — the app opens with preview and publishing available.
    • Ready to import — publishing can be set up later — the app opens with a live preview; publishing needs one extra step (below).
    • A reason the repo can't be imported — the Import button stays off.
  5. Choose Import. The app is named after the repo; rename it in Settings → Project whenever you like.

Nothing is sent to the agent on your behalf. The workspace opens with the preview starting up and the chat empty, so the first ask is yours.

Where changes go​

The agent doesn't touch your default branch. It works on a branch of its own, and its changes reach your default branch the way a teammate's would — through a pull request you review on GitHub.

In Settings → Version control you'll find:

  • Open pull request — creates the pull request from the work branch into your default branch (or shows the one that's already open, with its number and state). It also tells you how many commits are waiting.
  • Push straight to main — turn this on to skip the pull request and have every change land on your default branch as it happens. You can turn it back off anytime; the agent goes back to working on its branch.

Pushes you make to the repo from elsewhere are picked up the next time a chat starts.

Set up publishing​

Some repos arrive without the pieces Corte needs to publish them. Those apps open and preview normally, and the Deploy button reads Set up publishing instead. Press it and the agent adds what's missing, commits the change like any other, and the button becomes Deploy.

Not yet supported​

  • Apps that live in a subfolder of a larger repo.
  • Frameworks other than Next.js.
  • Apps that need an external service (a database, a queue) running before they'll start — ask the agent for the environment variables you'd set, but the service itself has to be reachable.