Path

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Build operational software with Scout

Path is the platform for creating full-stack business apps—CRM, inventory, portals, dashboards, and internal tools—by talking to Scout, your AI engineer. Describe what you need; Scout builds the app, data model, and workflows in your organization's workspace.

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Getting started

From signup to a live app in three steps. No credit card required to try Path.

Create an account

1

Sign up for Path

Open console.path.dev/signup and create your Path account with email, Google, passkey, or password.

2

Set up your organization

Onboarding asks for your name and an organization name. An organization is the team workspace that owns your apps, data, connectors, and billing.

3

Land on home

You start in the platform web app with Scout ready. From home you can open threads, create apps, and manage your organization.

Build your first app

Scout is how you build on Path. Describe the app in plain language—who uses it, what data it stores, and what should happen. Scout creates the schema, UI, and logic, then keeps iterating as you chat.

Example prompt

Build a CRM for our consulting firm with contacts, deal stages, activity logging, and a dashboard for pipeline and win rate. Team members should sign in and only see deals they own unless they are an admin.
  • Start from a template when you want a proven industry starter, then customize with Scout.
  • Watch the preview update as Scout works in the app editor—the live editing runtime shows changes as they land.
  • Keep talking to refine layouts, permissions, integrations, and edge cases. Each thread stays attached to your work so you can continue later.

Preview and publish

While you build, you use the live preview in the app editor. When you are ready for real users, publish a production deployment and optionally attach a custom domain.

Preview

Live editing runtime for Path users on your team. Iterate safely before customers see changes.

Production

One-click publish with version history and rollbacks. End users sign into the deployed customer app—not the Path platform itself.

Core concepts

These terms show up everywhere in Path. Using them precisely makes Scout and the rest of the platform easier to navigate.

Organizations

An organization is your company or team boundary on Path. It owns apps, members, roles, connectors, brand settings, usage, and billing. You can belong to more than one organization and switch between them in the platform web app.

  • Plans and credits are billed per organization
  • Team members are invited into an organization with roles and permissions
  • Customer apps inherit org-level brand and identity settings unless pinned otherwise

Apps

An app is a user-created application in your organization—the CRM, portal, or internal tool you are building. Path distinguishes:

  • Path users — people logged into the Path platform who build and manage apps
  • End users — people who use a deployed customer app
  • Agent apps — headless apps for scheduled or delegated AI tasks (separate from Scout chat)

Scout

Scout is the AI engineer you talk to on Path. You describe goals in conversation; Scout plans work, edits the app, runs tools, and explains what changed. Threads keep context across sessions—on home and inside the app editor.

  • Friendly, plain-language responses with expandable activity when you want detail
  • Checkpoints so you can restore earlier versions of app work
  • Connectors, schema, UI, and deployments are all in Scout's reach

Learn more about Scout

Credits

Credits power Scout and related AI work in your organization. Plans include a monthly credit allowance; you can buy additional flex credits and configure auto-reload from Settings → Credits in the platform web app.

  • Usage and credits-per-app analytics live under Usage
  • Plan changes and payment methods live under Billing / the plan picker
  • When credits run out, Scout asks you to add credits or upgrade

See pricing

Platform

Every Path app sits on shared infrastructure—data, integrations, hosting, and delivery—managed in one workspace.

Databases

Managed Postgres comes with your workspace. Scout designs and migrates schema as you build. You can inspect and edit data visually, or use SQL when you need it.

  • Schema editor and migrations tracked with the app
  • Spreadsheet-style editing for operators; SQL console for engineers
  • Import and sync patterns via connectors (for example Sheets or APIs)

Databases product

Connectors

Connectors link Path apps to the tools your business already uses—Slack, GitHub, Gmail, Notion, Stripe, calendars, CRMs, and more. Scout can wire actions and data flows once a connector is authorized for the organization.

Browse connectors

Deployments

Publish when you are ready. Deployments cover production releases, version history, and rollbacks. Preview stays in the editor; production is what end users hit.

  • One-click publish from the app
  • Rollback to a previous production version
  • Hosted on Path Cloud with auth and storage configured by default

Deployments product

Templates

Templates are industry starters—data models, screens, and workflows you can customize with Scout instead of starting from a blank prompt. Use them when you already know the shape of the app you need.

Browse templates

Files & domains

Files

File storage for uploads, attachments, and assets used by your apps—managed alongside the rest of the workspace.

Domains

Point a custom domain at a published customer app. Register and manage domains with Path Domains.

domains.path.dev

Working with Scout

Scout works best when you describe outcomes, users, and constraints—not implementation trivia.

How to ask

Be specific about users and data

Say who signs in, what they can see, and which records matter.

Build an inventory app for our warehouse team. Track SKUs, locations, and quantities. Managers can adjust stock and invite suppliers; floor staff can only scan and receive.

Name the systems involved

If the app should email via Gmail, sync a calendar, or post to Slack, say so—Scout will use connectors rather than inventing one-off integrations.

Prefer outcomes over tech stacks

You do not need to specify frameworks. Focus on screens, rules, and workflows; Path chooses the implementation.

Iterate in the editor

Open an app to work in the app editor: Scout on one side, live preview on the other. Ask for changes in the same thread, expand activity runs when you want to see what Scout did, and restore a checkpoint if you need to undo a stretch of work.

  • Pin a thread with ?thread= when sharing a deep link
  • Use checkpoints before large refactors so you can roll back safely
  • Test in preview before publishing to production

Best practices

One job per app (at first)

Ship a focused CRM or portal, then expand. Broad “do everything” prompts are harder to refine.

Start from a template when you can

Industry starters give Scout a solid schema and UI to customize instead of inventing from scratch.

Validate with real roles

Ask Scout to set permissions for Path users vs end users, then try each role in preview.

Publish deliberately

Treat production as customer-facing. Keep experimentation in preview and use rollbacks if a release misbehaves.

Example apps

Path is built for operational software. These prompts mirror common use cases—see use cases for more.

CRM

Pipeline, contacts, and activity tailored to how your team sells—not a generic SaaS CRM you have to bend.

Create a CRM with companies, contacts, and deals. Use stages Prospect → Qualified → Proposal → Won/Lost. Log calls and emails. Managers see the full pipeline; reps only see their own deals.

Inventory

Stock, locations, and alerts without spreadsheet chaos.

Build inventory tracking by SKU and warehouse location with low-stock alerts by email, receiving and adjustment history, and a simple reorder view for buyers.

Customer portals

Give end users a branded login to view orders, documents, or tickets—distinct from Path platform login.

Create a customer portal where clients sign in to see project status, download invoices, update contact info, and open support tickets our ops team can answer.

Operations dashboards

Live views of the work your business already runs in Path apps.

Build an operations dashboard for onboarding: stages from kickoff to live, time in each stage, delayed accounts highlighted, and filters by owner and region.

FAQ

Credits & billing

What do credits pay for?

Credits are consumed when Scout and related AI features do work in your organization—building, editing, and operating apps.

Where do I manage plans and credits?

In the platform web app: Settings → Billing (or the plan picker) for subscription changes, and Settings → Credits for balance, flex purchases, and auto-reload. Usage shows consumption analytics.

Accounts & access

Is customer-app login the same as Path login?

No. Path users sign into the platform to build. End users sign into each deployed customer app with that app's auth and branding.

Can I invite my team?

Yes. Invite Path users into your organization with roles. Seat limits come from your plan's included team members.

Publishing

Do I need to manage servers?

No. Production apps run on Path Cloud. You publish, attach domains if you want, and Path handles hosting, certs, and scaling defaults.

Can I undo a bad release?

Yes. Deployments support rolling back to a previous production version. Inside the editor, checkpoints help you restore earlier app work before you publish.

Want a deeper walkthrough? Browse guides or products.

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