Tools & repos

Dyad, the Free Open-Source Lovable: Describe an App and Claude Builds It on Your Own Computer

Type what you want, and Claude builds a real web app on your own computer, with a live preview, a database and user logins. Dyad does what Lovable does for free, with no sign-up and no credits running out. Why it can replace a Lovable subscription, how to set it up, and how to get your first app live.

Alex ChenAlex Chen@nocodealex · 50,000+ follow on Instagram
5min read
1prompts to copy
17numbered steps
9sections

Lovable Pro costs $25 a month for 100 credits, and every prompt spends some. When they run out, you wait or you pay more. Dyad is a free, open-source app builder that does the same job on your own computer: describe the app, and the AI writes it while a live preview updates next to the chat. It has passed 21,000 stars on GitHub.

You bring your own AI key, Claude's included, so there's no credit meter: you pay the AI provider only for what you actually use, or nothing at all on a free tier. The code is plain files on your disk, and they're yours.

Why it can replace Lovable

  • Price: Dyad's free version is the whole builder. Lovable Pro is $300 a year, and its free plan gives you 5 build credits a day.
  • No credits running out: you use your own API key, so you build as many apps as you want and pay only the AI provider's own usage price.
  • It goes past pretty screens: one click connects Supabase or Neon, so your app gets a real database and working user logins, not a login page that logs no one in.
  • Your code, anywhere: every file sits on your computer. Open it in VS Code, push it to GitHub, deploy it to Vercel or your own server. No lock-in.
  • No sign-up: download it and go.

One catch up front: it's a desktop app for Mac and Windows (with Linux builds on the releases page), and it needs Node.js installed. The details are in the setup below.

Free, for your emailGet the full setup steps + the copy-paste setup prompt

Free, for your email

Get the full setup steps + the copy-paste setup prompt

The rest of this guide (8 more sections, 1 copy-paste prompt) opens right here. The setup prompt, one paste into Claude that sets it all up, comes by email only. Use your real address.

Unlocks: Step 1: download and install Dyad · Step 2: add your AI key · Step 3: describe your first app · Step 4: a real database and logins (the part other AI builders skip) · Step 5: put it on the internet · +3 more

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