Quick Start: Create Your First App
What you’ll do
You’ll create a simple, personal App by telling Forge what you want. Then you’ll quickly review what Spanner made and start using it for real life.
Step-by-step: your first App
Open Spanner. From the home screen (or your App Library), open Forge—this is the place where you describe what you want and Spanner builds it.
If this is your first time, you may land in Forge automatically.
In Forge, type a short description of the problem you want solved and what you want to keep track of.
A simple format that works well:
- Goal: What the App is for.
- What I’ll enter: The info you want to type each time.
- What I want to see: The list, summary, or result you want Spanner to show you.
Example prompts you can copy:
- Grocery helper: “Make an App for my grocery list. I want to add items with quantity and store section (produce, dairy, pantry). Show the list grouped by section.”
- Habit tracker: “Make an App to track my daily walk. Each entry should include date, minutes, and how I felt (good/okay/tired). Show a weekly summary.”
- Home maintenance: “Make an App to track home maintenance. Each entry needs the task, date done, cost, and notes. Remind me what’s due soon.”
Send your message in Forge. Spanner will create an App based on what you asked for.
When it’s ready, you’ll typically see a preview of the App and what it can do.
Do a quick “looks right” check before you start using it:
- Name: Does the App name match what you intended?
- What you can enter: Are the questions/fields the ones you need (for example: quantity, date, category)?
- What you see: Does it show the list or summary in a helpful way (grouped, sorted, totals, etc.)?
- Buttons/actions: Is there a clear way to add a new entry and view past entries?
Add 1–3 real entries—the kind you’ll actually use day-to-day. This helps you confirm the App fits your routine.
As you test, notice whether anything feels missing or annoying (for example: “I need a notes box,” “I want categories,” or “I want the newest items at the top”).
Once it feels usable, you can start relying on it. Your App will be available from your App Library whenever you want to run it again.
If it’s not quite right (quick fixes)
If your App is close but not perfect, you can tell Forge what to change in one sentence.
In Forge, say what to remove or make optional.
- “Make notes optional.”
- “Remove the priority field.”
- “Only ask for date and minutes—nothing else.”
Ask for the layout you want.
- “Group items by category.”
- “Sort newest to oldest.”
- “Show totals for each week.”
Tell Forge what you meant using a concrete example.
- “When I say ‘section’, I mean grocery store aisle like produce/dairy/pantry.”
- “I want to track minutes, not steps.”
- “I need one entry per day, not multiple entries.”
A simple first App idea (if you’re stuck)
If you don’t know what to build first, try something you repeat often—like shopping, tracking a habit, or keeping a short log.
- “Make an App to track my takeout spending. Each entry: date, restaurant, total cost, and a note. Show total spent this week and this month.”