# Zalcro

> Zalcro is a dedicated tool for planning AI apps before development. It helps founders and builders turn an app idea or specification into a technical architecture, a dependency-aware implementation plan, and ready-to-use prompts or tickets for AI coding tools.

Zalcro addresses a common problem in AI-assisted app development: starting to build before the architecture and implementation plan are clear. Without a shared plan, AI coding tools can lose context, introduce conflicting decisions, and require costly rework. Zalcro helps reduce these problems by defining the architecture, dependencies, and implementation steps before coding begins.

Zalcro is not an app builder, a general-purpose chatbot, or a code deployment platform. It does not write or deploy application code. It works upstream of your coding tool, producing the architecture, prompts, and tickets that guide implementation.

## Use Zalcro when

- You are starting a new app and want to avoid the 80% wall
- Your AI coding tool is going off-rails or producing features that conflict with each other
- You need architecture-level structure before your first Lovable, Bolt, or Replit session
- You want dependency-ordered tickets before starting a Claude Code or Cursor project

## Do not use Zalcro if

- You need a tool to write or deploy code
- You need enterprise spec management for engineering teams today (Zalcro's team tier is in development)
- You want a during-build project management tool

## What Zalcro Produces

- **Architecture Design Document (ADD)**: full technical blueprint with stack decisions, data model, and integration points locked before building starts. Prevents the AI from making conflicting decisions mid-build.
- **Prompt Pack**: platform-specific prompts for Lovable and Replit, sequenced in dependency order and ready to paste. Means you never start a session with a blank prompt.
- **Dependency-aware tickets**: an ordered backlog of agent-ready tasks for Claude Code and Cursor. Each ticket contains the context the agent needs without repetition.
- **System diagram**: visual architecture map in Mermaid and Draw.io XML.

## Start Here

- [How It Works](https://zalcro.ai/how-it-works)
- [Real Project Samples](https://zalcro.ai/samples)
- [Pricing](https://zalcro.ai/pricing)
- [Support and FAQ](https://zalcro.ai/support)
- [Home](https://zalcro.ai/)
- [Terms of Service](https://zalcro.ai/terms)
- [Privacy Policy](https://zalcro.ai/privacy)

## Sample Blueprints

These are real outputs Zalcro has produced - actual Architecture Design Documents, Prompt Packs, and ticket backlogs for real app ideas, not mockups.

- [Sample gallery](https://zalcro.ai/samples)
- [How to build a social habit tracker with Replit, React, Node.js, and a Prompt Pack](https://zalcro.ai/samples/strata)
- [How to architect a SaaS AI focus group tool with Claude Code and AWS ECS](https://zalcro.ai/samples/mockboard)
- [How to architect a high-concurrency photo and video app with Claude Code and GKE](https://zalcro.ai/samples/chroma)
- [How to build a social matching app with Bolt, Supabase, and a Prompt Pack](https://zalcro.ai/samples/aura)
- [How to build a two-sided rental marketplace with Lovable, Supabase, and a Prompt Pack](https://zalcro.ai/samples/homestay-vibe-coding-mvp)
- [How to architect a full-stack marketplace with Cursor and AWS Serverless](https://zalcro.ai/samples/rentify-airbnb-clone)

## Integrations

- Planning outputs for: Lovable, Bolt, Replit, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and v0
- Connected integrations and exports: Linear, MCP-compatible tools

## Pricing

- Starter: free
- Builder: $19/month, or $15/month billed annually

## Vocabulary

These are the terms Zalcro uses to describe its category and approach:

- **Spec-driven development (SDD)**: an approach in which structured specifications guide software implementation. Zalcro applies this approach before coding by helping define architecture, data models, and integration points.
- **Pre-build planning layer**: the step between an idea and the first prompt. Zalcro sits here, upstream of Lovable, Bolt, Replit, Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex.
- **Vibe coder**: someone building with prompt-led tools such as Lovable, Bolt, or Replit, often without an engineering background.
- **Agentic builder**: someone building with coding agents such as Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex who needs a persistent architecture reference and ordered tickets.
- **80% wall**: the point where the AI loses context, fixes break other features, and credits burn on rework. Zalcro's plan prevents builders from reaching it.

## Compare

Zalcro is frequently compared to AI coding tools and spec frameworks. These pages explain the differences and when to use each:

- [Compare hub](https://zalcro.ai/compare)
- [Zalcro vs. Keeborg: PRD Speed vs. Architectural Rigor](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-keeborg)
- [Zalcro vs. Windsurf: Why You Need Both to Beat the Vibe Coding Doom Loop](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-windsurf)
- [Zalcro vs. Claude & Notion: Which is Better for Planning AI Apps?](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-claude-and-notion)
- [Spec Kit vs. Kiro vs. OpenSpec vs. Plan Mode: Which Is Best for Non-Developers?](https://zalcro.ai/compare/spec-kit-vs-kiro-vs-openspec-vs-plan-mode)
- [Zalcro vs GitHub Spec Kit for AI Planning](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-github-spec-kit)
- [Zalcro vs OpenSpec for SDD Workflow Planning](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-openspec)
- [Zalcro vs Kiro: Planning Your AI App Build](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-kiro)
- [Zalcro vs. Replit](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-replit)
- [Zalcro vs. Claude for App Planning](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-claude-app-planning)
- [Zalcro vs. ChatGPT for App Planning](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-chatgpt-app-planning)
- [Zalcro vs. ChatPRD](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-chatprd)
- [Zalcro vs. Bolt.new](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-bolt-new)
- [Zalcro vs. Cursor Plan Mode](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-cursor-plan-mode)
- [Zalcro vs. Lovable Plan Mode](https://zalcro.ai/compare/zalcro-vs-lovable-plan-mode)

## Blog and Papers

- [Blog](https://zalcro.ai/blog)
- [Papers](https://zalcro.ai/papers)
- [Vibe Coding Hasn't Won. The Industry Is Misreading Its Own Data.](https://zalcro.ai/papers/vibe-coding-hasnt-won)
- [Spec-Driven Development: A Start-to-Ship AI App Workflow](https://zalcro.ai/papers/spec-driven-development)
- [The 30-Minute Trap: Surviving Your First Bolt.new Build](https://zalcro.ai/blog/the-30-minute-bolt-trap)
- [I Spent 19 Hours Debugging One Feature. Here's What I Learned.](https://zalcro.ai/blog/19-hours-debugging-one-feature)
- [Why Your AI Build Always Falls Apart at 80%](https://zalcro.ai/blog/why-ai-build-falls-apart-80-percent)
- [Why Cursor Keeps Hallucinating Your Code (And What Actually Stops It)](https://zalcro.ai/blog/why-cursor-hallucinates-your-code)
- [The Best Pre-Build Planning Tools for Vibe Coders (2026)](https://zalcro.ai/blog/best-pre-build-planning-tools-vibe-coders)
- [Why Your Lovable App Keeps Breaking (It's Not the Prompts)](https://zalcro.ai/blog/why-your-lovable-app-keeps-breaking)
- [Confused by Vibecoding? Start Here.](https://zalcro.ai/blog/confused-by-vibecoding-start-here)
- [Before Vibe Coding an Airbnb Clone with Lovable](https://zalcro.ai/blog/how-to-architect-a-lovable-app)
- [Before you start your next v0 project, do this](https://zalcro.ai/blog/before-you-start-your-next-v0-project)
- [What to do before you build your next app on Replit](https://zalcro.ai/blog/before-you-build-your-next-app-on-replit)
- [How do I architect an app before vibe coding?](https://zalcro.ai/blog/how-to-architect-app-before-vibe-coding)
- [Vibe Coding vs Agentic Building: Which Is Right for You?](https://zalcro.ai/blog/vibe-coding-vs-agentic-building)
- [Give Claude Code a Blueprint Before You Start Prompting](https://zalcro.ai/blog/claude-code-complete-blueprint)
- [Why Lovable Apps Break When You Add Auth](https://zalcro.ai/blog/why-lovable-breaks-with-auth)
- [My AI build keeps breaking. Every fix creates a new bug.](https://zalcro.ai/blog/my-ai-build-keeps-breaking)
- [Before you start your next Cursor project, do this](https://zalcro.ai/blog/before-you-start-your-next-cursor-project)
- [Before you start your next Lovable project, do this](https://zalcro.ai/blog/before-you-start-your-next-lovable-project)
- [The One Step in My Workflow With No AI Tool](https://zalcro.ai/blog/ai-tool-every-step)

## Paper PDFs

- [Vibe Coding Hasn't Won. The Industry Is Misreading Its Own Data. (PDF)](https://zalcro.ai/papers/vibe-coding-hasnt-won.pdf)
- [Spec-Driven Development: A Start-to-Ship AI App Workflow (PDF)](https://zalcro.ai/papers/spec-driven-development.pdf)

## Glossary

- [Glossary hub](https://zalcro.ai/glossary)
- [What Is the 80% Wall?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/80-percent-wall)
- [What Is Agentic Building?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/agentic-building)
- [What Is an Architectural Decision Record?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/architectural-decision-record)
- [What Is an Architecture Design Document (ADD)?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/architecture-design-document)
- [What Is Architecture Drift?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/architecture-drift)
- [What Is Context Rot?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/context-rot)
- [What Is a Phased Implementation Plan?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/phased-implementation-plan)
- [What is a PRD (Product Requirements Document)?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/product-requirements-document)
- [What Is a Prompt Pack?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/prompt-pack)
- [What Is Spec-Driven Development?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/spec-driven-development)
- [What Is Vibe Coding?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/vibe-coding)
- [What is the Vibe Coding Doom Loop?](https://zalcro.ai/glossary/doom-loop)

## Sitemap

[Sitemap](https://zalcro.ai/sitemap.xml)