Builder overview

What the Builder is, the areas it contains, which parts run in the browser and which need the desktop app, and what stays dormant without wiring.

The Builder is where client websites are built, changed and deployed. It holds the project roster, a browser workspace with a file tree, editor, terminal and live preview, a library of reusable prompts, an activity feed, scheduled automations, and the SEO Command Center.

Two things are worth knowing before you go any further. Much of the heavy lifting — blog drafts, local fix agents, Builder Automations — runs in the Zyan desktop app on your own machine with the project folder bound, not in the cloud. And the terminal, live preview and live git surfaces fail closed: without the terminal service configured for your deployment, they render an honest dormant state rather than a button that does nothing.

Before you start

You need a plan that includes Builder and the builder permission. Without the plan feature the Builder shows an Included from Studio notice with a Manage plan link for owners, rather than bouncing you out.

The areas

Area	What it is for
Dashboard	An overview, recent activity, and the client requests that need Builder work
All Projects	The project roster, with status and deploy filters, search, and bulk actions
SEO Command Center	Research, strategy, autoblog, technical fixes and client reports for each website
Prompt Library	Reusable prompts in folders, ready to copy into a workspace or an automation
Activity	A live feed of Builder work across projects, plus team workload
Automations	Scheduled prompts that run against a project on your desktop app
Settings	Terminal preferences, AI assistant, GitHub, billing and usage, team access

What runs where

Work	Runs on
Editing files in the workspace	Your browser
Terminal sessions, live preview, live git	The Builder terminal service, when it is configured
Blog drafts and local fix agents	The Zyan desktop app, in the bound project folder
Builder Automations	The Zyan desktop app — never the cloud
Publishing commits and pull requests	The platform, through the GitHub App

Terminal, preview and git fail closed by design

If the Builder terminal service is not configured for your deployment, every terminal-dependent panel is deliberately dormant. That is not a fault you can fix from settings — ask your platform operator whether the service is deployed. Until then, use the storage-mode editor and GitHub-side workflows.

The Costs view is platform-operator only

Automations → Costs, and the /builder/costs link that redirects to it, are for platform operators. Anyone else who opens that link is sent to the Activity view instead. It is not a spend report for your agency.

A typical path through it

Create the project

Open BuilderAll Projects and click New project, with the website URL and a brief.

Connect the repository

Pick a GitHub repository from the installation, or connect GitHub first. See GitHub and Vercel.

Work in the workspace

Files, editor, terminal, preview, tasks and client requests in one place. See Projects and the workspace.

Set the website up for SEO

The SEO Command Center takes over from here. See Set up a website for SEO.

Automate the repeating work

Scheduled prompts on your desktop app. See Builder Automations.

Permissions

Builder access is one permission. What you may do inside it is nine more, listed read-only under BuilderSettingsTeam & Access: Terminal, Git push, Create branches, Pull requests, Deploy, Manage env, Manage backups, Components, and Local SEO runs.

Two are easy to misread. Components missing shows the panel as Components (no access) rather than hiding it. Local SEO runs is the permission that lets a machine execute tenant blog drafts when one is assigned to it.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
The Builder shows an Included from Studio notice	Your plan does not include the Builder feature	An owner can change the plan from the link on that notice
Terminal, preview or git buttons are inert	The terminal service is not configured for this deployment	Ask your platform operator; use the editor and GitHub-side workflows meanwhile
The Costs link lands on Activity	That view is platform-operator only	Expected behaviour, not an error
Components (no access)	You do not hold the components permission	Ask an owner to grant it
An automation never fires	Local schedules only run in the desktop app	Open and sign into the app with the project folder bound