For the person who knows the business

Your own
software factory.

Tell it what your business needs. It builds the software, checks it, runs it on your own computer and keeps it up to date. You decide. You don’t write code.

You decide
CodeHero The whole job
  1. Asks
  2. Builds
  3. Checks
  4. Runs
  5. Maintains
The knowledge stays here.Decisions. Rules. Changes. Reasons.
Your computer
Your code. Your data. Your history.
How it works · illustration
Look inside the box

The person stays outside the factory: you decide the business rules, without writing code or supervising each step.

  1. Ask. CodeHero asks about the rules only you can decide: who approves, what happens at a limit, what must be kept.
  2. Plan. Your answers become a written plan. You see it and say yes before anything is built; a missing business decision comes back to you first.
  3. Build. The factory writes the software from the agreed plan — larger work in phases, each compared with what you agreed before the next one starts. You do not write code or direct each step.
  4. Check. A separate AI checks the work against the rules and records what passed and what failed.
  5. Repair. Findings go back for repair and another check. Repeated failure stops for a decision, rather than looping forever.
  6. Deliver. You receive the working result, its checks and a clear record of anything still open.
  7. Host. The application runs in its project environment, with a domain, secure connection and recovery tools configured for it.
  8. Maintain. Later changes and fixes return to the same factory. The next person or model can read the decisions and work already recorded.

The platform keeps the written decisions, rules, changes and their reasons with the project. A change of person, AI provider or model does not require starting the record again.

The box is your installation, on your own computer. Connected AI models receive the selected work context. Local models can be configured.

Other tools help the person writing code. CodeHero does the whole job for the person who knows the business.

Self-hosted, from the start

Your factory.
Your ground.

CodeHero runs on your own computer — an ordinary laptop or desktop is enough; you do not need a server. The code, data, history and knowledge stay with you. You can also discuss a hosted installation, with a path back to your own computer.

What it needs. It runs on almost any computer. The minimum is 1 CPU core, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB free disk and an ordinary internet connection; with 8 GB RAM it runs comfortably. It runs on Ubuntu 24.04 — directly on Linux, or in a virtual machine on Windows or a Mac. Installation guides

One thing to know: the AI services you connect see the parts of the work they need to do it. If you prefer, AI models can also run on your own hardware.

See hosting and maintenance

The difference

You don’t ask the AI.
The AI asks you.

With ordinary AI tools you write what you want, and the AI fills the gaps by itself. CodeHero does the opposite: before it builds anything, it asks you what only you know — who approves, what happens at a limit, what must never be lost — and builds with your answers.

Try how it asks you

The first step: it asks you

Try how it asks you.

You know how the work should happen. CodeHero asks for the rules that turn it into software.

CodeHero · Spec BuilderTry the first step

Which work do you recognise?

Pick one. Answer three questions. See the draft.

Scripted example. No live AI. Answers stay in this page and clear when you reload.

A real example

A small company asked for an app. Here is what happened.

“Staff request equipment through the app. Up to €500 it is approved automatically. Above €500 a manager approves it — but never their own request.”

  1. Build

    One AI built the app and tried it out.

  2. Check

    A different AI, from another company, checked it. The rules worked. It found 2 small display problems on phones.

  3. Repair

    The 2 problems were repaired.

  4. Check again

    Everything was checked again from the start. All correct.

No one wrote code. The person only gave the rules.

The result: the app it built

Each row is one request. Look at the “Status” column: amounts up to €500 were approved automatically; a manager decided the larger ones, and one is still waiting. When a manager tried to approve her own request, the app refused.

Built application · Equipment Requests↗
RequestAmountAsked byStatusDecision
Conference speakerphoneMeeting room B€799.00KostasRejectedRoom B already has one; use the spareby Nikos
Label printerWarehouse shipments€612.50KostasWaiting for a manager—
Laptop for the new accountantStarts on Monday€1,240.00MariaApprovedOrder through the usual supplierby Nikos
27-inch monitorSecond screen for invoicing€500.00MariaApproved automaticallyAutomatic — at or below the limit
Ergonomic chairBack pain at the reception desk€289.00MariaApproved automaticallyAutomatic — at or below the limit
See every step in detail, as it was recorded
  1. Build

    Junior model · GPT Codex

    Done

    Built the application and tried every rule in the browser.

    • Requests up to the approval limit are approved automatically; above it they wait for a manager
    • A manager cannot approve a request they submitted
    • Completed requests cannot be deleted

    114 actions

  2. Independent check

    Senior model · from a different AI company (Claude)

    2 problems found

    Every business rule passed. Two layout problems on phones.

    • All five agreed checks: passed
    • Long text was cut off in the phone view
    • Two controls in the top bar had different heights

    Opened a repair · changed no product code

  3. Repair

    Junior model · GPT Codex

    Fixed

    Fixed both layout problems and told the checker.

    • Long text now wraps on phones — no sideways scrolling
    • The top-bar controls now have the same height

    58 actions

  4. Recheck

    The same independent checker

    Passed

    Checked the repair and everything again.

    • Verdict: pass — it took 2 rounds
    • The agreed checks and extra tricky cases: all passed
    • Its own test entries removed afterwards

    103 actions in all

The whole run, step by step

After delivery

Built here.
Runs here. Grows here.

CodeHero also hosts what it builds. Your application gets its own place to run. Later changes and fixes come back to the same factory.

Hosting and maintenance
CodeHero
Your application
  • Its own address
  • A secure connection
  • Backups and restore
  • Changes and fixes later
The same project. The same knowledge.

The knowledge stays in the box

People change.
The knowledge stays.

What you decided. What changed. Why. CodeHero keeps that record with your project, on your computer.

A new person, a new AI company or a new AI model can pick up from there. Your software’s story stays with you, beyond one developer’s memory.

See what stays with you

Inside the box · illustrative record

Decision
Notify the customer when a repair is one day late.
Reason
They should not have to call to find out.
Later change
Ask the workshop manager to review the message first.
Next person
Reads the rule, the change and why it was made.

Two things it does for you — automatically

It manages its own memory. Your secrets never reach the AI.

Long projects fail in two quiet ways: the AI drowns in its own history, or a password slips into a prompt. CodeHero handles both inside the factory, for every agent it runs.

Memory that manages itself

Like a person at a desk: when the agent has finished with a long report, it keeps a short note of what matters and puts the report away in a drawer. It works much longer without losing the thread — and nothing is lost: the report can be opened again.

  • Pictures it has already looked at are put away automatically (when CodeHero talks to the AI directly)
  • Works with every AI the factory uses — with most at once, with some from the next time they start

Secrets the AI never sees

Passwords and keys you store as secrets are used by your application, but their values are never sent to the AI service: a command that would carry one is refused, and any output that contains one is replaced first.

  • Kept out of the project’s git and ZIP backups by default
  • It protects the passwords and keys you store as secrets (eight characters or longer). It cannot see a password typed into a message or shown in a screenshot — so store every password as a secret

How these work underneath

The release record

Evidence, before
the next release.

We build CodeHero itself with the same process: every release is reviewed independently, a real finding holds it, and installation and upgrade checks follow on x86 and ARM.

91
release suitesAll passing · 5.0.2
173
upgrade checksOn each of x86 + ARM
140
clean-install checksOn each of x86 + ARM
50
independent review rounds4.66.2 → 5.0.2 cycle
62
database upgradesEach safe to run twice

Before a release ships

Before a release shipsIndependent review precedes the release; real findings block it. After repairs, upgrade and clean-install checks run on x86 and ARM.IndependentreviewFix + recheckUpgradex86 + ARMClean installx86 + ARMBefore a release shipsIndependent review precedes the release; real findings block it. After repairs, upgrade and clean-install checks run on x86 and ARM.IndependentreviewFix + recheckUpgradex86 + ARMClean installx86 + ARM
A finding blocks the release until it is fixed.
  1. Independent review precedes the release; real findings block it.
  2. After repairs, upgrade and clean-install checks run on x86 and ARM.

Engineering record collected 15 October 2026. Upgrade and clean-install counts refer to 5.0.0 → 5.0.1; they are separate from the equipment-request run.

For engineers and developers

See how the factory works.

Architecture, independent checks, repair limits, hosting and retained knowledge. The high-level analysis and the implementation detail live here.

Open the developer page

Start with your own work

Bring one real example.

Use the free Spec Builder file in your AI chat. Bring the draft to a discussion about your own factory.

Meet CodeHeroThe character behind

The original 24-hour story imagines work continuing while you step away. It is an illustration, not a delivery-time or savings promise.

Watch the original story
Paused · six scenes, four seconds each
CodeHero, the violet robot with cyan eyes

You decide. Work continues.

Morning: work together. Through breaks, lunch, exercise and family time: build, fix, test, deploy and document. At night: review the completed work.

Read all six scenes
  1. 9:00 AM · Working together · You · Building features.
  2. 11:00 AM · While you take a break · Coffee break · Fixing bugs.
  3. 1:00 PM · While you eat · Lunch time · Running tests.
  4. 4:00 PM · While you exercise · Going for a run · Deploying.
  5. 7:00 PM · While you are with family · Family time · Writing docs.
  6. 11:00 PM · While you sleep · Sweet dreams · All done. The original closing captions are “Save Time”, “Save Money”, “Better Life”; these express the story’s aspirations, not measured outcomes.

Built by Smartnav

We built it for ourselves first.

CodeHero PRO started as an internal tool: we built it to develop and run our own company’s software, then used it to build itself. The platform we offer is the one we use every day.

Questions people ask

All the articles
Am I tied to one AI company?

No. CodeHero works with many AI companies at once and with models on your own hardware. You can change company or model at any time — the project, its rules and its history stay. Read the article

Do my passwords and keys reach the AI company?

No. Passwords and keys you store as secrets are used by your application, but their values are never sent to the AI service. Read the article

Why do several AIs work on the same job?

Because one AI does not catch its own blind spots. In CodeHero one model builds and a model from a different company checks; problems go back for repair and are checked again. Read the article

How does CodeHero compare with other AI coding tools?

It is a different kind of thing. Coding tools help a person who writes code. CodeHero does the whole job — asks, plans, builds, checks, hosts and maintains — for the person who knows the business. Read the article

If CodeHero writes the code, what is my role?

You become the advisor: you decide the business rules, approve the plan and accept the result. CodeHero is the developer that asks, builds, checks and maintains. Read the article

How does the AI keep its memory on long jobs?

With memory folding: when the AI has finished with a long result it keeps a short note of what matters and puts the rest away — it can open it again at any time. So it works much longer without losing the thread. Read the article

How does the AI avoid forgetting or getting confused on a big project?

The factory gives it structure: smart tickets with one clear job each, a change ledger of every decision, a map of the code and search by meaning. The AI reads what it needs instead of guessing — which also saves a lot of cost. Read the article

Why do you call it a factory and not a tool?

Because it runs the whole production line on its own — planning, building, independent checking, repair, delivery and maintenance — with stations, rules and records, like a factory. A tool waits for a person to use it. Read the article

How can this change the world of applications?

When the person who knows the work can get software made, checked, hosted and maintained without a development team, software can be made for every business and every need — not only for those that can afford a team. Read the article

What does CodeHero mean for developers?

Less repetitive work and fewer late nights. The factory takes the routine building, checking and fixing; developers decide the architecture, review what matters and handle the hard problems. Read the article

Why does CodeHero host the applications too?

Because building and running belong together. The application runs where it was built, with its domain, secure connection, backups and recovery — and every later change returns to the same factory. No separate hosting panel to learn. Read the article

What technology do the applications use?

Always open, widely used technologies — PHP and MySQL first, and others such as Node, Python or .NET when the job needs them. Your application is never locked into a proprietary platform. Read the article

Why use AI subscriptions instead of paying per use?

Because in our own measurements, for heavy daily work, a subscription has cost up to about 40 times less than paying per use for the same work. CodeHero runs the subscription AI tools (Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build) as workers in the factory. Read the article

What happens to the knowledge about my project?

It is built up and kept inside your installation: decisions, rules, changes and their reasons, next to the code. A new person or a new AI continues from there — the knowledge does not leave with them. Read the article

Can small local AI models do real work?

Inside the factory, yes — more than on their own. Small, clear tickets, a checklist for finishing, tool help and a stronger model that checks the result let small models on your own hardware do much of the building. Read the article