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Another AI App Builder. Why?

by Anton IokovFibery

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Rough Day

gist

Anton Iokov says Fibery's AI custom-app builder is not another Lovable clone: generic boards and tables cannot cover the long tail of specialized UIs, while databases, formulas, and permissions stay the same across wildly different workspaces. The company designed those UI extension points in 2017, but almost nobody coded against them until LLMs made throwaway screens cheap. Building on Fibery rather than a greenfield vibe-coded app keeps integrity, access, and history in a boring core, so a patient tinkerer can iterate on UX without losing data. Fibery will now concentrate on stronger foundations and better extension points.

ideas

  • Backend blocks generalize; UIs do not. Databases, formulas, and permissions serve a Bible-translation nonprofit and a cannabis farm; specialized screens were the long tail Fibery kept refusing.
  • Extension points waited on cheaper UI. Fibery designed Apps as custom interfaces in 2017, but only the team used them until LLMs made throwaway screens justifiable.
  • Keep the unforgiving core off the model. Integrity, access, and version history stay in Fibery so vibe-coded UIs can fail visibly while data and permissions remain recoverable.
  • Patient tinkerers, not developers. The intended builder has a clear goal and can chat an app into existence via MCP or Fibery's own AI credits.
  • Foundations over the 89th app builder. After shipping custom apps, Fibery says it will focus on stronger foundations and better extension points rather than more generic views.

quotes

“In order to provide a quality product, we have to focus on a small set of well-thought and widely reused building blocks.”

Anton Iokov, explaining why Fibery keeps refusing specialized features.

“Now creating interfaces is so ridiculously easy and cheap, you can even justify building throw-away screens you’ll only use once”

Anton Iokov, on why LLM-cheap UI revives the 2017 extension points.

“Whenever you build on top of Fibery, you don’t have to worry about data integrity, access management, or version history”

Anton Iokov, summarizing why to build on Fibery rather than Lovable.

“This is very powerful, I love this freedom! We can do things that the Fibery team never foresaw, our creativity is the limit!”

Jasper, describing what custom apps unlocked after years on Fibery.