Learn how to replace line-by-line coding with AI-powered conversations. This guide shows you how to effectively communicate your vision and leverage Replit’s AI tools to bring your ideas to life.

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What you’ll learn

AI Tool Mastery

Use Agent and Assistant effectively for different development tasks

Clear Communication

Learn the art of describing your vision to AI tools

Best Practices

Discover how to provide context and specifications effectively

Rapid Development

Build and deploy a working app in just 15 minutes

You’ll need a Replit account and Core subscription to access Agent.

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Start with Agent

1

Understand the library

We’ll use MarkItDown, Microsoft’s file conversion library. Since it’s new, provide Agent with context about its capabilities:

MarkItDown is a utility for converting various files to Markdown (e.g., for indexing, text analysis, etc). It supports:

PDF
PowerPoint
Word
Excel
Images (EXIF metadata and OCR)
Audio (EXIF metadata and speech transcription)
HTML
Text-based formats (CSV, JSON, XML)
ZIP files (iterates over contents)
2

Create your prompt

Craft a clear prompt explaining your vision:

I'd like to build a simple app that converts office files to markdown.
It should have a drag and drop interface and be both desktop and mobile friendly.

Hover over library URLs and select “copy content” to give Agent additional context.

3

Review the plan

Agent will create a development plan outlining:

  • Required files
  • Code structure
  • Implementation steps

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Develop iteratively

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Using Agent for major changes

Agent excels at handling structural changes and core functionality. When you encounter issues:

  1. Copy error messages directly into the chat
  2. Be descriptive about what’s not working
  3. Provide clear requirements for new features

Example prompts for adding features:

1. Support multiple files
2. I want to be able to copy the output in addition to downloading

Make the app more responsive and mobile friendly, the copy and download buttons are cut off on narrow screens

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Refining with Assistant

Switch to Assistant for detailed improvements and UI refinements. Use the @ symbol to reference specific files:

1. Remove "Powered by MarkItDown Library" and add a description to the top of the app
2. Add a footer with links to social profiles

Use web development terms like “responsive,” “mobile-friendly,” and “grid interface” to communicate effectively.

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Deploy your app

1

Start deployment

Select Publish or search for “Deployments” in the command bar.

2

Configure resources

For auto-scale deployments, configure:

  • Basic resources (1 CPU, 1GB RAM per instance)
  • Maximum machines (start with 6)
  • Environment variables
  • Run commands
3

Launch

  1. Name your app
  2. Select Deploy
  3. Wait 1-5 minutes for deployment
  4. Access your app via the provided URL

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Best practices

Use Agent for

  • Initial setup
  • Core functionality
  • Major structural changes
  • Error resolution

Use Assistant for

  • UI refinements
  • Small feature additions
  • Code optimization
  • Documentation

Success with AI tools depends more on clear communication than coding expertise. Focus on describing your vision effectively using web development terminology.

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Resources

Template

Fork the template

Demo

Try the live demo

Tutorial

Watch the video above

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