Why Clayde builds in the cloud, not your browser tab

The tab is the ceiling

When an AI builder runs in your browser, it borrows your laptop's memory, its CPU and its battery. A small project feels fine — then you add a database, install a dozen packages, and the fan spins up while the preview stutters. Close the tab at the wrong moment and the session, the dev server and the unsaved state are gone. The tool's ceiling turns out to be your hardware.

One project, one machine — in the cloud

Every Clayde project gets its own isolated cloud machine: its own filesystem, its own dev server, its own database. When you prompt, the agents run there, not on your device. That changes the practical limits of the tool in three ways.

• A phone or an old Chromebook builds as fast as a workstation
• Refresh, sleep or switch devices — the machine keeps running and picks up where you left off
• Projects can grow into thousands of files without the editor bogging down

It also makes teams work

Because the project lives on a server, sharing is a link instead of a zip file. A teammate opens the same running project, sees the same preview, and hands back a versioned change. Browser-bound tools have to sync; cloud projects just are.

What it costs us

Cloud machines are why Clayde charges for build time instead of being free like a tab. We think that's the honest trade: you pay for real compute, and in exchange the tool doesn't quietly stop working when your project gets interesting.