{"slug": "where-to-host-a-vibe-coded-app-so-it-stays-private", "title": "Where to host a vibe-coded app so it stays private", "summary": "Croft, an opinionated hosting platform for AI-built internal apps, positions itself as the answer for teams that need private deployment rather than public URLs, offering a private server, company login in front of every app, and per-person access grants. The company argues public hosts such as Vercel, Replit, and Lovable-style deploy platforms leave authentication, backups, and SSL renewals to the builder, while a raw VPS still requires the owner to wire up SSO, invite lists, and per-app grants. Croft supports deploying updates from Cursor, Claude, or ChatGPT over MCP, includes a database and backups, and provides one-click rollback for bad AI changes.", "body_md": "[Blog](https://oncroft.net/blog/) · September 10, 2026 · Rich Chetwynd\n\n# Where to host a vibe-coded app so it stays private\n\nYou built an internal app with Cursor or Claude. Public hosts put a URL on the internet. Here is what private hosting actually means, and when Croft fits.\n\n## Quick answer\n\nIf the app is for your team, not the public internet, do not put it on a public\ndeploy host and hope a password field is enough. You want a **private server**,\n**company login in front of every app**, and **access you grant by person**.\nThat is what Croft is for.\n\n## What people mean by “host a vibe-coded app”\n\nVibe coding is building software by chatting with an AI assistant. Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok can all produce a working app in an afternoon. The hard part is the next step: where does it live?\n\nMost guides answer that with a public platform or a DIY VPS:\n\n- **Public hosts** (Vercel, Replit, Lovable-style deploy) give you a live URL\nanyone can open unless you build and maintain login yourself.\n- **A raw VPS** (nginx, Docker, Let’s Encrypt) keeps the box yours, but you own\nauth, backups, SSL renewals, and every next app.\n\nNeither matches the job most small businesses have: a roster, a stocktake, or a\nquotes tool for *their people*.\n\n## Private hosting vs a public URL\n\n| Need | Public host | DIY VPS | Croft | \n|---|---|---|---|\n| Live URL for your team | Yes, if you add auth | Yes, if you wire auth | Yes, login is the platform | \n| Company login / SSO | You build it | You build it | Built in | \n| Who can open which app | You build it | You build it | You grant per app | \n| Database and backups | Extra services | You run them | Included | \n| AI can deploy updates | Sometimes | Manual or DIY | Cursor / Claude over MCP | \n\n## When a public host is the wrong answer\n\nUse a public host when the product is meant for customers on the open internet.\nDo **not** use one when:\n\n- The data is staff schedules, margins, customer notes, or inventory\n- Users should sign in as themselves, not share one password\n- Someone leaving the company must lose access the same day\n- You do not want every new AI-built app to reinvent login\n\nThose are internal apps. They need a gate in front of the code, not a login page the model might forget.\n\n## What private hosting for vibe coding should include\n\n1. **Login before the app runs.** The app should not contain a fragile auth\npage. The host checks identity first.\n2. **One place to invite people.** Add staff once; they reach every app you\nallow.\n3. **A real database on your server.** The roster lives in the app, not in a\nchat transcript.\n4. **Deploy from the assistant you already use.** Point Cursor or Claude at the\nhost over MCP and keep iterating.\n5. **Rollback.** A bad AI change should be one click to undo.\n\n## How Croft does that\n\nCroft is opinionated hosting for vibe-coded internal apps. You get a private\nserver with your name on it. Every app sits behind company login. Connectors\nhold API keys so secrets stay out of the code. Point [Cursor](https://oncroft.net/connect/cursor/),\n[Claude](https://oncroft.net/connect/claude/), or [ChatGPT](https://oncroft.net/connect/chatgpt/) at your croft, or\nuse [Croft Build](https://oncroft.net/build/) if you do not want to connect an assistant yet.\n\nIf you already built something in Cursor, start here:\n[Host a Cursor app behind company login](https://oncroft.net/host-cursor-app/).\n\n## FAQ\n\n### Can I just put a password on a Vercel app?\n\nYou can, but you are still responsible for building and maintaining that auth, and a public host is designed for public traffic. For team tools, platform-level login is safer than hoping each AI-built app gets auth right.\n\n### Is a VPS private enough?\n\nA VPS can be private, but privacy is not the same as access control. Without SSO, invite lists, and per-app grants, you still have a box anyone with the URL or a leaked key can reach. Croft is for people who do not want that project.\n\n### Who is this for?\n\nThe person who knows the work - roster, stocktake, quotes - and can now build the app with AI. Not an IT buyer assembling an internal developer platform, and not a founder shipping a public SaaS.\n\n### How much does Croft cost?\n\nSolo from $24/month on annual billing, Team $99/month on annual. 7-day free trial, no card to start.\n\n## Stake out your croft.\n\nYour team's first app could be live before lunch.\n\n[Get your croft](https://app.oncroft.net/signup)\n\n7 days free, no card to start. From $24/month - cancel anytime and take everything with you.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/where-to-host-a-vibe-coded-app-so-it-stays-private", "canonical_source": "https://oncroft.net/blog/where-to-host-a-vibe-coded-app-privately/", "published_at": "2026-09-09 12:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-24 04:29:01.756602+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools", "ai-products", "agent-protocols", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["Croft", "Cursor", "Claude", "ChatGPT", "Grok", "Vercel", "Replit", "Rich Chetwynd"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/where-to-host-a-vibe-coded-app-so-it-stays-private", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/where-to-host-a-vibe-coded-app-so-it-stays-private.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/where-to-host-a-vibe-coded-app-so-it-stays-private.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/where-to-host-a-vibe-coded-app-so-it-stays-private.jsonld"}}