Variants

A variant is another version of your project with its own code and its own conversation with the agent. Use it to try a bolder design, test a different layout, or prepare bigger changes while the current version stays as it is. When a variant turns out better, publish it and it replaces your current site.

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How variants work

Every project starts with one variant. When you create another one, Macaly copies the code of the variant you’re in and opens a fresh chat for it. From then on the two develop separately:

• Code and conversation are separate. Each variant has its own files, its own chat history, and its own preview. Changes in one never carry over to the other.
• Data and files are shared. All variants use the same database and work with the same uploaded files. A variant is a different version of your app, not a copy of your users.
• The published address is shared too. Publishing any variant puts it on your published address, whether that’s your Macaly subdomain or a custom domain.

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Creating a variant

Click the variant name in the top bar of your chat to open the selector, then choose Create variant. Macaly copies the variant you’re in and opens the new one with an empty chat. Type what you’d like to change and the agent gets to work. To branch off a different variant, open the selector and choose Create variant from this on the one you want to copy. Variants are named Variant 1, Variant 2, and so on. Use Rename variant to give them a name of your own, such as “Dark theme” or “New pricing page”.

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Working with the agent

You can also manage variants in the conversation. Ask the agent to try something as a variant, for example: “Create a variant with a one-page layout and move the pricing higher up the page.” The agent describes what it’s about to do and shows a button. Click it to create the variant and start the work in its own chat. The same goes for switching, renaming, and deleting: ask, and the agent offers the action as a button. Nothing changes until you click it.

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Switching between variants

Open the selector and click the variant you want to open. Macaly loads its conversation and its preview, which can take a moment if the variant hasn’t been opened for a while. The selector shows which variant is current and when it was last published. Each browser tab works in one variant at a time. If you open the same project in a second tab and switch there, the first tab tells you that another tab is working in a different variant, and your conversation stays where it was. Copy variant link in the selector gives you a link that opens the project directly in that variant. Use it, for example, to send colleagues a link to a specific version.

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Publishing a variant

Click Publish while a variant is active and it goes live at your address. Visitors see the published variant no matter which one you’re working in at the time.

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Deleting a variant

Open the selector and choose Delete variant. Macaly deletes the variant’s code and conversation and asks you to confirm. Shared app data and files are kept, since the other variants still use them. The published variant can’t be deleted. Publish another variant first, then delete the original.