Onlook for Web

Product Introduction

1. Onlook for Web is an open-source visual code editor designed to streamline collaboration between designers, product managers, and developers by enabling the creation of production-ready web applications directly in code. It eliminates traditional design-to-development handoffs by treating code as the single source of truth throughout the design process. The tool integrates AI-assisted design capabilities with real-time code synchronization for Next.js/React applications.
2. The core value lies in its ability to prevent translation errors between design mockups and final implementations while accelerating product shipping cycles. By maintaining code integrity throughout the design phase, it ensures pixel-perfect implementation fidelity and enables simultaneous collaboration across technical and non-technical team members.

Main Features

1. The platform offers AI-powered design assistance through an infinite canvas, enabling users to generate responsive layouts, component structures, and CSS rules via natural language prompts while maintaining clean React/Tailwind code output. Design changes made visually are instantly reflected in the underlying codebase through bidirectional synchronization.
2. Developers gain direct access to a code editor panel that operates in parallel with visual design tools, allowing real-time adjustments to components, props, and state management while designers work on UI elements. This includes full support for custom React components, version control integration, and hot-reloading during previews.
3. Teams can import existing Next.js projects or Figma designs to create fully functional prototypes with working authentication flows, API integrations, and responsive breakpoints that automatically adapt to mobile and desktop viewports. The system provides asset management for images/icons and enforces brand consistency through centralized style guides.

Problems Solved

1. The product eliminates costly misinterpretations between design specifications and engineering implementations by maintaining code as the authoritative source throughout the design process. This resolves version conflicts that typically occur when using separate design tools and development environments.
2. It specifically targets cross-functional product teams working on web applications who need to maintain design consistency across rapidly iterating features. Primary users include UX designers seeking code-aware prototyping, product managers requiring realistic previews, and developers needing design systems that translate directly to production components.
3. Typical scenarios include building new features for existing React applications without redesigning from scratch, creating investor-ready prototypes with actual functionality, and conducting design reviews where stakeholders can interact with live data-bound components rather than static mockups.

Unique Advantages

1. Unlike Figma or traditional design tools that produce non-executable artifacts, Onlook generates and modifies actual React component code with TypeScript support, making prototypes 1:1 convertible to production features. This contrasts with AI builders that create locked-in proprietary codebases.
2. The patented Code Canvas technology allows visual manipulation of JSX elements while preserving code structure, including nested components and state hooks. Designers can adjust Tailwind classes through property panels that mirror developer workflows, with change histories tracked through Git-like revisions.
3. Competitive differentiation comes from combining enterprise-grade code editing (ESLint integration, TypeScript validation) with designer-friendly tools (layer panel, asset library) in a single open-source platform. The architecture enables local code storage rather than cloud locking, with optional team collaboration features through self-hosted instances.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What kinds of things can I design with Onlook? You can create production-grade websites, functional web applications, and interactive prototypes using real React components. The platform supports complex layouts with responsive breakpoints, authentication flows, and data-bound UI elements while maintaining clean code architecture.
2. Why would I use Onlook instead of Figma+Development? Onlook removes the manual translation step between design and code by working directly in your codebase. Changes made visually are immediately reflected in executable code, enabling true parallel collaboration between designers and developers without reconciliation overhead.
3. Who owns the code created with Onlook? All code remains 100% owned by users, stored locally in standard React/Next.js project structures. The platform acts as a visual editor without proprietary runtime dependencies, allowing seamless transition back to traditional IDEs at any point.
4. How does Onlook differ from other AI website builders? Unlike template-based AI tools, Onlook respects existing codebases and enables direct editing of custom components. The AI assists with code generation while maintaining full developer control over the output, including TypeScript types and ESLint rules.
5. Why is Onlook open-source? The open-source model ensures transparency in code generation processes and allows enterprises to self-host the editor with custom extensions. Developers can audit how design operations translate to code changes and contribute to the core engine's evolution.