# Browser and Cloud projects

> The two kinds of Playcode project - a static site that runs in your browser and a Cloud app with its own computers - how to tell them apart and how to switch.
> Source: https://playcode.io/docs/build/browser-and-cloud-projects - last reviewed 2026-10-09.
> Ask Playcode's agent: "Turn this project into a full-stack app with a database." It converts the static site into a Cloud app after you agree; the change is one-way and needs a Pro or Max plan.

A browser project is a static site: its preview runs in your browser tab, and it publishes pages on `playcode.site`. A Cloud project is a Cloud app: it runs on its own computers that Playcode operates, with a backend, a database and stored files, and it publishes on `playcode.run`. These docs say static site and Cloud app; the agent calls a Cloud app a full-stack app.

## Side by side

| | Static site | Cloud app |
|---|---|---|
| Marked on the project card on **Home** | **Static** | **Cloud** |
| Where it runs while you build | In your browser tab | On a development computer |
| What it can have | Pages, styles and code that run in the visitor's browser | All of that, plus a backend, a database, stored files and background work |
| Published at | An address on `playcode.site` | An address on `playcode.run` |
| Terminal | No | Yes: see [Use the terminal](/docs/build/terminal) |
| The agent checks its work in a browser | No: it cannot see the preview | Yes |
| **Undo from here** | Yes | No: restore a checkpoint instead |
| A checkpoint holds | The project's files | One computer: code, installed packages, database and files |
| Plans | Every plan | Pro or Max: 3 Cloud apps per workspace on Pro, 10 on Max |

## When you need a Cloud app

A static site cannot keep data on a server. Choose a Cloud app when the project needs sign-in, data that stays when visitors come back or switch devices, uploads, payments, email from the app, or work that runs on a schedule. The agent suggests the switch when a request needs it.

On Pro or Max, the agent turns a new project into a Cloud app at the start of its first build, unless you ask for something static or the workspace has no Cloud app left. It says so in the chat.

## How to tell which one you have

- The project card on **Home** says **Static** or **Cloud**.
- A published static site ends in `.playcode.site`; a Cloud app ends in `.playcode.run`.
- The project menu of a Cloud app has **Terminal**; a static site's has **Console** instead.

## Turn a static site into a Cloud app

Open the project menu (☰ and the project name), choose **Project**, then **Add backend (Cloud)**. The app asks "Turn into a full-stack app": "This will set up a permanent computer, copy your project files into it, and switch this project to full-stack mode. The page will reload when finished." Choose **Continue**. Or ask the agent: it converts the project after you agree.

It stays the same project, with the same chats and files. Three things to know first:

- There is no way back: a Cloud app cannot become a static site again.
- Domains connected to the static site are released, not moved: "You can attach them again after publishing the full-stack app."
- It needs a Pro or Max plan and a free Cloud app place in the workspace. At the limit, the app says how many Cloud projects you have and offers a larger plan. Archived Cloud apps do not count.

Only the project's creator, or an Admin of the project or its workspace, can convert a project. Code playgrounds for languages other than the web, like Python, cannot become Cloud apps: "it runs entirely in your browser and has no web page to host."

## Read next

- How a Cloud app runs, publishes and costs credits: [Run a Cloud app](/docs/publish/cloud-apps).
- The free code playgrounds: [Playcode Classic](/docs/classic).