OpenAI ChatGPT App starter DevXP feels like 2010, I built a better one

In plain words

This is a TypeScript starter kit for building interactive widgets in ChatGPT using OpenAI's Apps SDK and MCP protocol. It streamlines the development process by replacing slow build pipelines with hot module reload, allowing developers to see changes instantly in ChatGPT without rebuilds. The starter includes Vite for fast development, an Express server for MCP, and deployment-ready production builds. It targets developers creating ChatGPT apps who want a faster feedback loop than OpenAI's official template.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

A minimalist Typescript ChatGPT App based on the Skybridge framework - alpic-ai/apps-sdk-template

A minimal TypeScript template for building ChatGPT and MCP Apps with widget rendering. This template has been generated and is powered by Skybridge . git clone [email protected]:alpic-ai/apps-sdk-template.git cd apps-sdk-template npm install 2. Start your local server Run the development server from the root directory: ngrok http 3000 In ChatGPT, navigate to Settings → Connectors → Create and add the forwarding URL provided by ngrok suffixed with /mcp (e.g. https://3785c5ddc4b6.ngrok-free.app/mcp ) Create your first widget 1. Add a new widget Register a widget in server/server.ts with a unique name (e.g., my-widget ) Create a matching React component at web/src/widgets/my-widget.tsx . The file…from github.com

In the maker’s words, at launch

Hi HN! Two weeks ago at their Dev Days, OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT apps, interactive widgets that render inside ChatGPT using the Apps SDK and MCP. Building them using their template repository was surprisingly painful: every time you make a change on your React widget, you need to rerun the entire build pipeline to get…

• 
  ChatGPT canvas2024 · openai.com · ▲498

  OpenAI's new way to write & code with ChatGPT

• 
  Chat Interface for OpenAI Assistants2024 · openwidget.com · ▲119

  ChatGPT-like customer interactions in a website widget

• 
  I made a self-hosted ChatGPT UI2023 · github.com · ▲141

  An open-source ChatGPT app with a voice. Contribute to cogentapps/chat-with-gpt development by creating an account on GitHub.

• 
  ChatGPT Plugin Builder2023 · customgpt.ai · ▲143

  Build ChatGPT plugin w/ your own websites and docs—in mins

• 
  ChatKit2023 · chatkit.app · ▲77

  Give your ChatGPT API super power

• 
  Horizon AI Template2023 · horizon-ui.com · ▲126

  The world's first ChatGPT AI React admin template

• 
  /dev/null▲490

  a social network for devs

  Dev tools · 4d ago · dev-null.sh

• 
  Whiteboard (YC W26) – an open-source IDE for thoughtful software design▲423

  open-source IDE for thoughtful software design. Contribute to devdotfast/whiteboard development by creating an account on GitHub.

  Dev tools · 28d ago · github.com

• 
  Reladraw – A diagram language where you decide where to place things▲411

  Contribute to reladraw/reladraw development by creating an account on GitHub.

  Dev tools · 26d ago · github.com

• 
  OpenBot▲362

  Grok Bot alternative: free, local, open-source, multiplayer

  Dev tools · 24d ago · openbot.run

• 
  Run full iOS 16.5 firmware on Android Devices▲349

  Contribute to oosexgang/hackios-xnu-kernel development by creating an account on GitHub.

  Dev tools · 13h ago · github.com

• 
  Talanoa▲346

  Hi HN, I’m a fullstack developer, and honestly, I’ve lost count of how many side projects I’ve worked on over the years. But one idea kept coming back to me: a different kind of email client. It first came to me in 2014: “What if we could handle emails more like conversations?” Every year, I’d revisit this concept in my “Build Notes.” Ten years later, no one had built exactly what I had in mind — so I finally decided to do it myself. That’s how Talanoa was born. I wanted something focused on people, not timelines. I was tired of marking messages as unread just to remember to reply later, or…

  Dev tools · 21d ago · talanoa.email

• 
  Cursor 2.0▲957

  Our first coding model and new interface for agents

  AI · Oct 2025 · cursor.com

• 
  Flask▲806

  Notion + Loom, for video collaboration.

  AI · 2025 · flask.do

• 
  Strange Attractors▲804

  I went down the rabbit hole on a side project and ended up building this: Strange Attractors(https://blog.shashanktomar.com/posts/strange-attractors). It’s built with three.js. Working on it reminded me of the little "maths for fun" exercises I used to do while learning programming in early days. Just trying things out, getting fascinated and geeky, and being surprised by the results. I spent way too much time on this, but it was extreme fun. My favorite part: someone pointed me to the Simone Attractor on Threads. It is a 2D attractor and I asked GPT to extrapolate it to…

  AI · Oct 2025 · blog.shashanktomar.com

• 
  Orchestra▲793

  A chat-centric workspace for builders and modern teams

  Work · 2025 · orch.so

• 
  Autism Simulator▲779

  Hey all, I built this. It’s not trying to capture every autistic experience (that’d be impossible). It’s based on my own lived experience as well as that of friends on the spectrum. I'm trying to give people a feel for what masking, decision fatigue, and burnout can look like day-to-day. That’s hard to explain in words, but easier to show through choices and stats. I'm not trying to "define autism". I’ve gotten good feedback here about resilience, meds, and difficulty tuning. I’ll keep tweaking it. If even a few people walk away thinking, "ah, maybe that’s why my coworker struggles in those…

  Life & fun · 2025 · autism-simulator.vercel.app

• 
  Director▲768

  Lovable for web automation

  AI · 2025 · director.ai