Why we built an AI factory with a real smoke pass bar (and why desktop is roadmap)

> Update 2026-05-18: This post originally pitched installable binaries (.exe / .dmg / .apk) as the primary product. That decision (ADR 0001) was never shipped end-to-end. ADR 0008 documents the pivot to a web-first pipeline; this post is the rewrite that goes with that pivot. The original framing is preserved at /factory/adrs#0001 for the record.

The actual ceiling

Lovable, v0, Bolt, Replit Agent — all impressive. All ship web apps. None of them gate their pass verdict on a real POST + GET round-trip against the running server.

The ceiling of the current AI-app-builder market isn't "the result is a deployable web URL" — most produce a runnable web app one way or another. The ceiling is proof that the runnable app is actually functional at the moment it's marked done. We wanted to push that bar specifically.

What we built differently

The OOretz Factory has a real Linux bridge node where npm install and next build actually run. When you submit a prompt:

1. We parse intent into a manifest (entities + workflows + surfaces) 2. We resolve which build infrastructure the job needs 3. We dispatch to the Linux bridge (the verified pipeline) 4. We watch the build → diagnose errors → repair → rebuild (up to 6 build attempts, 15 total repair cycles) 5. We launch the server, then curl POST then curl GET on the running app — the response body has to contain a real "id": N 6. You download the workspace .tar.gz with a 200+ line README

That round-trip in step 5 — the functional smoke — is what gates a job to "pass" on /factory/proof. If smoke fails, we say so on the public page with the diagnostic line.

The skeptical reading

"You're claiming a real smoke pass bar and your own showcase is mostly empty." Correct. We're early. The first verified end-to-end run on prod is job 222cdd42 (book club tracker, 21 files, smoke PASSED) — visible on /factory/proof. The Recipe Manager Web case study is the structured build report version.

Desktop and mobile pipelines are explicitly roadmap today. The Windows bridge node is provisioned (EC2 i-013da1cbb85fd6168) but stopped — no agent installed, no verified .exe has ever shipped. We'd rather say that out loud than fake a credential.

What's next

• •More verified web runs on /factory/proof (build the green column past 1)
• •Live preview iframe for the launched server (Lovable-style)
• •Windows bridge agent install + first verified desktop build
• •More bridge nodes per region once load justifies it

Subscribe to the changelog at /factory/changelog or watch the GitHub repo.