Explain My BuildHow to write a help guide when you don't understand your own code
Last updated: July 26, 2026
You can write a help guide without reading your own code by having a tool read the code for you. Explain My Build reads your app's source and drafts a plain-English end-user guide plus an embeddable Help widget. You then review and edit the draft before publishing — you never have to understand the code yourself.
Can I write a help guide if I can't read my own code?
Yes. The trick is to stop trying to explain the app from memory and let a tool read the code for you. Most founders who built with AI are in exactly this spot: the app works, users are asking questions, but you didn't write the code and can't explain it feature by feature.
Explain My Build reads your actual source — every route, form and setting the AI built — and turns it into help content written for a person, not a programmer. Because it's reading the real code, it covers features you forgot you shipped and won't invent ones you don't have. You supply the app; it supplies the first draft.
If this describes you, the pillar I built an app with AI and don't understand the code is worth reading alongside this.
How do I turn my code into help content?
Point the tool at your app and let it generate the content, then shape it. The steps:
- Connect your code. Paste a public GitHub URL, or run a private repo or local folder in your browser or via the CLI so nothing leaves your machine. See how it works.
- Get a drafted guide. Explain My Build writes an end-user guide from your code — one section per real feature, in plain English, each claim cited to the file it came from.
- Edit for your voice. Fix wording, add screenshots, cut anything users don't need. You're editing readable prose, not code.
- Publish and share. Ship it as a shareable page (share link plus access code), a portable export, or an in-app Help widget.
You do the judgment; the tool does the reading. That's the whole point — you get accurate help content without ever opening the source.
What is the embeddable Help widget?
The Help widget is a small, embeddable piece you can drop into your app so users get your guide inside the product, at the moment they're stuck. Instead of sending people to a separate docs site, the answers live where the questions happen.
Because the widget is built from the same code-read guide, it stays tied to what your app actually does. When you update your app and re-run Explain My Build, you refresh the source content, then review the changes before they go live. The widget is part of the $19/month end-user guide add-on, alongside the share link, access code and portable export. See pricing.
Do I need to review the guide before publishing?
Yes — and this is deliberate. Explain My Build drafts the guide from your code, but a human reviews and edits it before it's published to your users. The tool won't push documentation into your users' faces on its own.
Why the human review matters
Reading code tells the tool what your app does, but only you know your product's tone, what to emphasize, and the occasional business nuance the code can't express. The draft is accurate and cited, which makes editing fast — but the final call is yours. The tool also flags anything it couldn't verify so you can decide how to handle it, rather than letting a confident-but-wrong sentence reach your users.
In short: you get a strong, honest first draft in minutes, and you stay in control of what ships.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a help guide when I don't understand my own code?
Let a tool read the code for you. Explain My Build reads your app's source and drafts a plain-English help guide plus an embeddable Help widget, with every claim cited to a real file. You review and edit the draft before publishing — you never have to read the code yourself.
Can I make a help center for my app without hiring a technical writer?
Yes. The tool produces a drafted end-user guide from your code — one section per real feature — that you edit in plain prose and publish as a shareable page or an in-app Help widget. It replaces the blank page a technical writer would otherwise fill, and you keep editorial control.
Will the help guide be accurate if I didn't write the app?
It's drafted from your actual code, so it reflects what the app really does, not a guess — and it flags anything it can't verify. That said, a human (you) reviews and edits it before publishing, because tone, emphasis and business nuance are yours to set.
Where can I put the help guide once it's written?
You can share it as a page with a link and access code, export it in a portable format, or embed it in your app with the in-app Help widget so users get answers without leaving the product. These are part of the $19/month end-user guide add-on.
Turn your app into a guide your users can follow.
Paste a public GitHub link and get your founder runbook + fix-list free in about a minute — no sign-up. Private code runs entirely in your browser.