Explain My BuildExplain My Build vs Scribe
Last updated: July 26, 2026
Scribe records a person clicking through a finished app and turns those steps into an annotated how-to guide. Explain My Build reads your source code and writes an end-user guide before you know which flows matter. Scribe needs a working UI to record; Explain My Build needs only the code.
What is the difference between Explain My Build and Scribe?
The core difference is the input. Scribe watches a human use your app and captures each click into a step-by-step guide. Explain My Build reads your code and writes the guide from what the app actually does. Same goal, opposite starting point.
That one difference decides when each tool works. Scribe needs a deployed, working screen and a person who already knows the exact flow to record. Explain My Build works from a repo or a local folder, before the app is finished and before you've mapped every flow.
| Scribe | Explain My Build | |
|---|---|---|
| Input | A person recording clicks | Your source code |
| Output | Annotated step-by-step how-to | End-user guide + founder runbook + fix-list |
| Needs a working UI? | Yes | No |
| Works before app is finished | No | Yes |
| Covers flows you forgot to record | No | Partial (from code) |
| Interactive/animated capture | Yes | No |
| Cites real code | No | Yes |
What Scribe is genuinely great at
Scribe is excellent at capturing a known process fast. You turn on the browser extension (or desktop capture on paid plans), click through the task, and it produces a clean, annotated guide with screenshots and text in seconds. No writing, no formatting.
It shines when the app is finished and you already know the exact flow you want documented, for example "how to invite a teammate" or "how to export a report." The screenshots are real, the steps map exactly to your live UI, and you can share by link, embed, or PDF. It offers a free tier plus paid plans, and viewers don't need a seat.
If your job is to document a specific, stable workflow that a person can demonstrate, Scribe does that better than a code-reader. We don't try to talk you out of it.
Where Explain My Build is the better fit
Explain My Build is the better fit when you can't yet record a clean demo, which is common for a founder who built the app with AI. It reads the actual source and produces a full end-user guide covering the features the code implements, not only the flows you remembered to click.
It also produces two things Scribe doesn't: a founder runbook to operate and extend the app, and a ranked, code-verified fix-list to hand to your AI. Every claim is cited to real code, and it flags or refuses anything it can't verify, so the guide doesn't invent steps that aren't in the app.
On privacy: paste a public GitHub URL (read on our server, then deleted, never stored), or run private repos and local folders entirely in your browser or via CLI so code never leaves your machine.
Which should you use?
Use both if you can; they solve adjacent problems. Use Scribe when the app is live, the flow is stable, and you want a crisp recorded walkthrough of a specific task. Use Explain My Build when you need a complete end-user guide derived from the code, especially before the app is polished or when you don't yet know every flow that matters.
A common pattern: generate the end-user guide from your code with Explain My Build first, then record a few high-value Scribe walkthroughs for the trickiest steps.
The honest limitation
Explain My Build reads code; it does not watch your live UI. It won't capture an interactive click sequence or produce annotated screenshots of your exact screens the way Scribe does. The guide is AI-generated from your code, so you should review it before you publish. For pixel-accurate step capture of a finished flow, Scribe is the right tool.
Frequently asked questions
Is Explain My Build an alternative to Scribe?
Partly. Both produce guides for end users, but from different inputs. Scribe records a person clicking through a finished app; Explain My Build reads your code and writes the guide. If your app isn't finished or you can't record a clean demo, Explain My Build is the better starting point; for capturing a specific live flow, Scribe is.
Can Scribe document my app from the code?
No. Scribe works by recording a person's clicks in a working app, so it needs a deployed UI and someone to demonstrate the flow. To document from code instead, use Explain My Build, which reads the source and writes an end-user guide plus a founder runbook.
Does Explain My Build record my screen like Scribe?
No. Explain My Build never records your screen. It reads your source code and cites each claim back to it. That means it works before the app is finished, but it won't produce Scribe's annotated screenshots of your exact live screens. You should review the AI-generated guide before publishing.
Turn your app into a guide your users can follow.
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