Buddy App
Product Overview
A Buddy App is an AI Harness for a vertical industry — partners do not need to build an AI product from scratch. They wrap their industry know-how into WorkBuddy's AI foundation through the Buddy App Harness. End users open it and immediately get a complete AI workspace dedicated to that industry.
Core Positioning
| Keyword | Description |
|---|---|
| Industry Harness | Partners do not build a product; they build configuration. WorkBuddy provides the product framework and AI foundation |
| Ready to use | Users do not need to learn first; they open the app and enter an industry-specific workspace |
| Scene first | Value comes from making high-frequency scenes deep and smooth, not from stacking a capability list |
Six Customization Dimensions
Partners can load a vertical industry's full capabilities into a Buddy App through the following six dimensions.
Architecture overview of the six customizable dimensions of a Buddy App
Work Modes
Define the System Prompt and built-in tools for a vertical scene so that the AI is already industry-professional when a conversation starts.
- System Prompt: Set the AI role, industry terminology rules, output structure requirements, and more
- Built-in tools: Pre-bind scene-specific tools or workflows
Example: "Investment Research Mode" includes financial terminology rules and research-report structure requirements; "Legal Mode" embeds a compliance review workflow.
Scene Capsules
Customize the recommended content users see after entering a vertical scene. Users no longer face an empty input box; they see "things you may need to do".
- Recommended scenes: Shortcut prompt templates above the input box
- Bound experts / Skills / connectors / cases: A scene can be linked to matching capabilities and started in one click
Example: Finance users see "Generate morning briefing" and "Analyze a stock"; education users see "Lesson planning assistant" and "Generate a test paper".
Model Configuration
Define the available model list and display order for the app. Partners match the best model capabilities to industry scene needs.
- Model list: Select models from the platform pool that fit the industry (such as DeepSeek-R1, Hunyuan, and GLM)
- Order: Drag to adjust the model display order on the user side, and specify the default model
Example: Finance scenes prioritize models with strong reasoning; content-creation scenes prioritize models with high generation quality.
Vertical Industry Marketplace
Customize the in-app capability marketplace and decide which ecosystem assets users can discover and use.
- Skill: Industry-specific automation capabilities
- Experts: Domain experts or expert teams
- Connectors: Third-party service integrations
- Inspiration cases: Best practices and usage examples
Capabilities can be built by the partner, or they can reuse existing modules from the WorkBuddy ecosystem.
Embed Existing Features
You can integrate a partner's existing systems into a Buddy App without abandoning current work:
- MCP Apps: Connect existing services into the AI conversation flow through the MCP protocol
Design idea: partners are not asked to start over; AI grows on top of existing systems.
WorkBuddy Foundation Capabilities
The following underlying capabilities are continuously built by the WorkBuddy team. Partners do not need to reinvent them; they are ready to use:
- Multi-agent collaboration
- Context compression engineering
- Memory engineering
- Tool-call orchestration
- Security and permission control
Configuration Guide
Buddy Apps are configured on WorkBuddy Open Platform. The layout is a single page with module navigation on the left and a form on the right, covering 5 configuration modules.
Configuration Rules
| Rule | Description |
|---|---|
| Skip steps allowed | Modules can be edited in any order; they do not have to be completed sequentially |
| Local preview | You can export a configuration JSON file and test it in a local environment |
Module 1: Create App
Fill in the app identity information and establish the basic identity of the Buddy App.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| App ID | Generated by the system; cannot be changed |
| App avatar | Upload a brand icon (256×256 recommended) |
| App name | The app name shown to users |
| App description | A brief description of the app's positioning and core capabilities |
| Authorization list | Configure the OAuth authorization items required to run the app |
| Authorization callback URL | OAuth authorization callback URL |
| Trusted Origin | Allowlist of domains that may access the app |
After creation, a Client ID and Client Secret are generated. The Client Secret is shown in full only this once. After you close the page, you cannot view it again. Please save it.
Module 2: Home Configuration
Configure the home content users see after entering the app. This determines the first impression and usage path.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Home title (Slogan) | Welcome title shown when the app opens |
| Scene capsules | Shortcut prompt templates above the input box, guiding users to start high-frequency scenes quickly |
| Work modes | Preset conversation scenes (2–4 recommended); each mode has a different System Prompt |
| Built-in connectors | Connector capabilities that are enabled automatically after entering the app (optional) |
Module 3: Marketplace Configuration
Decide which ecosystem assets the in-app capability marketplace shows.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Experts | Configure available experts / expert teams, with optional category tags; expert teams can be turned on optionally |
| Skills | Configure the available Skill list |
| Connectors | Configure the available connector list |
| Featured scenes | Optional; shown as recommended slots on the marketplace page (linked to experts or expert teams) |
Module 4: Other Configuration
- Input placeholder configuration
When the dialog is empty, the placeholder is used as hint copy to guide what the user should enter. Both Chinese and English copy must be supported.
- Select a model mix from the platform pool that fits the industry scene.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Select models | Choose from the model pool |
| Reorder | Drag to adjust the model display order on the user side |
| Default model | Specify one model as the default selection |
Module 5: Preview and Debug
After you finish the other modules and before you submit for review, use the preview link, download the matching WorkBuddy client, open the preview state through the link, and check whether it matches the configuration.
Buddy App Design Specs
App Icon
Wherever an icon is uploaded during configuration, it must follow the design spec.
Icon size 16px × 16px, stroke width 1.2px, with gaps, fully rounded corners (100%). The style should match the sample icons.
Expert Page Featured Scene Background
In Module 3 (Marketplace Configuration), featured scenes on the expert page support two background images, which must follow the design spec.
Image size 1000px × 910px. Structure: base image + 3 gradient overlay layers. Provide both day and night assets. A minimal illustration style is recommended for the base image.
Buddy App design spec assets.zip
Publishing Flow
创建应用 → 填写基础信息 → 创建审核通过 → 分模块配置 → 预览调试 → 提交审核 → 发布上线
Key milestones:
- Creation review: After you first submit the app basic information, it must pass platform review. After approval, it enters "Draft" status
- Draft editing: After review is approved, you can continue editing each configuration module in any order
- Preview and debug: Always test locally before formal submission to ensure features are complete
- Configuration review: After configuration is complete, submit for review. Approval publishes the app
- Later updates: If a published app needs changes, you must submit for review again after editing
Best Practices
- Start from scenes: First list the target users' top 3–5 high-frequency scenes, then organize capability configuration around those scenes
- Keep work modes lean: 2–4 work modes are recommended; too many increase the user's choice cost
- Reuse existing systems: Integrate existing business systems through iframe or MCP Apps to reduce migration cost
- Iterate: Ship a minimum viable version first, then iterate based on user feedback
- Import/export configuration: There are many configuration items. Export the configuration file before you leave each time, then import it next time to restore the last configuration