# Vendo

Vendo is an open-source customization layer that embeds an agent inside software products. It lets customers create views, UI changes, micro-apps, and automations through the product’s API and components while retaining the product’s branding and permission rules.

- Findings24: <https://findings24.com/tools/vendo>
- Website: <https://vendo.run>
- Pricing: Freemium
- Categories: AI Agent Builder, AI Agent Infrastructure, AI Workflow Automation

## What is Vendo?

Vendo is an open-source customization layer for software products. It embeds an agent that lets customers create views, interface changes, micro-apps, and automations on top of the host product.

The agent works through the product’s API as the signed-in customer and uses the product’s components, theme, and permission model. Generated outputs are intended to behave as part of the existing product rather than as separate throwaway answers.

Customers describe what they need in plain language. Product teams can initialize Vendo with `npx vendo init`, review proposed API and theme wiring as diffs, and choose between self-hosting and Vendo Cloud for hosted collaboration and organization features.

## What can Vendo do?

### Embedded product agent

Add the agent as an overlay, chat sidebar, full panel, or custom product surface so customers can request functionality in context.

### Generated micro-apps

Assemble working views and small applications from the host product’s components and API, including UI, data, logic, actions, and state.

### Customer-built automations

Convert plain-language instructions into recurring software, including scheduled workflows that continue running after the customer closes the product.

### Application discovery and setup

\`npx vendo init\` scans the application’s theme, components, routes, and API tools, then proposes the wiring as reviewable diffs.

### Guardrails and auditability

Run actions as the signed-in customer, honor existing API permissions, require approval for risky tools, sandbox generated UI, and record calls in an append-only audit log.

## Use Cases

### Account-specific dashboards

Customers can request a live view assembled from the product’s own data and components for reporting or operational needs that are too specific for the standard roadmap.

### In-place workflow changes

A user can describe a change to a screen or component and apply it in place, without requiring the product team to maintain a customer-specific fork.

### Scheduled operational work

Teams can turn recurring instructions into automations, such as sending document-chase reminders on a schedule under the requesting user’s permissions.

### Cross-tool workflows

Customers can create automations spanning connected tools while keeping each tool call subject to the host product’s approval and permission rules.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What does a customer build with Vendo?

Customers can build live views, interface changes, reusable micro-apps, scheduled automations, and voice sessions that answer while rendering a view.

### Can generated features exceed the customer’s permissions?

No. Actions run as the signed-in customer through the product’s existing API permissions. Risky tools request approval, generated UI is sandboxed, and calls are recorded in an append-only audit log.

### How is Vendo added to an existing application?

Install \`@vendoai/vendo\`, run \`npx vendo init\`, review the proposed wiring, and use \`vendo doctor\` to check the live composition. The initializer scans the app’s API and theme before changes are applied.

### Is Vendo open source?

Yes. Vendo is identified as Apache-2.0 licensed and can be run independently. Vendo Cloud adds hosted sharing, publishing, organization overlays, and pinning.

### What does Vendo Cloud add?

Depending on the plan, Vendo Cloud adds snapshot sharing, live collaboration, publishing, organization governance, session replay, analytics, and tenant management.

## Quick Facts

- **Category**: Developer Tool / AI Agent
- **Primary users**: Software product teams and their customers
- **Deployment model**: Open-source self-hosting or Vendo Cloud
- **Integration model**: Host application API, components, theme, and permission rules
- **License**: Apache-2.0
- **Free tier**: $0 forever with $5 of monthly usage and a hard stop at that amount