Every artifact you create deliberately is one of two types, and the type decides what a person sees when they open it. Everything else lands as an asset.
| Type | Contains | Renders as |
|---|---|---|
app |
Files including an index.html |
A running web page |
markdown |
One or more .md files |
A readable document you can edit |
| asset | Anything else | Stored and versioned, no preview |
The hub's filter bar mirrors this: Apps, Docs, and Assets.
When to use each
Use app for anything that is better seen than read. If it can be built with HTML, it can be an app: a presentation or slide deck, a dashboard, a calculator, a quiz, a form, an itinerary, a planner, a portfolio, a landing page, a game, an interactive explainer.
Use markdown for anything to read: a report, a plan, a spec, notes, a summary. Markdown artifacts are editable in place in the rich editor, so they suit documents that keep changing.
The line between them is what the reader does. A meeting agenda is a doc. The same content as a deck you present from is an app.
Assets are not something you choose so much as everything else: images, spreadsheets, PDFs, datasets. Stored, versioned, readable by agents.
::: lanes
In the app
Choosing New Doc creates a markdown artifact. Upload File with anything unrenderable creates an asset.
For an app, ask your AI to push the project — Import from ZIP and Upload Folder are not working reliably yet.
Ask your AI assistant
Make this a readable document, not an app.
:::
FAQ
Can I change the type after creating? No. Create a new artifact of the right type.
Can a markdown artifact have several files? Yes. They become the artifact's repository. The app renders and edits the markdown; images referenced by relative paths render too when they are in the repository.
What about a PDF or a spreadsheet? An asset: stored, versioned, and readable by agents, with no preview.
My app opens as a blank page.
It has no index.html. Ask your AI to push it again as an app, or as a doc if that is what it should be.