Dvl'epr Studio

Paint your screens. Get working web applications.

Dvl'epr Studio is a low-code visual builder for web applications. Design your screens on a canvas, write the SQL that fills them, and get a complete working app — forms, validation, live data and navigation included.

Low-Code · Visual Builder · No Lock-In
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Dvl'epr Studio — Contacts / ContactsList
Project
Manager
  Sites
    Manager
      Dashboard
      Contacts
        ContactsList
        ContactDetail
        AddContact
CanvasUIHTMLJSCSSSQL
Contacts
Sarah Whitfield  ·  Operations Manager
David Okonkwo  ·  Procurement Lead
Aisha Rahman  ·  Finance Director
Properties
Elementdiv
Repeatsper row
Stylecard
Datacontacts
Reusableyes

An illustration of the Studio workspace.

What it is

What is Dvl'epr Studio?

Dvl'epr Studio is one of the Dvl'epr family of tools. Dvl'epr is a hypertext declarative platform that generates web applications from a set of declarative files — for more about the platform, see the Dvl'epr home page.

The Studio lets you build those applications visually. Everything an application needs comes together in one structured place — screen layouts, CSS, JavaScript, and the SQL behind each screen — and the Studio compiles it all into the set of XML files Dvl'epr needs to generate the finished application.

The Studio is itself a Dvl'epr application, built with the platform it builds for.

Dvl'epr Studio — Contacts / ContactsList
Project
Manager
  Sites
    Manager
      Dashboard
      Contacts
        ContactsList
        ContactDetail
        AddContact
CanvasUIHTMLJSCSSSQL
Contacts
Sarah Whitfield  ·  Operations Manager
David Okonkwo  ·  Procurement Lead
Aisha Rahman  ·  Finance Director
Properties
Elementdiv
Repeatsper row
Stylecard
Datacontacts
Reusableyes
compiles to
emxml_blkContactsList.xml
<block>
  <div class="title">Contacts</div>
  <div type="dynamiclist" class="list">
    <div type="row" class="card">
      <span class="name">%contact_name%</span>
      <span class="role">%job_title%</span>
    </div>
    <sql>
      <query name="contacts"><![CDATA[
        SELECT contact_name, job_title
        FROM   contacts
        WHERE  dept_id = '%deptid%'
      ]]></query>
    </sql>
  </div>
</block>
What it does

Low-code

Dvl'epr Studio is a low-code tool in the literal sense: the only code you have to write is SQL. Screens are created visually, and everything that normally surrounds them — data loading, form handling, validation, page updates — is generated rather than written, on the server and in the browser alike.

What remains is the part that is genuinely yours. The queries, and whatever CSS and JavaScript your design calls for, unless your specification already supplies them. Anything truly unusual is a small plugin, and that is the exception rather than the routine.

That makes it a tool for developers and technical teams — and it means there is no ceiling. A no-code tool works until a requirement falls outside what it can express, and then there is no way through. Here the data layer stays in SQL and the output stays as editable files, so that wall never arrives.

Next on the roadmap

Three things we're building

AI assistance. We already use AI to build Dvl'epr applications — the same assistance is coming to the Studio, so you build yours faster.

A SQL generator. Build your queries in the Studio instead of writing them by hand.

A fuller designer. Brought in line with visual build tools like Wix.

Each addition changes how you build, not what you get.

Not like other low-code tools

For most low-code tools, the builder is the platform. Delete it and your application has nowhere to live.

Dvl'epr Studio isn't the platform. It's the tool that writes the declarative markup Dvl'epr generates applications from — markup that can equally be written by hand, as developers have done since 2005. Delete the Studio and nothing changes: the same files, in the same place, edited the same way.

Full visual designer

Design screens exactly as they will look, with your own styling applied as you work. Create the styling here, load stylesheets you already have, or bring in HTML built in other design tools instead of rebuilding it.

Built-in data layer

SQL is attached directly to the screen that uses it. No API to build, no client library to keep in sync, and no separate data layer drifting out of step with the screens it serves.

Live preview on real data

Preview runs the real application against your own database, with your own styling — not an approximation. What you see is what deploys.

End-to-end form builder

Fields, validation, and the insert or update that saves them are built together in one place, so a form and the logic that stores it never drift apart.

Reusable components

Build a component once and reuse it anywhere in the project. Save it as a template, then reuse or adapt it wherever you need it.

View the declarative markup

See the markup behind any component from inside the Studio, at any time, without compiling or exporting the project.

How it works

From a blank project to a deployable app

01

Create a project

Point the Studio at your database and describe the apps and sites your users will log into.

02

Design the screens

Build each screen visually, with the queries that feed it written alongside.

03

Preview against real data

Check a screen against the test database, right in the Studio.

04

Export and deploy

The Studio writes the declarative markup files and the assets. Deploying is moving them to the production server, or wherever the application runs.

Who it's for

Built for the Dvl'epr platform

If you already build on Dvl'epr, the Studio is a faster route to the same applications — built visually rather than written by hand.

If you don't yet, it's for anyone in the business of building web applications and dynamic websites — whether for clients or for yourself.

Dvl'epr developers

Already building on Dvl'epr. The Studio is a faster, visual way to build your applications.

Freelance developers

Prototype in a day, deliver in weeks. No servers to set up and no framework to learn.

Web and digital agencies

More projects from the same team, and any developer can pick up any project.

In-house development teams

Internal tools in weeks, not quarters. Easy to change when the requirements do.

Software houses and product teams

Tailor the same product for each client quickly, without starting over every time.

Consultants and integrators

Portals, dashboards and workflow tools over a client's existing database, without a separate front-end team.

The family

Where Studio sits

Dvl'epr is the platform. It runs your application, and it is the only part you actually need — everything the Studio produces can equally be written by hand. The Studio and Dvl'epr Cloud support it, and both are optional.

The platform · in production since 2005
Dvl'epr

Runs your application. Reads the markup and serves the finished web application to the browser.

Supporting tools — neither is required
Dvl'epr Studio
Early access

Builds the markup visually, instead of writing it by hand.

Dvl'epr Cloud
In design

Hosting and publishing, so a build goes live without a server to manage.

Questions

Common questions about Dvl'epr Studio

What is Dvl'epr Studio?
Dvl'epr Studio is a low-code development platform for building business web applications. You design each screen visually and write the SQL that fills it; what you get is a complete working application, with the forms, validation, data loading, navigation and access control already handled. There is no JavaScript framework and no build step, and the files it produces are plain, editable text rather than a proprietary format.
What is Dvl'epr, the platform underneath it?
Dvl'epr is a declarative platform for building business web applications such as CRM, ERP, HR, accounting systems, customer portals and dashboards. A developer describes each screen in XML and writes the SQL that feeds it; the engine generates the HTML, the JavaScript, the data loading, form handling, validation, sessions and role-based access control at runtime. There is no JavaScript framework, no server-side code and no build step. It has been in production use since 2005.
Is Dvl'epr Studio itself built on Dvl'epr?
Yes. The Studio is a Dvl'epr application, built with the platform it builds for.
Does Dvl'epr Studio lock me into the tool?
No. For most low-code tools the builder is the platform, so leaving means leaving with nothing you can use. Dvl'epr Studio is not the platform: it writes ordinary XML and SQL files that Dvl'epr reads, and those files can equally be written by hand, as developers have done since 2005. Build a screen visually, open the file in any editor, and carry on — with or without the Studio.
Is Dvl'epr Studio a no-code or a low-code platform?
Low-code, in the literal sense: the only code you have to write is SQL. Screens are created visually, and the data loading, form handling, validation and page updates that normally surround them are generated rather than written. It is aimed at developers and technical teams.
How is it different from a no-code app builder?
A no-code builder aims to remove programming entirely, which works until a requirement falls outside what the tool can express — and then there is usually no way through. Dvl'epr Studio removes the repetitive work instead: everything that normally sits between a screen and its data. What stays is SQL, where the business logic actually lives, and plain markup files you can open in an editor and change by hand.
What do I need to know to use Dvl'epr Studio?
The Studio guides you through building the parts an application needs. What you bring is HTML, CSS and SQL — plus JavaScript, though that one is optional.
Is Dvl'epr Studio suitable for vibe coders?
Not today — a studio is by nature a developer's tool. Work is under way to make it vibe-coder friendly.
What is on the Dvl'epr Studio roadmap?
Three things. AI assistance — we already use AI to build Dvl'epr applications, and the same assistance is coming to the Studio. A SQL generator, for building queries in the Studio rather than writing them by hand. And a fuller designer, brought in line with visual build tools like Wix.
Is the preview accurate, or is it a mock-up?
It is the real thing. A preview renders through the same engine that serves the deployed application, against your own project database, using your application's own stylesheet. What you see in the preview is what the browser will show once the app is deployed.
How does an application built in Dvl'epr Studio get deployed?
The Studio writes the markup files and the assets. Deploying is moving them to the production server, or wherever the application runs. There is no build pipeline, no bundler and no compile step.
Can I build forms in Dvl'epr Studio, not just screens that display data?
Yes. Creating forms and the processors that save their data is straightforward: the fields, their validation and the logic that stores the data are built together in one place.
Can I still hand-write parts of the application?
Yes. The markup files the Studio creates can be edited in VS Code or any text editor.
Is Dvl'epr Studio available now?
Dvl'epr Studio is in early access, open to everyone building on Dvl'epr, and to a small number of developers new to the platform. Email hello@dvlepr.com and we will talk about what you want to build. The Dvl'epr engine underneath it has been running production applications since 2005.
What does Dvl'epr Studio cost?
Pricing is not published while the Studio is in early access. Email hello@dvlepr.com for more information.
Early access

Build something with the Studio

Early access is open to everyone building on Dvl'epr, and to a small number of developers new to the platform. Just a conversation about what you want to build.

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