When to Adopt Croft: Client Apps Built by AI Chat, Not Hand-Coded Stacks
Should an agency move a client's AI-built app onto Croft's private server, or keep it on generic cloud hosting with a separate APM tool? Adopt Croft only when the app already runs on Croft's runtime and the client's AI assistant can be wired in over MCP; otherwise keep the existing host and monitoring stack.
By InnovaAI ResearchPublished
“Should an agency move a client's AI-built app onto Croft's private server, or keep it on generic cloud hosting with a separate APM tool?”
Adopt Croft only when the app already runs on Croft's runtime and the client's AI assistant can be wired in over MCP; otherwise keep the existing host and monitoring stack.
Treating Croft as a drop-in APM add-on for apps hosted elsewhere, then discovering the MCP diagnostic loop and 7-day log search only apply to apps running on Croft's runtime.
Croft bundles error grouping, response-time profiling, 7-day logs, alerts, and MCP diagnostic tools into the hosting layer at $24/month Solo or $99/month Team, so the value only materializes when the app lives on Croft's private server. The verdict positions it as a white-label hosting layer for low-to-mid-complexity client apps, with retainer resale viable at those tiers. Because log retention is capped at 7 days, agencies still own client onboarding and monitoring escalation.
- •The client app was generated by chatting with Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor and currently runs on a runtime Croft does not host
- •The engagement is a low-to-mid-complexity build (workflow tool, internal dashboard, Stripe or HubSpot integration) rather than a high-scale consumer product
- •The agency wants monitoring bundled into hosting instead of paying for and configuring a separate APM stack
- •The client count on Croft stays within the Solo tier's 10-person share limit or the Team tier's 50-person limit
- •The delivery team has no engineer dedicated to on-call diagnosis and would rather let the client's AI assistant read errors over MCP
More on Croft
- StrategyWhy Croft Turns AI-Built Client Apps Into Retainer Infrastructure
- ConceptCroft Client Fit Matrix
- Decision FrameworkCroft: Buy vs Skip (AI-Built Client Apps on a Private Server)
- Failure PatternThe Croft Retainer Trap: Why Agencies Fail When AI-Built Client Apps Outgrow the 7-Day Log Window
- Implementation BlueprintCroft Client App Hosting Sprint (5-7 days)
- Operating ProcedureCroft Client Workspace Setup (Onboarding)