You connect an app in one of two ways. Both create an app in your workspace.
Bugbearer clones the repo, starts it in Docker on a private network with its own database, and tests that copy.
Connect GitHub
Install the Bugbearer GitHub App on your account or organization. In the app, open Settings, Integrations, then Connect GitHub. Add the repo to the installation.
Pick the repo
On the onboarding screen, pick a repo from the list or type
owner/name. If the repo holds several apps, pick the folder.Start setup
Select Set it up. A setup agent clones the repo (branch
mainby default), writes a boot plan, and works out how a test user signs in. It asks you only when it is stuck. Setup takes about 2 minutes.Review
On the review screen you see the boot plan, the sign-in recipe, and every environment variable. Add the test keys the app needs. See Secrets and test keys.
The boot plan is an ordered list of typed steps: write env files, build images, start containers, seed data, verify sign-in. Bugbearer never uses the repo’s own compose file. Everything runs on a private Docker network, and the app gets its own database.
A repo app runs on the local Docker runner, because the cloud runner cannot reach a private network.
If Bugbearer cannot read the repo, it asks you to add the repo to the GitHub App installation. It creates nothing until it can read it.
Use this when the app already runs somewhere you host.
Choose a URL
On the onboarding screen, choose a URL. Enter the staging or preview address. It must start with
http://orhttps://.Confirm it is not production
Select the checkbox. Bugbearer refuses to save the URL without it. The text says agents may sign up, change settings and submit forms.
Save
Select Save URL. Bugbearer stores the address and allows that origin for test runs.
A URL app has no boot plan and no setup agent. Bugbearer does not start or change your app.
A coding agent can do the repo path for you. See Connect the MCP server.