How I Cloned a Million-Dollar App Without Coding Using AI Tools

Discovering the potential to clone a million-dollar app without coding felt like uncovering a hidden treasure chest in the vast ocean of technology.

I stood in awe as I realized that with artificial intelligence, zero coding experience was no barrier to creating a live, functional application.

The idea of deploying something as grand as Hugging Face—an AI app store valued at $4.5 billion—onto the internet for public use in less than an hour seemed almost magical.

My journey unfolded with tools like Cursor and CopyCoder, which handled the heavy lifting, leaving me to guide the process like a conductor of a symphony.

What I witnessed wasn’t just a replication of pages but the birth of an AI agent marketplace, mirroring one of the most lucrative platforms in tech today.

The process was seamless, intuitive, and accessible, proving that anyone with curiosity and determination could achieve this feat.
I’m here to share every step, every tool, and every insight I gathered while cloning this million-dollar app without coding.
Let’s dive into the intricacies of this no-code revolution and see how you can replicate such a masterpiece yourself.

We strongly recommend that you check out our guide on how to take advantage of AI in today’s passive income economy.

Understanding the Target: Hugging Face

I began my exploration with Hugging Face, a platform often described as the ultimate AI app store for developers and enthusiasts alike.

It’s a hub where you can search for models, datasets, or applications by typing in functionalities like “AI podcast” or “image generation.”

The search results populate with options like MidJourney for images or specialized models for audio, offering endless possibilities for creators.

Hugging Face’s valuation stands at a staggering $4.5 billion, making the phrase “million-dollar app” a humble understatement of its worth.

My goal wasn’t just to admire its success but to replicate its structure and functionality using no-code tools, creating a carbon copy to inspire innovation.

I envisioned transforming this clone into an AI agent marketplace, a space where users could buy and sell intelligent solutions tailored to their needs.

The process began with understanding its layout—menu options like models, datasets, spaces, and posts, all neatly arranged for user navigation.

This structure would serve as the blueprint for my project, guiding me as I used AI to recreate its brilliance without coding a single line.

Setting Up with CopyCoder

I started by diving into CopyCoder, a tool designed to simplify the cloning process by analyzing and replicating web pages with precision.

The first step involved creating a new project within CopyCoder, where I selected Cursor as my no-code builder from a list of options like Lovable and Bolt.new.

Cursor stood out as the optimal choice for this task, offering compatibility and ease of integration for building out complex applications.

Next, I needed to upload the main homepage of Hugging Face, so I took a detailed screenshot of its layout, capturing the menu ribbon and core elements.

CopyCoder began analyzing the design, identifying the homepage while also recognizing additional pages like models, datasets, and spaces in the menu.

This automation saved me from manually rebuilding each section, providing a solid foundation to expand upon with minimal effort.

The tool’s ability to break down the structure into categories was a game-changer, ensuring I had all the necessary pages mapped out.

With this setup complete, I felt the thrill of progress, knowing I was one step closer to cloning a million-dollar app without coding.

Capturing the Essence of Hugging Face Pages

I continued by focusing on the individual pages of Hugging Face, starting with the homepage that CopyCoder had already analyzed.

The tool’s AI recognized the layout, noting the menu options and suggesting corresponding pages for models, datasets, spaces, posts, and pricing.

For accuracy, I manually took screenshots of key pages like the models section, which displayed filters for text, image, and audio applications.

The spaces page, a favorite of mine, showcased various AI applications, so I captured its vibrant design to ensure my clone mirrored its appeal.

I uploaded these screenshots into CopyCoder, allowing the tool to analyze each page’s structure and content for replication.
For less critical pages like docs and pricing, I opted to let AI generate designs based on the inspiration from the screenshots I provided.

This hybrid approach of manual input and AI generation struck a balance, ensuring precision where it mattered most while saving time elsewhere.

By the end of this phase, I had a comprehensive set of templates ready to be transformed into a functional application, all without coding.

Generating Pages with AI Assistance

With the screenshots uploaded, I instructed CopyCoder to generate the remaining pages using AI, drawing inspiration from the designs I’d provided.

The tool began creating prompts for each page, which would later be imported into Cursor to build the actual application structure.

I watched as CopyCoder meticulously crafted pages for models, datasets, spaces, and posts, each reflecting the aesthetic and functionality of Hugging Face.

The process was surprisingly swift, with the tool generating detailed prompts that captured the essence of an AI app store’s layout.

One feature I appreciated was CopyCoder’s ability to integrate all this work into a single platform, unlike using scattered tools like ChatGPT or Claude for prompts.

Once the generation was complete, I had a project ready to export, complete with prompts and analyzed designs for every page.
The sense of accomplishment was palpable as I prepared to move into Cursor, knowing I was building a million-dollar app without coding.

This seamless transition from design to development underscored the power of no-code tools in democratizing app creation for non-technical users like me.

Importing into Cursor

I transitioned to Cursor, the no-code builder I had selected, and created a new project titled “Hugging Face Clone” to begin the development phase.

CopyCoder had provided a simple CLI command for project setup, which I copied and pasted into Cursor’s terminal to initiate the import process.

The terminal hummed to life, pulling in all the necessary files, parameters, and base code generated from the prompts CopyCoder had created.

I marveled at how the tool automatically set up essential components like authentication files for signup and login functionalities.
To ensure optimal performance, I navigated to Cursor’s agent settings and selected Claude 3.5 Sonnet, a model recommended for its compatibility with CopyCoder.

Running the setup file was as simple as typing “run do setup” and approving a few commands as the system built out the foundational code.

The process required minimal intervention, with Cursor handling the heavy lifting while I supervised, ensuring everything aligned with my vision.

By the end of this step, I had a fully imported project ready to be molded into a live application, all without coding a single line myself.

Building and Running the Main Page

I moved forward by running the main page of my cloned application, typing “run @1-page main page” into Cursor’s terminal to initiate the build.

The system began installing dependencies like React, prompting me to approve certain commands as it constructed the page’s code.

Once complete, I navigated to the root folder in the terminal and executed “npm run dev” to launch the application on my local host.

Opening the browser, I was greeted by a strikingly familiar layout—a sidebar with tasks, libraries, and datasets, mirroring Hugging Face’s design.

The menu bar featured options like search, login, and signup, while the main section displayed stock images of models like Dolly Mini and Whisper.

Though some elements, like a slightly different emoji for the logo, showed AI’s creative flair, the overall structure was impressively accurate.

I felt a surge of excitement seeing my clone come to life, a testament to the power of cloning a million-dollar app without coding expertise.

This main page served as the cornerstone of my project, setting the stage for further development of additional pages and functionalities.

Expanding to Other Pages

I proceeded to build the models page, typing “run @2-models.md” into Cursor to replicate the process I’d used for the main page.
After approving a few dependencies, the page was ready, and a quick refresh of my local host revealed a detailed layout with filters for text, image, and audio.

The design included dropdowns for sorting by popularity, downloads, and likes, closely resembling Hugging Face’s intuitive interface.

Encouraged by this success, I turned my attention to the spaces page, which I anticipated would be the heart of my AI agent marketplace.

Running the command for the spaces page, I watched as Cursor assembled a vibrant layout with stock images and clickable categories that changed color on selection.

The orange hue of the selected categories aligned with Hugging Face’s branding, giving the page a polished, professional look.
Each page build reinforced my confidence in the process, proving that cloning a million-dollar app without coding was not only possible but also efficient.

I could envision users navigating this clone, exploring AI applications and datasets with the same ease as they would on the original platform.

Iterating and Refining the Application

As I built out more pages, I noticed the consistency of the process—CopyCoder’s prompts ensured minimal errors, making development smooth and predictable.

Unlike other no-code tools I’d tried, like Lovable or Bolt.new, which often produced limited starting points, this method offered robust functionality from the outset.

The spaces page, in particular, impressed me with its accurate color scheme and layout, requiring only minor tweaks to align with my vision for an AI marketplace.

I began to think about next steps, like adding interactivity so users could upload their own AI agents or purchase existing ones within the platform.

The beauty of this approach was its scalability—I could continue adding pages to the menu bar, tailoring the application to my specific goals.

CopyCoder’s structured prompts allowed me to iterate page by page, building a comprehensive application without getting bogged down in technical details.

I reflected on how far I’d come in such a short time, creating a near-identical clone of a billion-dollar platform without coding a single line.

This experience underscored the transformative potential of no-code AI tools, empowering anyone to turn their ideas into reality with minimal barriers.

Conclusion and Future Possibilities

Reflecting on my journey, I realized that cloning a million-dollar app without coding had taken me from a curious observer to a creator in mere hours.

The combination of CopyCoder and Cursor had streamlined the process, allowing me to replicate Hugging Face’s structure with astonishing accuracy.

From the main page to the spaces section, each element of my clone captured the essence of the original while leaving room for personalization and growth.

I envisioned taking this project further, perhaps integrating payment systems or user-generated content to create a thriving AI agent marketplace.

CopyCoder’s upcoming version 2.0 promises even more features, like multi-page cloning, which could enhance this process further for future projects.

For now, version 1.0 offers a solid starting point for anyone looking to replicate a single page and build from there, as I did in this endeavor.

This experience has opened my eyes to the boundless possibilities of no-code development, proving that innovation is within reach for anyone willing to try.

I encourage you to explore these tools yourself, take that first step, and see how you can clone a million-dollar app without coding—just as I did.

We strongly recommend that you check out our guide on how to take advantage of AI in today’s passive income economy.