diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 0e3af9b..670804d 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -35,7 +35,14 @@ Personal web appliance that auto-discovers and runs multiple web apps on your ho
 - `commands/logs.ts` - log viewing with tail support
 
 ### Shared (`src/shared/`)
+- Code shared between frontend (browser) and backend (server)
 - `types.ts` - App, AppState, Manifest interfaces
+- IMPORTANT: Cannot use filesystem or Node APIs (runs in browser)
+
+### Lib (`src/lib/`)
+- Code shared between CLI and server (server-side only)
+- `templates.ts` - Template generation for new apps
+- Can use filesystem and Node APIs (never runs in browser)
 
 ### Other
 - `apps/*/package.json` - Must have `"toes": "bun run --watch index.tsx"` script
diff --git a/src/cli/commands/manage.ts b/src/cli/commands/manage.ts
index e9c59c1..16e2bb1 100644
--- a/src/cli/commands/manage.ts
+++ b/src/cli/commands/manage.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { App } from '@types'
-import { generateTemplates, type TemplateType } from '@templates'
+import { generateTemplates, type TemplateType } from '%templates'
 import color from 'kleur'
 import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs'
 import { basename, join } from 'path'
diff --git a/src/client/modals/NewApp.tsx b/src/client/modals/NewApp.tsx
index ab4fa5a..c3978e6 100644
--- a/src/client/modals/NewApp.tsx
+++ b/src/client/modals/NewApp.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import { generateTemplates } from '../../shared/templates'
 import { closeModal, openModal, rerenderModal } from '../components/modal'
 import { apps, setSelectedApp } from '../state'
 import { Button, Form, FormActions, FormError, FormField, FormInput, FormLabel } from '../styles'
@@ -32,16 +31,16 @@ async function createNewApp(input: HTMLInputElement) {
   rerenderModal()
 
   try {
-    const templates = generateTemplates(name)
+    const res = await fetch('/api/apps', {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+      body: JSON.stringify({ name }),
+    })
 
-    for (const [filename, content] of Object.entries(templates)) {
-      const res = await fetch(`/api/sync/apps/${name}/files/${filename}`, {
-        method: 'PUT',
-        body: content,
-      })
-      if (!res.ok) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to create ${filename}`)
-      }
+    const data = await res.json()
+
+    if (!res.ok || !data.ok) {
+      throw new Error(data.error || 'Failed to create app')
     }
 
     // Success - close modal and select the new app
diff --git a/src/shared/templates.ts b/src/lib/templates.ts
similarity index 93%
rename from src/shared/templates.ts
rename to src/lib/templates.ts
index bcc0170..c09dd0b 100644
--- a/src/shared/templates.ts
+++ b/src/lib/templates.ts
@@ -1,17 +1,17 @@
+import { DEFAULT_EMOJI } from '@types'
 import { readdirSync, readFileSync, statSync } from 'fs'
 import { join, relative } from 'path'
-import { DEFAULT_EMOJI } from './types'
 
 export type TemplateType = 'ssr' | 'bare' | 'spa'
 
 export type AppTemplates = Record<string, string>
 
 interface TemplateVars {
-  APP_NAME: string
   APP_EMOJI: string
+  APP_NAME: string
 }
 
-const TEMPLATES_DIR = join(import.meta.dirname, '../../templates')
+const TEMPLATES_DIR = join(import.meta.dir, '../../templates')
 
 function readDir(dir: string): string[] {
   const files: string[] = []
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ function replaceVars(content: string, vars: TemplateVars): string {
 
 export function generateTemplates(appName: string, template: TemplateType = 'ssr'): AppTemplates {
   const vars: TemplateVars = {
-    APP_NAME: appName,
     APP_EMOJI: DEFAULT_EMOJI,
+    APP_NAME: appName,
   }
 
   const result: AppTemplates = {}
diff --git a/src/server/api/apps.ts b/src/server/api/apps.ts
index 6d7e9b4..f3789d0 100644
--- a/src/server/api/apps.ts
+++ b/src/server/api/apps.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
-import { allApps, onChange, renameApp, startApp, stopApp, updateAppIcon } from '$apps'
+import { APPS_DIR, allApps, onChange, renameApp, startApp, stopApp, updateAppIcon } from '$apps'
 import type { App as BackendApp } from '$apps'
 import type { App as SharedApp } from '@types'
+import { generateTemplates, type TemplateType } from '%templates'
 import { Hype } from '@because/hype'
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs'
+import { dirname, join } from 'path'
 
 const router = Hype.router()
 
@@ -55,6 +58,42 @@ router.get('/:app/logs', c => {
   return c.json(app.logs ?? [])
 })
 
+router.post('/', async c => {
+  let body: { name?: string, template?: TemplateType }
+  try {
+    body = await c.req.json()
+  } catch {
+    return c.json({ ok: false, error: 'Invalid JSON body' }, 400)
+  }
+
+  const name = body.name?.trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s+/g, '-')
+  if (!name) return c.json({ ok: false, error: 'App name is required' }, 400)
+
+  if (!/^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$/.test(name)) {
+    return c.json({ ok: false, error: 'Name must start with a letter and contain only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens' }, 400)
+  }
+
+  const appPath = join(APPS_DIR, name)
+  if (existsSync(appPath)) {
+    return c.json({ ok: false, error: 'An app with this name already exists' }, 400)
+  }
+
+  const template = body.template ?? 'ssr'
+  const templates = generateTemplates(name, template)
+
+  // Create directories and write files
+  for (const [filename, content] of Object.entries(templates)) {
+    const fullPath = join(appPath, filename)
+    const dir = dirname(fullPath)
+    if (!existsSync(dir)) {
+      mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true })
+    }
+    writeFileSync(fullPath, content)
+  }
+
+  return c.json({ ok: true, name })
+})
+
 router.sse('/:app/logs/stream', (send, c) => {
   const appName = c.req.param('app')
   const targetApp = allApps().find(a => a.name === appName)
diff --git a/src/server/apps.ts b/src/server/apps.ts
index 8df3ee8..27b4293 100644
--- a/src/server/apps.ts
+++ b/src/server/apps.ts
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@ import type { App as SharedApp, AppState } from '@types'
 import type { Subprocess } from 'bun'
 import { DEFAULT_EMOJI } from '@types'
 import { existsSync, readdirSync, readFileSync, renameSync, statSync, watch, writeFileSync } from 'fs'
-import { join } from 'path'
+import { join, resolve } from 'path'
 
 export type { AppState } from '@types'
 
-export const APPS_DIR = join(process.env.DATA_DIR ?? '.', 'apps')
+export const APPS_DIR = process.env.APPS_DIR ?? resolve(join(process.env.DATA_DIR ?? '.', 'apps'))
 
 const HEALTH_CHECK_FAILURES_BEFORE_RESTART = 3
 const HEALTH_CHECK_INTERVAL = 30000
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ async function runApp(dir: string, port: number) {
 
   const proc = Bun.spawn(['bun', 'run', 'toes'], {
     cwd,
-    env: { ...process.env, PORT: String(port), NO_AUTOPORT: 'true' },
+    env: { ...process.env, PORT: String(port), NO_AUTOPORT: 'true', APPS_DIR },
     stdout: 'pipe',
     stderr: 'pipe',
   })
diff --git a/src/server/index.tsx b/src/server/index.tsx
index 55c9c21..c315e00 100644
--- a/src/server/index.tsx
+++ b/src/server/index.tsx
@@ -5,6 +5,18 @@ import { Hype } from '@because/hype'
 
 const app = new Hype({ layout: false })
 
+// Serve pre-bundled client in production
+if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
+  app.get('/client/index.js', async (c) => {
+    const file = Bun.file('./dist/client/index.js')
+    if (!(await file.exists())) {
+      console.error('⚠️  Bundled client not found. Run `bun run build` first.')
+      return c.text('Client bundle not found', 500)
+    }
+    return new Response(file, { headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/javascript' } })
+  })
+}
+
 app.route('/api/apps', appsRouter)
 app.route('/api/sync', syncRouter)