> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://studio.assembly.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Try the client experience

Assembly Studio is a two-audience platform. Your team works in the Dashboard. Your clients work in the Portal. When you build a client-facing app, you're really building two coordinated experiences — and the client side is the one your business runs on.

<Warning>
  Build with both windows open. The app builder's biggest failure mode is shipping an app that's polished on the team side and broken on the client side. The fix is cheap: keep a Portal tab open while you build.
</Warning>

## How the two sides relate

| Surface   | Who uses it       | Where it lives                                      |
| --------- | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| Dashboard | You and your team | `dashboard.assembly.com`                            |
| Portal    | Your clients      | `your-workspace.assembly.com` or your custom domain |

For a client-facing app, your team sees:

* A global view in the sidebar (all clients)
* A per-client view inside each client's record

Your clients see:

* One view in their Portal sidebar (just their own data)

## Set up a test client

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a client with your own email">
    In the Dashboard, go to the Clients section and create a new client. Use an email you control but that isn't your internal user email — a personal Gmail works.

    A common pattern is `your-name+test@gmail.com`. Most email providers route the `+test` variant to your main inbox while treating it as a distinct address.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send the invite">
    Send the client invite. Open the invite email in your test inbox and click through. You'll set a password and land in the Portal.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Bookmark both URLs">
    Bookmark your Dashboard and your Portal. Keep them in side-by-side windows while you build. Most iteration in the app builder is faster when you can see both surfaces at once.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What to look for

When you switch into the client view, run through this list:

<Check>
  The app appears in the Portal sidebar (if it's a client-facing app)
</Check>

<Check>
  The client only sees their own data, not other clients' data
</Check>

<Check>
  Empty states look intentional, not broken
</Check>

<Check>
  Actions a client should be able to take are obvious — and ones they shouldn't are absent
</Check>

<Check>
  Notifications coming from the app land in the right place
</Check>

If any of these are off, head back to the Dashboard and tell the app builder in the build chat. One change at a time, then re-check the Portal.

## Switching back

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="From the Portal">
    Sign out of the Portal and sign in to the Dashboard with your internal user email. You can keep both signed in across two browsers or one regular and one incognito window.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="From the Dashboard">
    Click Portal in the bottom of the Dashboard sidebar. You'll be redirected to your Portal's login screen. Sign in with your test client credentials.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Tip>
  Some teams set up a permanent demo client account and never delete it. It's cheaper than recreating one every time you build something new.
</Tip>