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

# Open Source and Crave Cloud

> How Crave's developer-facing packages fit into the managed Crave Cloud platform.

Crave follows the same broad pattern as developer-first platforms that pair an open developer surface with a managed cloud product: make the integration path transparent and hackable, while keeping production franchise operations in a managed control plane.

The open-source surface is where developers learn, inspect, scaffold, and customize. Crave Cloud is where brands coordinate real locations, roles, integrations, payment routing, customer identity, loyalty, and operational readiness.

## How to think about it

| Layer                      | Use it for                                                                                                           | Operational owner                 |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| **Crave.js packages**      | Storefront SDK, CLI, examples, components, and local developer workflows                                             | Your engineering team             |
| **Storefront API**         | Customer-facing ordering flows across web, mobile, kiosk, and custom channels                                        | Shared between your app and Crave |
| **Crave Cloud**            | Business Manager, locations, roles, identity boundaries, integrations, payment routing, observability, and readiness | Crave-managed cloud               |
| **Bring-your-own systems** | Existing loyalty, ordering, identity, or payment systems that a brand wants to keep                                  | Joint integration ownership       |

## Managed cloud is the production default

Production restaurant franchise infrastructure is not just a package install. It needs secure roles, location readiness, integration monitoring, audit trails, payment routing, and support for operational edge cases across many stores.

Use Crave Cloud when you need:

* multiple locations, franchisees, or business entities
* staff roles and Business Manager access
* payment routing between corporate, franchisee, or location accounts
* monitored integrations with ordering, loyalty, payments, or identity providers
* supportable production operations

## Open developer surface

Use the Crave.js developer surface when you need:

* a local storefront you can run and customize
* typed SDK calls for menus, carts, checkout, payments, and analytics
* React components that can live inside your application
* REST examples for non-TypeScript clients
* clear contracts for webhooks and API behavior

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Build with Crave.js" icon="code" href="/getting-started/introduction">
    Start with the CLI, SDK, API, and UI components.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Understand Crave Cloud" icon="cloud" href="/guides/crave-cloud-overview">
    See how storefronts connect to identity, ordering, loyalty, payments, and operations.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What is not self-hosted

The Crave.js developer surface does not mean every part of Crave Cloud is self-hostable. Business Manager, production identity boundaries, managed loyalty, payment routing, integration health, and franchise operations are managed platform capabilities unless your Crave agreement says otherwise.

This keeps the developer experience flexible without pushing the operational burden of a franchise platform onto every storefront team.