Tracy helps teams build, import and edit Joomla sites with AI while keeping recorded site changes visible and reviewable, with recovery options where supported.
You can start a new Joomla site from a ready-made design, or bring in a copy of a Joomla site you already run. Either way, you ask for changes in your own language, Tracy makes them on the site, and every file change it records can be checked in Site changes, with Undo available where supported. Later edits can block Undo.
Can AI build or edit a Joomla site?
Yes. Tracy does both, and it keeps the result a normal Joomla site rather than converting it into a proprietary format.
Building a new Joomla site. In Tracy, choose Add site, then Create a new site. You pick Joomla as the platform and a starting design, for example a JoomlArt template such as JA Kinetic. Tracy hosts the site at a Tracy address, installs Joomla and the starting site, and then asks a few questions about your business: its name, one sentence about what you do, the pages you want, the tone of voice and the site language. From those answers Tracy writes your text into the pages and lays them out. You do not need your own hosting or a control panel to get a first version running.
Editing a Joomla site you already run. Choose Add site, then Import existing site. Tracy reads the site and creates a copy for you to edit, so the work happens on Tracy’s copy rather than on the site your visitors use today. The Tracy for agencies walks through what Tracy needs to import a site. If an import fails, Import a site covers each message and its fix.
Asking for changes. Once the site is in Tracy, you type requests the way you would write them to a colleague:
- “Put our opening hours in the footer.”
- “On mobile, stack the three service boxes.”
- “Add a Contact page with our address and a map link.”
- “Change the phone number everywhere it appears.”
Tracy reads the site before it changes anything, so the answer is about your site, not a generic Joomla example. Typical work is the everyday layer of a Joomla site: text, images, menus, modules and pages.
How does Tracy work with Joomla templates?
Tracy works with the template that is on the site. It does not swap your template for its own.
For a new site, the starting design is a real Joomla template. Tracy’s gallery offers 150+ design directions, and design availability varies by platform, so some directions are ready for Joomla and others are not yet. When a direction has no Joomla version, Tracy says so instead of quietly building something else. You can browse the gallery on the design inspirations page.
For an imported site, Tracy keeps whatever template and overrides you already use, including a customised JoomlArt template. Tracy changes content, module settings and template files in place. When it edits a template file, that edit is a file change, so it appears in Site changes with a Diff you can read line by line. See See what Tracy changed.
Two practical notes:
- A change to a shared part of the template, such as the header or footer, shows on every page that uses it. Tracy’s build workspace warns about this for shared parts.
- Template updates published by the template vendor are not something Tracy manages for you. If you update a template outside Tracy, the changed files still appear in Site changes, so you can see what the update touched.
Which Joomla versions does Tracy support?
New sites: the Joomla sites Tracy builds run on Joomla 6.
Imported sites: importing works through the Claude Cowork component, which Tracy installs on your site during the import (or which you install yourself). If the component cannot be installed or switched on for your site, the import stops and tells you which step failed, rather than continuing with a half-read site.
Upgrades: this page does not cover upgrading Joomla between major versions. Tracy does not offer a Joomla 3 upgrade path. If your site still runs Joomla 3, plan that upgrade separately before bringing the site into Tracy.
Can I keep editing in Joomla admin?
Yes. A site built or imported by Tracy is an ordinary Joomla site with its own administrator panel. Tracy’s build workspace has an Open admin control that opens the Joomla administrator directly, and you can edit articles, menus or modules there as you always have, subject to your CMS permissions.
Two things are worth knowing when you mix both ways of working:
- Changes made outside Tracy are still listed. Edits in the Joomla admin appear with the source CMS admin and the Joomla user who made them, and other file changes, such as an upload over FTP, appear too.
- Content and files are tracked differently. Text Tracy writes appears under the request that wrote it, and edits in the Joomla admin are listed without a before and after. The See what Tracy changed explains how to review and undo each kind.
If other people help you run the site, you can invite them to the site in Tracy with a role. An Editor edits the site’s content, such as articles and media, changes the site’s code, templates, extensions and settings, publishes, restores backups and invites Editors or Viewers. Viewers can view, comment and ask questions without editing, and Owners can do everything an Editor does, plus manage people and domains, make owners and delete the site.
Is Tracy useful for agencies that look after several Joomla sites?
That is one of the main reasons Tracy exists. Agencies and freelancers often look after several client sites where most requests are small: a new phone number, a news item, a fix on mobile. Each one means opening another admin. With Tracy, each client site has its own workspace, its own history of changes and its own team, and a client can be invited as an Editor to handle their own content, code and settings, publish and restore backups, or as a Viewer to view, comment and ask questions without editing. The Tracy for agencies walks through that workflow.
When is Tracy not the right Joomla tool?
Tracy is built for everyday changes to running Joomla sites and for new sites started from a ready-made design. It is not the right tool when:
- You need a Joomla 3 upgrade. Tracy has no Joomla 3 upgrade path.
- An extension is abandoned. Tracy can work with extensions that are installed on the site, but it will not make an unsupported extension run on a newer Joomla version.
- The problem is on the server. Email delivery, two-factor lockouts and database errors are outside what Tracy does today.
- You are building a custom application. Tracy works on sites that have an admin panel you can sit in and click. A custom-coded web application is outside its scope.
- You need a formal performance or security audit. Tracy is not an audit tool.
Tracy also does not make mistakes impossible. What it does is make recorded changes visible and offer recovery options, which is why you can Undo and backups. Later edits can block Undo, and external effects cannot be recalled.
Frequently asked questions
Does Tracy replace my Joomla template?No. Tracy works with the template on the site. New sites start from a real Joomla template, and imported sites keep the template and overrides they already use.
Can I use Tracy on a Joomla site I already run?Yes. Import the site and Tracy creates a copy for you to edit. Your team works on that copy in Tracy.
Do I need my own hosting to try Tracy with Joomla?Not for a new site. Tracy hosts new sites at a Tracy address, so you can see a first version without hosting or a control panel.
What does Tracy cost for Joomla sites?Tracy is in beta. It is free to use during the beta. Share feedback in the Tracy Discord: Tracy Discord. Pricing after the beta is not set yet, and nothing switches to paid automatically. See Pricing.