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Playlab is organized around four clear containers. They give you direct control over your apps, sharper boundaries between classes, and ways to share what you build with the people you build for.
Read this first if you are new to Playlab. The rest of the docs assume you know the containers below.
Spaces, collections, and apps all live in an organization. Spaces and collections include apps without owning them, so one app can be in many spaces and collections.

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The four containers

Everything you do in Playlab happens inside one of these four containers.

Organization

Your school, district, or partner. Holds spaces, members, apps, collections, and policies.

Space

A class, team, or group inside the org. Spaces hold members and the apps they use, with their own sessions and permissions.

App

A Playlab app. Belongs to the organization it was created in. Can be added to any number of spaces and collections.

Collection

A curated set of apps you can share like a single resource. Useful for partner deployments and starter packs.

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What each container gives you

Your apps are yours. New apps start private. You and your organization’s Owners can see them. Nobody else, until you share or publish. (An app built inside a space is also visible to that space’s managers, and the space’s settings decide whether other members see it.) Drafts stay yours until you’re ready. Sharing is direct. Add a peer as Editor or User on one app. They get access to that app, not your whole space. You can change or revoke access at any time. One app, many classes. Add the same app to as many spaces as you need. Each class sees segmented sessions. Update the app once, and every class using it sees the new version. Collections for curated bundles. If you ship a set of apps to partners or districts, build a Collection once and share it. Recipients see updates as you publish them. Space controls you set. Toggles on each space decide what members can do: Build Apps, Members can see each other’s apps, Share apps outside the space, and Manage own apps. The settings can match the class. Sessions at the level you need. Space, member, or org. Same data, different scope. Teachers see their class. Organization Owners see across classes.

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How content moves

Playlab lets you share an app, add it to a space, or include it in a collection.
1

An app is owned in one place

The person who creates the app owns it. The app belongs to the organization it was created in.
2

The owner shares it

Sharing happens through the Share modal: with individuals, groups, or organizations. To bundle it with other apps, use Add to collection.
3

Recipients add it where they need it

A teacher can add a shared app to any of their spaces. A partner can drop a Collection into their org and use it immediately.
4

Updates flow automatically

When the owner publishes a new version, everyone with access sees the update. No re-sharing required.
To put the same app in front of more than one class, see Using an app across multiple classes.
Screenshot of the Greenfield USD Spaces page as seen by a Builder. The left sidebar shows the Greenfield USD organization switcher, then Assistant, History, Projects with Spaces selected, Admin (Insights and Members), and Discover. The main area has a search bar with Role and sort filters, a Managed by me section with Algebra Period A and Algebra Period B, and an All section that also includes 8th Grade Period A and Greenfield Hackathon, each card with its owner and member count.

An organization's Spaces page, opened from Projects in the sidebar. Each class is its own space, with the spaces you manage listed first.

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Finding apps: filter by scope

The organization’s Apps page (under Projects in the sidebar) has three tabs, each with a count, above the search field:
  • My apps — every app you created, in any organization. It’s the same list whichever organization you’re in.
  • Org apps — apps in the organization you’re viewing that you can open, whether built there or shared into it. This is the only tab that changes when you switch organization.
  • Shared with me — apps someone shared with you by name from outside your organizations. Apps you can already reach through one of your organizations appear under Org apps instead.
Next to the search field, Status filters by an app’s status, and on Org apps the Owner filter narrows by where it came from:
  • Built in my org — apps created in this organization.
  • Shared with my org — apps shared with this organization from another organization.
Both are checkbox lists: tick more than one option to see apps matching any of them. On Shared with me, a Date Shared filter takes their place: Any time, Today, Last 7 days, Last 30 days, or This year. Switching tabs clears the Owner and Date Shared filters. The sort menu, at the end of the row, orders the list by Last updated, New to old, Old to new, A–Z (the default), or Z–A. To see apps you’ve starred, open the sort menu and turn on Starred. It stays on when you switch tabs, and the sort button shows a star while it’s on. Inside a space, its Apps tab has a Filter menu instead. It narrows by who built the app (Built by me, Built by managers, Built by members) and where it came from (Built in this organization or Built elsewhere). The filters never expand what you can see — they only narrow it. Each one shows a subset of the apps you already have permission to open, mirroring the privacy and visibility scopes.

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Getting around

Your left sidebar is home base, and it always shows one organization at a time.
  • Organization switcher — the top of the sidebar shows the organization you’re in. Click it to switch to another organization you belong to. Everything below it follows the org you pick.
  • Assistant — your Playlab Assistant.
  • History — every session you’ve had with a published Playlab app, in any of your organizations, newest first. Click one to read it back. Assistant chats aren’t listed here; they stay in the Assistant.
  • Projects — the organization’s Apps and Spaces, plus New App to start building. Your own apps are on the My apps tab of Apps, and starred apps are a sort option there (see Finding apps).
  • Admin — organization management. Builders see Insights for the apps they built, and Members. Owners see Insights for the whole organization, plus Sessions, Members, Knowledge Base, Settings, and API Keys. Each item appears only if your role can use it.
  • Discover — the organization’s Collections. Collections you made are on its My collections tab.
Your account menu sits at the bottom of the sidebar. When you sign in, Playlab opens your organization at Insights if your role can see it. Otherwise it opens at Apps, or at Spaces if you only have access to spaces.
The Playlab interface for a Builder: the left sidebar shows the Greenfield USD organization switcher, Assistant, History, Projects (Apps, Spaces, and a New App button) with Apps selected, Admin (Insights and Members), and Discover (Collections), with the account menu at the bottom. The main area is the organization's Apps page, with the My apps, Org apps, and Shared with me tabs, a search field with Status and sort menus, and cards for Algebra Tutor, Essay Feedback Coach, and Lab Report Helper.

The left sidebar, as a Builder sees it — the organization switcher, then Assistant, History, Projects, Admin, and Discover — next to the organization's Apps page.

If you don’t see something you expect, check that you’re in the right organization — switch with the organization switcher at the top of the sidebar.

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Where to go next

If you build apps, your apps are private until you share them, and Editor sharing keeps collaboration scoped to a single app. See App privacy and visibility and Collaborating on an app. If you teach, your space gives you visibility into student sessions and finer control over what students can do. See Space building permissions and Space member detail. If you admin an org, you have a centralized view of sessions and flags across all spaces. See Reviewing app activity and Organization permissions and roles. If you deploy across a network, Collections were designed for you. See Share with Collections.

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Key points

  • Playlab has four containers: organization, space, app, collection
  • Apps belong to an organization; spaces and collections add them where they’re needed
  • Sessions are visible at space, member, or org scope

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FAQ

The container structure separates the jobs that often collide on a single platform: who owns content, who can see it, who can change it, and where it shows up. Each container solves one of those jobs cleanly.
No. A space lives inside a single organization. Apps can be added to spaces in different orgs through sharing.
Every app belongs to an organization. The Create a new App dialog shows which organization the app will be created in, or asks you to pick one under Create in. From there, add it to as many spaces as you need.
Drive is a generic file system. Playlab is built around apps and the people who use them, with sharing, activity, and permissions designed for classrooms.
Playlab runs in the browser on phones and tablets. There is no native mobile app today. Pages adjust to small screens; for example, a published app’s Edit and Remix buttons move into a menu.
No. Playlab needs an internet connection. Each message goes to Playlab’s servers to get the AI’s response.
Last updated: 10-02-2026 Contact us at [email protected]