# What Kinds of Websites Can Be Cloned with the AI Website Cloner Template? > Clone any browser-rendered website into Next.js code with the AI Website Cloner Template. Capture CSS, DOM, and screenshots to recreate any public site. - Repository: [JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template) - Tags: getting-started - Published: 2026-06-30 --- **The AI Website Cloner Template can reverse-engineer any publicly accessible, browser-rendered website into a Next.js 16 codebase by running a headless-browser interaction sweep that captures computed CSS, screenshots, and final DOM states.** The **AI Website Cloner Template** from `JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template` is a generic, agent-driven scaffold that rebuilds sites visually instead of parsing original backend source. Because it determines **what kind of websites can be cloned** by inspecting final rendered output, the tool is effectively platform-agnostic. The entire pipeline is specified in [`AGENTS.md`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/AGENTS.md) and documented in [`README.md`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/README.md), with generated projects rooted in standard Next.js files such as [`src/app/page.tsx`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/src/app/page.tsx) and [`src/app/layout.tsx`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/src/app/layout.tsx). ## How the Template Clones Websites from Rendered Output According to the `JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template` source code, the cloning engine does not read original HTML, JavaScript, or server-side templates. Instead, it performs a full interaction sweep—scrolling, clicking, hovering, and testing responsive breakpoints—to record the final visual state. It then extracts design tokens, downloads images and fonts, and reproduces the markup as React components inside a Next.js 16 project. This computed-CSS approach means the target only needs to be viewable in a standard browser. ## Website Types Supported by the Template ### Static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Sites For brochure pages, landing pages, and marketing sites built with plain static files, the template takes screenshots, extracts computed styles, downloads assets, and reproduces the markup in React components. The visual fidelity is high because the pipeline captures the exact rendered output rather than inferring layout from source. ### CMS-Generated Sites Sites built on **WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, Joomla, and Ghost** are fully supported. Because the original source is often hidden or dynamically generated, the template relies on its interaction sweep to capture the final rendered page and rebuild the structure from collected design tokens and assets. As noted in [`README.md`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/README.md) [lines 99–103](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/master/README.md#L99-L103), this strategy handles CMS-generated markup seamlessly. ### Single-Page Applications Publicly rendered SPAs built with **React, Vue, Angular, or Svelte** are cloned by exercising the UI in a headless browser. The template waits for client-side transformations to finish, then captures the final DOM and CSS. It recreates the resulting component hierarchy as a standard Next.js application, preserving the visual layout produced by client-side routers and dynamic rendering. ### E-Commerce Storefronts Product catalogs and checkout flows from **Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and custom stores** can be cloned. The interaction sweep triggers interactive states such as "add to cart," pagination, and modal dialogs, allowing the spec generator to write component definitions for each captured visual state. ### Documentation and Blog Sites Content-heavy sites built with **Docusaurus, Hugo, Jekyll, or Medium clones** are supported through exact `getComputedStyle()` extraction for typography and spacing. The asset downloader captures images, SVG icons, and fonts, while the pipeline rebuilds navigation and theming systems inside the generated Next.js project. ## How to Run the AI Website Cloner The `/clone-website` skill is documented in [`README.md`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/README.md) [lines 48–52](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/master/README.md#L48-L52) and defined centrally in [`AGENTS.md`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/AGENTS.md). If you customize the agent rules, you can regenerate the skill files by running `scripts/sync-skills.mjs` or [`scripts/sync-agent-rules.sh`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/scripts/sync-agent-rules.sh) from the repository root. To clone a single site, start your AI coding agent and run: ```bash claude --chrome /clone-website https://example.com ``` To clone multiple sites in one run, pass additional URLs: ```bash /clone-website https://site-a.com https://site-b.com https://site-c.com ``` The skill accepts any number of URLs and creates separate worktrees for each target. ## Customizing the Generated Output After the pipeline finishes, you have a full Next.js project ready for edits. The typical entry points for customization are: ```bash # Edit the generated landing page code src/app/page.tsx # Adjust global layout, fonts, or metadata code src/app/layout.tsx ``` The file [`src/app/page.tsx`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/src/app/page.tsx) serves as the default landing page generated after a clone, while [`src/app/layout.tsx`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/src/app/layout.tsx) acts as the global layout wrapper applied to every page. Both files are standard Next.js App Router components output by the template. ## Legal and Ethical Limitations The template **must not** be used for phishing, impersonation, or any activity that violates a site’s terms of service. This restriction is highlighted in [`README.md`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/README.md) [lines 104–108](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/master/README.md#L104-L108). Because the process depends on scraping publicly rendered pages, sites that block headless browsers, require authentication, or explicitly forbid scraping will need handling outside the scope of the template. The only fundamental requirements are that the target can be **rendered in a browser** and **scraped legally**. ## Summary - The AI Website Cloner Template supports any publicly accessible site that renders in a browser, including static pages, CMS platforms, SPAs, e-commerce stores, and blogs. - It uses a headless-browser interaction sweep and computed CSS extraction rather than parsing original source code. - Key repository files include [`AGENTS.md`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/AGENTS.md), [`README.md`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/README.md), [`src/app/page.tsx`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/src/app/page.tsx), [`src/app/layout.tsx`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/src/app/layout.tsx), `scripts/sync-skills.mjs`, and [`scripts/sync-agent-rules.sh`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/scripts/sync-agent-rules.sh). - The `/clone-website` skill accepts one or more URLs and outputs a Next.js 16 project for each target. - Ethical and legal restrictions prohibit phishing, impersonation, and terms-of-service violations. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Can the AI Website Cloner Template clone password-protected websites? No. The template is designed for publicly accessible websites only. Sites that require authentication or explicitly block headless browsers fall outside the scope of the default pipeline, because the cloning engine depends on freely rendered pages to capture the final DOM and CSS. ### Does the template copy the original source code or just the visual design? The template rebuilds only the visual design and structure. It captures the final rendered DOM and computed CSS through a headless browser sweep, then generates new React components inside a Next.js project. It does not parse or copy the original HTML, JavaScript, or backend source code. ### Is it legal to clone any website with this tool? Not necessarily. The [`README.md`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/README.md) [lines 104–108](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/master/README.md#L104-L108) explicitly prohibit using the template for phishing, impersonation, or violating a target site’s terms of service. Users must ensure their scraping activities comply with applicable laws and the target website’s policies. ### What frontend framework does the cloned output use? The generated codebase is a modern **Next.js 16** application. After cloning, you will find the output structured around files like [`src/app/page.tsx`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/src/app/page.tsx) and [`src/app/layout.tsx`](https://github.com/JCodesMore/ai-website-cloner-template/blob/main/src/app/layout.tsx), ready for customization with React and Tailwind CSS.