# Build brief — a focused alternative to SavvyCal

> **Verdict:** Partly, if you narrow it · **Buildability:** 63/100 · **Category:** Scheduling
> **Source:** https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/savvycal
> Independent editorial assessment from Can It Be Vibe Coded? Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or derived from SavvyCal. Verify current pricing and capabilities before acting.

## Context

**SavvyCal** — Scheduling links with overlay calendars and nicer booking UX. It currently costs $12/mo.

The core booking-link loop can be cloned, but calendar reliability, time-zone correctness, reminders, and polished link UX make it more than a trivial script.

This brief describes a focused, single-operator replacement for the part of SavvyCal that is genuinely reproducible. It is deliberately narrower than the product it replaces, and it says so in writing. Build the useful core; do not pretend to have rebuilt the rest.

## What you are building

Read availability, generate shareable scheduling pages, write booked events, and email confirmations.

- Model availability, accept bookings, handle time zones, and send confirmations.
- A responsive interface with real empty, loading, success, and error states.

## Requirements

### Functional

- Hosted backend.
- Email service.
- Timezone library.
- Auth.

### Data and integrations

- Calendar OAuth.

Each of these needs a real account, credential, or quota. Set them up before writing feature code.

### Non-functional

- Accessibility: semantic markup, labelled controls, visible focus, and reduced-motion support.
- Security: server-side secrets, validated input, and no credentials in the client bundle.
- Reliability: retries with backoff on external calls, and a clear failure state when a provider is down.
- Portability: the operator can export their data and leave without losing it.

## Implementation brief

Build me a solo booking page to replace SavvyCal: one person, one calendar, a few link
types. Requirements:

- Node + Express + better-sqlite3 on my VPS behind HTTPS; server-rendered pages, Luxon
  for timezone math.
- Link types in links.json: slug, title, duration, buffer, allowed hours (e.g. /intro,
  30-min slots, 15-min buffer, weekdays 10:00-16:00 my time).
- Availability from Google Calendar free/busy (googleapis, OAuth creds in .env); show
  open slots for the next 14 days in the visitor's detected timezone with a timezone
  switcher.
- Booking form: name + email + note. On submit, create the event on my calendar with the
  guest as attendee so Google sends the invite, and store the booking in SQLite.
- Re-check free/busy at submit time, not just render time, so two guests cannot grab the
  same slot.
- Confirmation email to guest and me via Resend or SMTP (creds in .env), including a
  cancel link that deletes the event.
- No accounts, no telemetry beyond my own server logs.
- Out of scope: team links, routing, payments, and reminder sequences. One calendar,
  mine.
- README: the Google Cloud console OAuth steps (the worst part of the whole build)
  and the DNS/HTTPS notes.

## Delivery standard

- Inspect the repository first, then write a short implementation plan before writing code.
- Deliver the smallest complete end-to-end workflow first; every primary control must work against persisted data.
- Use real validation and storage; never substitute fake dashboards, decorative controls, hard-coded success states, or mock integrations.
- Include responsive layouts plus genuine empty, loading, success, validation, and failure states.
- Keep secrets server-side in environment variables, provide .env.example, and never commit credentials or user data.
- Add structured logs around every external call and return actionable errors without leaking sensitive details.
- Write unit tests for the core logic and one automated test of the main user journey.
- Finish with a README covering setup, architecture, data location, backups, tests, deployment, and known limitations.

## Acceptance criteria

- [ ] A clean install starts the app using only the README and .env.example.
- [ ] The primary journey works from first visit through saved result, reload, edit, export, and deletion where applicable.
- [ ] Invalid input, missing configuration, provider failure, and an empty database each have a usable state.
- [ ] The interface works at 390px and 1440px, is keyboard navigable, and shows visible focus on every control.
- [ ] Tests, type checking, linting, and a production build all pass with no ignored failures.
- [ ] No part of the interface implies a live integration, security guarantee, or scale capability that was not actually built and verified.

## Non-goals

Do not build these, and do not claim to have replaced them:

- Overlay-calendar UX.
- Team links.
- Routing.
- Payments.
- Connectors, OAuth flows, and vendor API changes require constant upkeep.
- The last 20 percent is sync, migration fidelity, speed, and edge cases.

## What you still own after launch

- Secure credentials, rotate secrets, and handle provider rate limits.
- Run migrations, backups, restores, and dependency updates.
- Test the critical journey after every model, API, or hosting change.
- Monitor failures and fix the edge cases a first prompt will miss.
- Maintain every third-party integration as APIs and OAuth rules change.

## Risk

**Operational risk.** The code is achievable; dependable data, integrations, and ongoing operations are the real cost.

Editorial confidence in this assessment: medium. No independent one-shot implementation is linked yet.

## Prior art

Working open-source software you can read, fork, or borrow from before starting:

- [Cal.com](https://github.com/calcom/cal.com) — Open-source scheduling platform covering the main booking-link mechanics

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Generated by [Can It Be Vibe Coded?](https://www.canitbevibecoded.com) · Full report: https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/savvycal