# Build brief — a focused alternative to Tally

> **Verdict:** Yes, for personal use · **Buildability:** 81/100 · **Category:** Forms
> **Source:** https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/tally
> Independent editorial assessment from Can It Be Vibe Coded? Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or derived from Tally. Verify current pricing and capabilities before acting.

## Context

**Tally** — Notion-like form builder with generous free tier and paid branding/features. It currently costs $29/mo.

A form builder that stores responses and sends webhooks/email is a classic one-sitting/contained app.

This brief describes a focused, single-operator replacement for the part of Tally 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

Create form schema/editor, render public forms, store responses, export CSV, and send webhook/email notifications.

- Create forms, validate submissions, store responses, and export the results.
- A responsive interface with real empty, loading, success, and error states.

## Requirements

### Functional

- Hosted backend.
- Database.
- Form renderer.
- File upload storage if needed.

### Data and integrations

- Email/webhook service.

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 personal form builder to replace Tally. Requirements:

- One Node + Express + better-sqlite3 app, server-rendered pages, deployed on my VPS
  behind Caddy. No frontend framework.
- Admin UI at /admin, protected by a single ADMIN_TOKEN from .env, no user accounts:
  create a form, add fields (text, textarea, email, select, checkbox, file upload),
  mark required, reorder.
- Each form gets a public page at /f/<slug>: single column, one accent color, client
  and server validation, honeypot field plus a per-IP rate limit for spam.
- Responses stored in SQLite; file uploads go to uploads/<form-slug>/, 10 MB cap.
- Per form, two optional notifications: email me each response via SMTP creds in
  .env, and POST the response JSON to a webhook URL.
- Admin response view: sortable table per form with a CSV export button.
- No telemetry, no third-party form service; respondent data stays in my SQLite file.
- Out of scope: partial submissions, conditional logic, payments, and team
  workspaces. Do not build a template gallery.
- README: .env vars, Caddy snippet, where uploads and the DB live on disk.

## 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:

- Beautiful editor.
- Unlimited free usage.
- Partial submissions.
- Custom domains.
- The last 20 percent is sync, migration fidelity, speed, and edge cases.
- Connectors, OAuth flows, and vendor API changes require constant upkeep.

## What you still own after launch

- 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: high. No independent one-shot implementation is linked yet.

## Prior art

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

- [Formbricks](https://github.com/formbricks/formbricks) — Open-source form/survey platform useful for response collection and feedback workflows

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