Vibecode Canny
track this build5 steps, step by step0%KINDA · weekend project
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Canny, collect feature requests, merge duplicates, publish statuses, and maintain a roadmap. The hard boundary is customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow, plus participant network, synthesis workflow, and collaboration.
the project pack4 files · fastest path to a working personal build
You are building a lean indie version of Canny. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Canny indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Canny workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow - large participant panel - recording and transcription infrastructure - advanced research repository - enterprise governance If those capabilities are essential, use Fider instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build a personal replacement for Canny in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Resend; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create public and private feedback intake with consent text and optional contact details. Support posts, votes, comments, tags, statuses, owners, and duplicate merging. Add a research note type with evidence links, quotes, themes, and confidence. Build search and filters across feedback, customers, segments, themes, and status. Provide email notifications, moderation, export, deletion, and an audit log. Publish a read-only roadmap or findings page using only explicitly public items. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out a paid research-participant marketplace. Deliberately leave out unlimited video storage and automated transcription. Deliberately leave out enterprise repositories, SSO, and governance. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - PostgreSQL - public HTTPS deployment - Resend API key - optional video-call links ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a lean indie version of Canny. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Canny indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Canny workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow - large participant panel - recording and transcription infrastructure - advanced research repository - enterprise governance If those capabilities are essential, use Fider instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build a personal replacement for Canny in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Resend; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create public and private feedback intake with consent text and optional contact details. Support posts, votes, comments, tags, statuses, owners, and duplicate merging. Add a research note type with evidence links, quotes, themes, and confidence. Build search and filters across feedback, customers, segments, themes, and status. Provide email notifications, moderation, export, deletion, and an audit log. Publish a read-only roadmap or findings page using only explicitly public items. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out a paid research-participant marketplace. Deliberately leave out unlimited video storage and automated transcription. Deliberately leave out enterprise repositories, SSO, and governance. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - PostgreSQL - public HTTPS deployment - Resend API key - optional video-call links ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a production product version of Canny. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== PRODUCT.md ===== # Canny product brief ## Problem The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Canny, collect feature requests, merge duplicates, publish statuses, and maintain a roadmap. The hard boundary is customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow, plus participant network, synthesis workflow, and collaboration. ## Product outcome Collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - PostgreSQL - public HTTPS deployment - Resend API key - optional video-call links ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow - large participant panel - recording and transcription infrastructure - advanced research repository - enterprise governance ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees. ===== ARCHITECTURE.md ===== # Architecture ## Starting brief Build a personal replacement for Canny in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Resend; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create public and private feedback intake with consent text and optional contact details. Support posts, votes, comments, tags, statuses, owners, and duplicate merging. Add a research note type with evidence links, quotes, themes, and confidence. Build search and filters across feedback, customers, segments, themes, and status. Provide email notifications, moderation, export, deletion, and an audit log. Publish a read-only roadmap or findings page using only explicitly public items. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out a paid research-participant marketplace. Deliberately leave out unlimited video storage and automated transcription. Deliberately leave out enterprise repositories, SSO, and governance. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone. ===== MILESTONES.md ===== # Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations. ===== OPERATIONS.md ===== # Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Canny capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
README.md
# Canny indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Canny workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow - large participant panel - recording and transcription infrastructure - advanced research repository - enterprise governance If those capabilities are essential, use Fider instead of pretending the gap is solved.
AGENTS.md
# Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs".
BUILD_PLAN.md
# Build plan ## Original build brief Build a personal replacement for Canny in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Resend; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create public and private feedback intake with consent text and optional contact details. Support posts, votes, comments, tags, statuses, owners, and duplicate merging. Add a research note type with evidence links, quotes, themes, and confidence. Build search and filters across feedback, customers, segments, themes, and status. Provide email notifications, moderation, export, deletion, and an audit log. Publish a read-only roadmap or findings page using only explicitly public items. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out a paid research-participant marketplace. Deliberately leave out unlimited video storage and automated transcription. Deliberately leave out enterprise repositories, SSO, and governance. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - PostgreSQL - public HTTPS deployment - Resend API key - optional video-call links ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden.
.env.example
# Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
PRODUCT.md
# Canny product brief ## Problem The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Canny, collect feature requests, merge duplicates, publish statuses, and maintain a roadmap. The hard boundary is customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow, plus participant network, synthesis workflow, and collaboration. ## Product outcome Collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - PostgreSQL - public HTTPS deployment - Resend API key - optional video-call links ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow - large participant panel - recording and transcription infrastructure - advanced research repository - enterprise governance ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees.
ARCHITECTURE.md
# Architecture ## Starting brief Build a personal replacement for Canny in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Resend; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect structured feature requests, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent roadmap with statuses. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create public and private feedback intake with consent text and optional contact details. Support posts, votes, comments, tags, statuses, owners, and duplicate merging. Add a research note type with evidence links, quotes, themes, and confidence. Build search and filters across feedback, customers, segments, themes, and status. Provide email notifications, moderation, export, deletion, and an audit log. Publish a read-only roadmap or findings page using only explicitly public items. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Deliberately leave out a paid research-participant marketplace. Deliberately leave out unlimited video storage and automated transcription. Deliberately leave out enterprise repositories, SSO, and governance. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it.
AGENTS.md
# Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone.
MILESTONES.md
# Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations.
OPERATIONS.md
# Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Canny capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
$ choose a build depth, inspect the files, then open the complete pack in your agent · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
People still pay for Canny because people pay either for access to participants or for a research repository that keeps evidence usable across an organization. The recurring cost buys recruitment, consent, scheduling, media storage, transcription, tagging consistency, notifications, search, and retention, not just the visible interface.
xcustomer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow
xlarge participant panel
xrecording and transcription infrastructure
xadvanced research repository
xenterprise governance
share on X ↗"I just replaced Canny ($79/mo) with one prompt"
Don't feel like building it? These folks already made it free.
ClearFlaskFeedback, duplicate merging and a real roadmap; deployment is the least lightweight part.open source↗
QuackbackCanny's whole loop in one Compose file, including duplicate merging; young, fast-moving, and worth pinning.open source↗
Sleekplan IndieUnlimited feedback, a roadmap and a changelog for one admin; branding and the default workflow are the rent.free↗all 4 free alternatives to Canny →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Canny pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/workspace | $0/workspace | 25 tracked users; 5 managers; unlimited contributors, feedback and boards. |
| pro | — | $79/workspace | Starts at 100 tracked users; 10 managers; unlimited contributors. |
| business | custom | — | Starts at 5,000 tracked users; custom managers, security, integrations and service terms. |
free tier25 tracked users; 5 managers; unlimited contributors, feedback and boards.
billingMonthly + annual; the public Pro card exposes the annual-equivalent rate and says annual billing saves 20%; Business is custom.
hidden costsWithout a spend cap, exceeding the tracked-user band can automatically move the account to the next tier and create a prorated charge; with a spend cap, Canny stops tracking new users. Autopilot users count toward tracked-user usage.
verified 2026-08-12 · source ↗
Vibecode Canny
Kinda. The core of Canny is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow, large participant panel. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Canny cost?
Canny costs about $79/month (Pro, checked 2026-08-12), which is $948 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Canny?
Honestly: customer identity, integrations, changelog, prioritization, and team workflow; large participant panel; recording and transcription infrastructure; advanced research repository; enterprise governance. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Canny?
Yes: ClearFlask (Feedback, duplicate merging and a real roadmap; deployment is the least lightweight part.) Quackback (Canny's whole loop in one Compose file, including duplicate merging; young, fast-moving, and worth pinning.) Sleekplan Indie (Unlimited feedback, a roadmap and a changelog for one admin; branding and the default workflow are the rent.) All 4 curated free alternatives are at vibecodeit.com/canny/alternatives. The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.