Vibecode Headspace
track this build5 steps, step by step0%NOT REALLY · don't bother
price $12.99/moyou'd save $155.88/yrbuild time closest consolation build: one sittingcategory 🧘 wellnessreplaced by 0 people
A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Headspace, play user-owned guided audio and maintain a private reflection log. The hard boundary is large licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish, plus hardware data, content, coaching, and trust.
the project pack4 files · fastest path to a working personal build
You are building a lean indie version of Headspace. 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 ===== # Headspace indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Headspace workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. ## 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: - large licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish - wearable hardware data - coach network - clinical validation - large content library and social network If those capabilities are essential, use wger 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 closest honest personal substitute for Headspace in an empty repository. Use React Native with Expo, TypeScript, SQLite, and HealthKit or Health Connect only when explicitly enabled; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. 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 optional logs for activity, sleep, mood, energy, and personal notes with editable units. Let the user build moderate routines and rest days without weight-loss targets, punishment, or competitive pressure. Request health-platform permissions per data type and work fully without granting them. Show weekly patterns and consistency with neutral language and no diagnostic or body-image judgments. Add reminders that can be muted, data export, account-free local use, and full deletion. Include a clear statement that the app is not medical care and should not replace qualified advice. 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. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out medical diagnosis or treatment. Deliberately leave out extreme exercise or restrictive-eating coaching. Deliberately leave out wearable hardware, human coaching, and a large social network. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - iOS or Android device - optional HealthKit or Health Connect permission - local storage ## 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 Headspace. 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 ===== # Headspace indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Headspace workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. ## 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: - large licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish - wearable hardware data - coach network - clinical validation - large content library and social network If those capabilities are essential, use wger 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 closest honest personal substitute for Headspace in an empty repository. Use React Native with Expo, TypeScript, SQLite, and HealthKit or Health Connect only when explicitly enabled; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. 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 optional logs for activity, sleep, mood, energy, and personal notes with editable units. Let the user build moderate routines and rest days without weight-loss targets, punishment, or competitive pressure. Request health-platform permissions per data type and work fully without granting them. Show weekly patterns and consistency with neutral language and no diagnostic or body-image judgments. Add reminders that can be muted, data export, account-free local use, and full deletion. Include a clear statement that the app is not medical care and should not replace qualified advice. 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. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out medical diagnosis or treatment. Deliberately leave out extreme exercise or restrictive-eating coaching. Deliberately leave out wearable hardware, human coaching, and a large social network. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - iOS or Android device - optional HealthKit or Health Connect permission - local storage ## 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 Headspace. 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 ===== # Headspace product brief ## Problem A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Headspace, play user-owned guided audio and maintain a private reflection log. The hard boundary is large licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish, plus hardware data, content, coaching, and trust. ## Product outcome Play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - iOS or Android device - optional HealthKit or Health Connect permission - local storage ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - large licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish - wearable hardware data - coach network - clinical validation - large content library and social network ## 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 closest honest personal substitute for Headspace in an empty repository. Use React Native with Expo, TypeScript, SQLite, and HealthKit or Health Connect only when explicitly enabled; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. 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 optional logs for activity, sleep, mood, energy, and personal notes with editable units. Let the user build moderate routines and rest days without weight-loss targets, punishment, or competitive pressure. Request health-platform permissions per data type and work fully without granting them. Show weekly patterns and consistency with neutral language and no diagnostic or body-image judgments. Add reminders that can be muted, data export, account-free local use, and full deletion. Include a clear statement that the app is not medical care and should not replace qualified advice. 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. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out medical diagnosis or treatment. Deliberately leave out extreme exercise or restrictive-eating coaching. Deliberately leave out wearable hardware, human coaching, and a large social network. 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 Headspace capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
README.md
# Headspace indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Headspace workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. ## 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: - large licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish - wearable hardware data - coach network - clinical validation - large content library and social network If those capabilities are essential, use wger 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 closest honest personal substitute for Headspace in an empty repository. Use React Native with Expo, TypeScript, SQLite, and HealthKit or Health Connect only when explicitly enabled; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. 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 optional logs for activity, sleep, mood, energy, and personal notes with editable units. Let the user build moderate routines and rest days without weight-loss targets, punishment, or competitive pressure. Request health-platform permissions per data type and work fully without granting them. Show weekly patterns and consistency with neutral language and no diagnostic or body-image judgments. Add reminders that can be muted, data export, account-free local use, and full deletion. Include a clear statement that the app is not medical care and should not replace qualified advice. 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. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out medical diagnosis or treatment. Deliberately leave out extreme exercise or restrictive-eating coaching. Deliberately leave out wearable hardware, human coaching, and a large social network. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - iOS or Android device - optional HealthKit or Health Connect permission - local storage ## 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
# Headspace product brief ## Problem A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Headspace, play user-owned guided audio and maintain a private reflection log. The hard boundary is large licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish, plus hardware data, content, coaching, and trust. ## Product outcome Play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - iOS or Android device - optional HealthKit or Health Connect permission - local storage ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - large licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish - wearable hardware data - coach network - clinical validation - large content library and social network ## 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 closest honest personal substitute for Headspace in an empty repository. Use React Native with Expo, TypeScript, SQLite, and HealthKit or Health Connect only when explicitly enabled; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: play user-owned guided audio, maintain a private reflection log, plan moderate routines, and show wellbeing trends without diagnosing, shaming, or enforcing restrictive goals. 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 optional logs for activity, sleep, mood, energy, and personal notes with editable units. Let the user build moderate routines and rest days without weight-loss targets, punishment, or competitive pressure. Request health-platform permissions per data type and work fully without granting them. Show weekly patterns and consistency with neutral language and no diagnostic or body-image judgments. Add reminders that can be muted, data export, account-free local use, and full deletion. Include a clear statement that the app is not medical care and should not replace qualified advice. 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. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out medical diagnosis or treatment. Deliberately leave out extreme exercise or restrictive-eating coaching. Deliberately leave out wearable hardware, human coaching, and a large social network. 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 Headspace 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 Headspace because people pay for polished mobile capture, trusted content, hardware integration, and coaching rather than the basic logbook. The recurring cost buys sensor permissions, data quality, notifications, safety language, accessibility, sync, privacy, content review, and support, not just the visible interface.
xlarge licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish
xwearable hardware data
xcoach network
xclinical validation
xlarge content library and social network
share on X ↗"I just replaced Headspace ($12.99/mo) with one prompt"
Headspace pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| individual | $12.99/user | $5.83/user | Full Headspace meditation, sleep, focus, and mindfulness catalog |
| student | — | $0.83/user | Full individual membership for 1 verified eligible student age 18+ |
| family | — | $8.33 | Up to 6 accounts; members must reside at the same physical address |
free tierno full free tier; sample content is available, but Headspace does not publish a numeric sample-session cap
billingIndividual monthly + annual; Student and Family annual only; subscriptions auto-renew
hidden costsStudent eligibility must be reverified and later transitions toward full price. Family members must share one physical address.
verified 2026-08-14 · source ↗
Vibecode Headspace
Not really. Headspace's value is not the code: Recheck price before merge. See the honest breakdown above.
How much does Headspace cost?
Headspace costs about $12.99/month (Headspace, checked 2026-07-31), which is $155.88 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Headspace?
Honestly: large licensed meditation library, clinical programs, coaches, brand, and mobile polish; wearable hardware data; coach network; clinical validation; large content library and social network. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Headspace?
Yes: wger (Active open-source fitness and workout management application.). Using prior art is also vibecoding; the prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.