image:[License,link="https://github.com/hyperpolymath/palimpsest-license"]

FormBase

The open-source Airtable alternative that remembers everything.

What is FormBase?

FormBase is a spreadsheet-database hybrid built on FormDB. Unlike traditional spreadsheet tools, every change is tracked with who made it, when, and why.

Key Features

Feature	Description
Provenance by default	Every cell change records who, when, and why - not optional
Full reversibility	Undo any change, forever, with mathematical proof
Cloud-safe	Sync via Dropbox/GDrive without corruption (append-only)
Self-hosted	Your data stays on your servers
PROMPT scores	Research-grade data quality scoring
Multiple views	Grid, Kanban, Calendar, Gallery, Form

Quick Start

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/hyperpolymath/formbase
cd formbase

# Start the server (requires Gleam and FormDB)
cd server && gleam run

# Start the UI (requires Deno)
cd ../ui && deno task dev

# Open in browser
open http://localhost:3000

Screenshots

Coming soon

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Browser UI (ReScript + React)                              │
│  Grid | Kanban | Calendar | Gallery | Form Builder          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Real-time Collaboration (WebSocket + Yjs CRDT)             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  API Server (Gleam on BEAM)                                 │
│  REST + WebSocket + Automations                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  FormDB Engine                                              │
│  Provenance | Reversibility | PROMPT Scores                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Storage: Local | Dropbox | GDrive | S3                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Views

Grid View

Spreadsheet-like interface with sorting, filtering, grouping, and column customization.

Kanban View

Drag-and-drop cards between columns, grouped by any select field.

Calendar View

Events displayed on a calendar, driven by date fields.

Gallery View

Cards with images, perfect for visual content.

Form View

Public or private forms for data collection, with automatic provenance.

Field Types

Type	Icon	Notes
Text	Aa	Single or multi-line
Number	#	Integer or decimal, with units
Select	▼	Single or multi-select
Date	📅	Date, datetime, or date range
Checkbox	☑	Boolean
Link	🔗	Link to another table (foreign key)
Attachment	📎	Files, images, documents
Formula	fx	Computed from other fields
Rollup	Σ	Aggregate linked records
Lookup	👁	Pull field from linked record
URL	🌐	Web links
Email	✉	Email addresses
Phone	☎	Phone numbers
Rating	⭐	1-5 stars
Barcode	▮▮▮	QR codes, barcodes

FormDB Superpowers

These features are unique to FormBase because of the FormDB backend:

Provenance View

Click any cell to see its complete history: who changed it, when, and their stated rationale.

Time Travel

View your entire base at any point in history. Compare snapshots.

PROMPT Scores

Rate data quality on six dimensions: Provenance, Replicability, Objectivity, Methodology, Publication, Transparency.

Proof Export

Generate audit-grade documentation with cryptographic proofs of data integrity.

DOI Linking

Link records to canonical sources. DOI-linked records are immutable; edits create "play variants."

Automations

Triggers	Actions
Row created	Send webhook
Field changed	Send email
Form submitted	Post to Slack
Scheduled (cron)	Run script
PROMPT score below threshold	Flag for review

Comparison

Feature	Airtable	NocoDB	Baserow	FormBase
Self-hosted	❌	✓	✓	✓
Open source	❌	✓	✓	✓
Provenance tracking	❌	❌	❌	✓ Built-in
Full undo history	Limited	Limited	Limited	✓ Forever
Cloud sync safe	N/A	❌	❌	✓ Append-only
Data quality scores	❌	❌	❌	✓ PROMPT
Offline-first	❌	❌	❌	✓
Your data ownership	❌	✓	✓	✓

Roadmap

v0.1.0 - Core Grid (Current)

• ❏ Create/delete bases and tables

• ❏ Add/edit/delete rows

• ❏ Core field types (text, number, date, select)

• ❏ Sort, filter, hide columns

• ❏ Keyboard navigation

v0.2.0 - Views

• ❏ Kanban view

• ❏ Calendar view

• ❏ Gallery view

• ❏ Form builder

v0.3.0 - Collaboration

• ❏ Real-time cursors

• ❏ Cell comments

• ❏ Activity feed (from FormDB provenance)

• ❏ @mentions

v0.4.0 - Automations

• ❏ Trigger/action system

• ❏ Webhooks

• ❏ Email notifications

• ❏ Scheduled tasks

v0.5.0 - FormDB Superpowers

• ❏ Provenance view

• ❏ Time travel UI

• ❏ PROMPT scoring

• ❏ Proof export

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
UI Framework	ReScript + React
State Management	Jotai
Grid Component	Custom (accessibility-first)
Real-time	WebSocket + Yjs
Backend	Gleam on BEAM
Database	FormDB
Auth	Magic link + OIDC
Deploy	Podman / Docker

Related Projects

• FormDB - The narrative-first database engine

• FQLdt - Dependently-typed query language

• FormDB Studio - Admin GUI for FormDB

• FormDB Debugger - Proof-carrying recovery tool

• BoFIG - Evidence graph for journalism

• Zotero-FormDB - Reference manager

License

PMPL-1.0-or-later

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.adoc for guidelines.

Acknowledgements

Inspired by:

• Airtable - The UX gold standard

• NocoDB - Open source Airtable alternative

• Baserow - Self-hosted database

• Grist - Spreadsheet with formulas