Equals
Query a database into a spreadsheet-style analysis workbook
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Equals, query a database into a spreadsheet-style analysis workbook. The hard boundary is warehouse connectors, sql, collaboration, versioning, and finance workflow polish, plus data model flexibility, collaboration, and integrations.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- warehouse connectors, SQL, collaboration, versioning, and finance workflow polish
- real-time multiplayer
- automation and integration breadth
- scale and formula depth
- enterprise permissions
Why people still pay
People still pay for Equals because teams pay when a flexible database becomes a shared operational system with integrations and years of accumulated business logic. The recurring cost buys schema changes, formulas, permissions, imports, attachments, views, APIs, concurrency, backups, and migrations, not just the visible interface.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- Runtime and tools: TypeScript, React, Node, SQLite and decimal.js for explicit decimal calculations.
- Before starting: A representative CSV with known totals, currency and date conventions, and an agreed calculation specification.
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Project rule — domain: Store DataConnection, QueryRevision, ResultSnapshot, CellFormula and ChartRange; source columns are immutable snapshot data and formula evaluation cannot execute arbitrary code.
Project rule — scope and recovery: Start with one database and a small documented formula subset. Read-only credentials, query timeouts and row caps are required; do not promise full Excel compatibility or warehouse-scale execution.
Project rule — acceptance: Refresh a query where a column was renamed; flag broken formulas and retain the previous workbook rather than shifting calculations onto the wrong column.
Project rule — delivery: document real setup commands and permissions; do not claim a build, accuracy level, performance result or security certification that has not been demonstrated.
Recommended skill: web-design-guidelines — review keyboard access, focus, validation, error recovery and the readable work/review interface or HTML report. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.
Recommended skill: sharp-edges — review configuration and API defaults against the app-specific invariants and recovery boundaries above; this is not a security certification. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Pin the working slice and create its example input: Import a read-only SQL query result into a workbook, add calculated columns and chart a pinned result snapshot. Confirm setup: A representative CSV with known totals, currency and date conventions, and an agreed calculation specification.
Phase 2
Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store DataConnection, QueryRevision, ResultSnapshot, CellFormula and ChartRange; source columns are immutable snapshot data and formula evaluation cannot execute arbitrary code.
Phase 3
Connect the working view to real saved state. Preserve imported source rows and units, use decimal arithmetic with stated rounding, and retain correction history. Missing values are unknown rather than zero; reports describe records and assumptions rather than giving advice.
Phase 4
Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Start with one database and a small documented formula subset. Read-only credentials, query timeouts and row caps are required; do not promise full Excel compatibility or warehouse-scale execution.
Phase 5
Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Refresh a query where a column was renamed; flag broken formulas and retain the previous workbook rather than shifting calculations onto the wrong column. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.
Build the following focused alternative to Equals. This is a deliberately limited personal or small-team substitute, not parity with the paid service. WORKING SLICE Import a read-only SQL query result into a workbook, add calculated columns and chart a pinned result snapshot. SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE Use TypeScript, React, Node, SQLite and decimal.js for explicit decimal calculations. Prerequisites: A representative CSV with known totals, currency and date conventions, and an agreed calculation specification. Before integrating anything, record actual versions and permissions, plus model files or provider limits only where used, in the README; make unavailable dependencies visible rather than simulating success. DOMAIN MODEL AND INVARIANTS Store DataConnection, QueryRevision, ResultSnapshot, CellFormula and ChartRange; source columns are immutable snapshot data and formula evaluation cannot execute arbitrary code. IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT Preserve imported source rows and units, use decimal arithmetic with stated rounding, and retain correction history. Missing values are unknown rather than zero; reports describe records and assumptions rather than giving advice. Provide an input/setup view, the main work view, and a review/export view appropriate to this workflow. Preserve the last saved state if a job or save fails. Include empty, loading, permission-denied, partial and retryable-error states. Log identifiers and error categories without secret values or unnecessary private content. APP-SPECIFIC BOUNDARY AND RECOVERY Start with one database and a small documented formula subset. Read-only credentials, query timeouts and row caps are required; do not promise full Excel compatibility or warehouse-scale execution. ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO Refresh a query where a column was renamed; flag broken formulas and retain the previous workbook rather than shifting calculations onto the wrong column. Also reopen the app after an interrupted operation, confirm the saved record/export remains inspectable, and document the recovery action. These are implementation acceptance requirements, not a claim that this guide has been tested. DELIVERY Deliver a runnable repository with migrations or project-format versioning, a non-sensitive example, environment/permission setup, the exact manual acceptance steps, and a backup/export-and-restore walkthrough. Implement the working slice before optional integrations; list any deferred paid-product capabilities honestly. Do not add capabilities outside the working slice just to resemble the original product. PROJECT RULES FOR AGENTS.md Keep the domain invariants above executable at the write boundary. Propose scope changes before adding providers or permissions. Never fabricate source evidence, publish results, identity matches or successful delivery. Preserve user originals and require an explicit confirmation for destructive changes or external publication.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md
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Questions about Equals
Can you build your own Equals with AI?
Partly. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Equals, query a database into a spreadsheet-style analysis workbook. The hard boundary is warehouse connectors, sql, collaboration, versioning, and finance workflow polish, plus data model flexibility, collaboration, and integrations.
What does the Equals build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Import a read-only SQL query result into a workbook, add calculated columns and chart a pinned result snapshot. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: warehouse connectors, SQL, collaboration, versioning, and finance workflow polish; real-time multiplayer; automation and integration breadth. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the Equals prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this Equals project take?
The catalogue estimate is multi-day for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing Equals?
warehouse connectors, SQL, collaboration, versioning, and finance workflow polish; real-time multiplayer; automation and integration breadth; scale and formula depth; enterprise permissions. People still pay for Equals because teams pay when a flexible database becomes a shared operational system with integrations and years of accumulated business logic. The recurring cost buys schema changes, formulas, permissions, imports, attachments, views, APIs, concurrency, backups, and migrations, not just the visible interface.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Standard plan is $39/mo per seat (monthly per user), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.
What can I use instead of building Equals?
Quadratic Personal: A spreadsheet that can query databases and run Python or JavaScript, without pretending every analysis is a dashboard. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.