Heartbeat
Run a private community with channels, events, courses, and lightweight workflows
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Heartbeat, run a private community with channels, events, courses, and lightweight workflows. The hard boundary is mobile apps, automations, analytics, payments, and community onboarding, plus network, moderation, and communication infrastructure.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- mobile apps, automations, analytics, payments, and community onboarding
- network effects
- native mobile apps
- video and voice infrastructure
- enterprise moderation and discovery
Why people still pay
People still pay for Heartbeat because community software is valuable when members are already there and the operator does not have to own realtime reliability and abuse response. The recurring cost buys realtime delivery, notifications, abuse handling, search, media, permissions, mobile clients, backups, and community operations, not just the visible interface.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- A supported Node release, PostgreSQL, HTTPS for a shared deployment, and a backup destination. Begin with one workspace and explicit owner/member permissions.
- Implementation components: Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations. PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace.
- Scope boundary: mobile apps, automations, analytics, payments, and community onboarding; network effects
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.
Optional external skill: vercel-react-best-practices — Improve React and Next.js data fetching, rendering, bundle size and server performance. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: supabase-postgres-best-practices — Review PostgreSQL schemas, queries, indexes, pooling, concurrency and row-level security. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: web-design-guidelines — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Project rule — data model: communities, channels, threads, course lessons, events, role grants and moderation actions
Project rule — preserve this invariant: Revoked members lose access to all private channel assets; automations cannot grant a higher role than their operator.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: Remove a member before a digest runs and exclude private content; editing an event updates its RSVP view without duplicating attendees.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Host a small discussion community with channel threads, a simple course area and event RSVPs. Add owner-defined welcome tasks and a digest that respects membership and notification preferences. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: mobile apps, automations, analytics, payments, and community onboarding; network effects
Phase 2
Durable model. Model communities, channels, threads, course lessons, events, role grants and moderation actions Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Revoked members lose access to all private channel assets; automations cannot grant a higher role than their operator.
Phase 3
Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Commit related database changes in one transaction. Use version checks for competing edits and an outbox for external notifications; retry delivery independently of saving the record.
Phase 4
Permissions and integration failure. Authorize every record read and mutation on the server using its workspace membership; validate payloads, protect mutations against CSRF, and escape user-authored HTML. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.
Phase 5
Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.
Phase 6
Acceptance scenarios. Remove a member before a digest runs and exclude private content; editing an event updates its RSVP view without duplicating attendees. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.
WORKING SLICE Host a small discussion community with channel threads, a simple course area and event RSVPs. Add owner-defined welcome tasks and a digest that respects membership and notification preferences. Build this scoped Heartbeat-inspired workflow with a documented data model and visible failure states. Architecture - Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations. - PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace. Prerequisites and limits A supported Node release, PostgreSQL, HTTPS for a shared deployment, and a backup destination. Begin with one workspace and explicit owner/member permissions. Outside this release: mobile apps, automations, analytics, payments, and community onboarding; network effects Data model and correctness communities, channels, threads, course lessons, events, role grants and moderation actions Invariant: Revoked members lose access to all private channel assets; automations cannot grant a higher role than their operator. Commit related database changes in one transaction. Use version checks for competing edits and an outbox for external notifications; retry delivery independently of saving the record. Security and privacy Authorize every record read and mutation on the server using its workspace membership; validate payloads, protect mutations against CSRF, and escape user-authored HTML. Recovery and export Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Implementation order 1. Phase 1 — Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Host a small discussion community with channel threads, a simple course area and event RSVPs. Add owner-defined welcome tasks and a digest that respects membership and notification preferences. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: mobile apps, automations, analytics, payments, and community onboarding; network effects 2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model communities, channels, threads, course lessons, events, role grants and moderation actions Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Revoked members lose access to all private channel assets; automations cannot grant a higher role than their operator. 3. Phase 3 — Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Commit related database changes in one transaction. Use version checks for competing edits and an outbox for external notifications; retry delivery independently of saving the record. 4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Authorize every record read and mutation on the server using its workspace membership; validate payloads, protect mutations against CSRF, and escape user-authored HTML. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results. 5. Phase 5 — Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README. 6. Phase 6 — Acceptance scenarios. Remove a member before a digest runs and exclude private content; editing an event updates its RSVP view without duplicating attendees. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder. Acceptance Remove a member before a digest runs and exclude private content; editing an event updates its RSVP view without duplicating attendees. Use real source data or clearly labeled fixtures. Explain unsupported input and provider failures; do not fabricate analytics, delivery receipts, accuracy claims or security guarantees. Optional agent guidance Optional external skill: [vercel-react-best-practices](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/react-best-practices/SKILL.md) — Improve React and Next.js data fetching, rendering, bundle size and server performance. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [supabase-postgres-best-practices](https://github.com/supabase/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/supabase-postgres-best-practices/SKILL.md) — Review PostgreSQL schemas, queries, indexes, pooling, concurrency and row-level security. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Project rule — data model: communities, channels, threads, course lessons, events, role grants and moderation actions Project rule — preserve this invariant: Revoked members lose access to all private channel assets; automations cannot grant a higher role than their operator. Project rule — acceptance evidence: Remove a member before a digest runs and exclude private content; editing an event updates its RSVP view without duplicating attendees.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md
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Alternatives to building your own
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Heartbeat pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| build | $49/workspace | $40.83/workspace | Up to 350 members; 5 workflows; 1 landing page; 256 video-room attendees; unlimited room hours; 5% platform transaction fee$490 billed annually. |
| grow | $149/workspace | $124.17/workspace | Up to 5,000 members; unlimited workflows; 15 landing pages; 50 native-video hours/month; 256 video-room attendees; 2.5% platform transaction fee$1,490 billed annually. |
| scale | $849/workspace | $766.67/workspace | Unlimited members; 50 landing pages; 200 native-video hours/month; 256 video-room attendees; 1.25% platform transaction fee$9,200 billed annually. |
free tierno free tier; 14-day trial with no credit card
billingmonthly + annual; annual totals are $490, $1,490 and $9,200
hidden costsPlatform transaction fees of 5%/2.5%/1.25% are added to payment-processor fees (Heartbeat illustrates Stripe at about 2.9% + $0.30). Build can add 50 native-video hours for $19/month. Admins and moderators count toward the member cap.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-12 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Heartbeat
Can you build your own Heartbeat with AI?
Partly. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Heartbeat, run a private community with channels, events, courses, and lightweight workflows. The hard boundary is mobile apps, automations, analytics, payments, and community onboarding, plus network, moderation, and communication infrastructure.
What does the Heartbeat build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Host a small discussion community with channel threads, a simple course area and event RSVPs. Add owner-defined welcome tasks and a digest that respects membership and notification preferences. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: mobile apps, automations, analytics, payments, and community onboarding; network effects; native mobile apps. 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 Heartbeat 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 Heartbeat 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 Heartbeat?
mobile apps, automations, analytics, payments, and community onboarding; network effects; native mobile apps; video and voice infrastructure; enterprise moderation and discovery. People still pay for Heartbeat because community software is valuable when members are already there and the operator does not have to own realtime reliability and abuse response. The recurring cost buys realtime delivery, notifications, abuse handling, search, media, permissions, mobile clients, backups, and community operations, not just the visible interface.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Build plan is $49/mo (monthly), 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 Heartbeat?
Moodle: Courses, forums, events and completion rules in one mature system; it feels like a school because it is one. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.