# AGENTS.md — Build guide for Jotform ## Project scope Create a public form from text, choice, date and file fields, publish a version, review responses privately and export CSV. Catalogue verdict: kinda. Basic forms are easy, but Jotform's broad widget library, payments, approvals, PDF generation, tables, apps, and compliance options create a large surface. Use the implementation prompt below to define the deliverable. Complete each phase's acceptance checks before extending the scope. ## Working agreement - Inspect the repository and its existing instructions before choosing paths, dependencies or commands. Keep one coherent stack and explain changes to the proposed architecture. - Plan a vertical slice that accepts a real input and produces the useful output described below. Persist only the state the prompt calls for; respect memory-only and upstream-managed workflows. Use fixtures only when they are clearly labelled. - After scaffolding, document the actual install, development, check and build commands in README and keep them synchronized with the package or project manifest. Do not report commands as successful unless they ran. - Work in small steps. At handoff, list implemented flows, checks actually performed, remaining blockers, and any credentials or provider setup the owner must supply. - Do not publish, spend money, contact customers, delete source data or run irreversible migrations without the project owner's authorization. ## Prerequisites - Runtime and tools: TypeScript, React, Node and PostgreSQL with versioned form schemas and server-side validation. - Before starting: A public HTTPS origin, an administrator account, sample valid/invalid responses and optional verified notification delivery. ## Stack and architecture - TypeScript, React, Node and PostgreSQL with versioned form schemas and server-side validation - Data design: Store FormRevision, Field, VisibilityRule, Response and Attachment; uploads remain private, response IDs deduplicate retries and server validation uses the pinned published schema. - Setup: A public HTTPS origin, an administrator account, sample valid/invalid responses and optional verified notification delivery ## Security and data integrity - Pin submissions to a published schema version. Re-evaluate branching and required fields on the server, rate-limit public intake, and keep notifications in an outbox separate from accepted responses. - Keep payments and signatures out of the first release unless separately designed. Form submission is not payment proof, and a drawn signature alone does not establish legal validity. - Keep secrets outside client bundles and exported projects; document what leaves the device and make retention/deletion controls visible. ## Agent implementation rules - Project rule — domain: Store FormRevision, Field, VisibilityRule, Response and Attachment; uploads remain private, response IDs deduplicate retries and server validation uses the pinned published schema. - Project rule — scope and recovery: Keep payments and signatures out of the first release unless separately designed. Form submission is not payment proof, and a drawn signature alone does not establish legal validity. - Project rule — acceptance: Submit a hidden required field, an oversized attachment and a double-clicked response; return clear errors and create at most one accepted response. - 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. ## Optional agent skills and references - Recommended skill: [supabase-postgres-best-practices](https://github.com/supabase/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/supabase-postgres-best-practices/SKILL.md) — review this PostgreSQL domain schema, uniqueness constraints, transaction boundaries and access-scoped queries; Supabase hosting is not required. Follow the maintainer's installation instructions and match its requirements to the chosen runtime. - Recommended skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — 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. Read the linked SKILL.md and its dependencies before adding a skill. Select only the skills matching this project's runtime and task; their documentation does not supply API access, credentials or approval to perform external actions. Pin the reviewed revision where the tool supports it. Follow the chosen agent's documented project-level installation mechanism. ## Distribution ideas These are optional planning notes. Obtain the owner's approval before publishing or contacting anyone. - Demonstrate this working slice using synthetic or explicitly authorized non-sensitive examples: Create a public form from text, choice, date and file fields, publish a version, review responses privately and export CSV. - Share a synthetic example export and the acceptance walkthrough; keep real customer, health, financial and source data private: Submit a hidden required field, an oversized attachment and a double-clicked response; return clear errors and create at most one accepted response. - State the limits before asking someone to replace their existing tool: Keep payments and signatures out of the first release unless separately designed. Form submission is not payment proof, and a drawn signature alone does not establish legal validity. ## Engineering roadmap 1. Phase 1 — Pin the working slice and create its example input: Create a public form from text, choice, date and file fields, publish a version, review responses privately and export CSV. Confirm setup: A public HTTPS origin, an administrator account, sample valid/invalid responses and optional verified notification delivery. 2. Phase 2 — Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store FormRevision, Field, VisibilityRule, Response and Attachment; uploads remain private, response IDs deduplicate retries and server validation uses the pinned published schema. 3. Phase 3 — Connect the working view to real saved state. Pin submissions to a published schema version. Re-evaluate branching and required fields on the server, rate-limit public intake, and keep notifications in an outbox separate from accepted responses. 4. Phase 4 — Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Keep payments and signatures out of the first release unless separately designed. Form submission is not payment proof, and a drawn signature alone does not establish legal validity. 5. Phase 5 — Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Submit a hidden required field, an oversized attachment and a double-clicked response; return clear errors and create at most one accepted response. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly. ## Paid-product capabilities outside this build - widget catalog - PDF/approval workflows - payments - app builder - integrations - compliance options - templates ## Implementation prompt Build the following focused alternative to Jotform. This is a deliberately limited personal or small-team substitute, not parity with the paid service. WORKING SLICE Create a public form from text, choice, date and file fields, publish a version, review responses privately and export CSV. SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE Use TypeScript, React, Node and PostgreSQL with versioned form schemas and server-side validation. Prerequisites: A public HTTPS origin, an administrator account, sample valid/invalid responses and optional verified notification delivery. 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 FormRevision, Field, VisibilityRule, Response and Attachment; uploads remain private, response IDs deduplicate retries and server validation uses the pinned published schema. IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT Pin submissions to a published schema version. Re-evaluate branching and required fields on the server, rate-limit public intake, and keep notifications in an outbox separate from accepted responses. 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 Keep payments and signatures out of the first release unless separately designed. Form submission is not payment proof, and a drawn signature alone does not establish legal validity. ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO Submit a hidden required field, an oversized attachment and a double-clicked response; return clear errors and create at most one accepted response. 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. ## Completion evidence Demonstrate the prompt's acceptance scenarios against the scoped workflow. Include setup from a clean checkout and failure recovery. Check persistence across restart and export/restore only for the state the prompt says to store; for memory-only tools, confirm that temporary content is discarded as specified. Record actual results and remaining limitations. A detailed plan alone does not establish a working replacement.