Vimcal
Build a fast keyboard-first calendar client with scheduling links
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Vimcal, build a fast keyboard-first calendar client with scheduling links. The hard boundary is native client polish, multiple accounts, mobile apps, time-zone tools, and reliability, plus calendar integrations and reliability.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- native client polish, multiple accounts, mobile apps, time-zone tools, and reliability
- multiple calendar providers
- team routing and round-robin
- payments
- timezone edge-case maturity
Why people still pay
People still pay for Vimcal because people pay because one double booking or missed invite can cost more than years of subscription fees. The recurring cost buys OAuth refresh, webhooks, timezone databases, race conditions, reminders, deliverability, privacy, and uptime, not just the visible interface.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- Google OAuth credentials, a registered HTTPS callback and calendar access granted by the owner. Confirm the provider scopes and publishing requirements before adding guests.
- 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. One Google Calendar OAuth adapter, a timezone-aware date library, and an outbox worker for email/ICS delivery.
- Scope boundary: native client polish, multiple accounts, mobile apps, time-zone tools, and reliability; multiple calendar providers
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: gws-calendar — Use Google Calendar calendars, events, recurrence, free/busy queries and integration discovery through the gws CLI. 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: provider events, command actions, parsed draft times, shared availability snippets and saved booking receipts
Project rule — preserve this invariant: Keyboard shortcuts never submit an ambiguous parsed date without confirmation; shared availability omits private event names.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: Draft an event in a different timezone and confirm its exact instant; a stale edit detects a provider conflict instead of overwriting the event.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Build a keyboard-first view of one calendar with quick event drafts, timezone conversion and a reviewed availability-sharing action. Add a simple booking link after reliable event editing. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: native client polish, multiple accounts, mobile apps, time-zone tools, and reliability; multiple calendar providers
Phase 2
Durable model. Model provider events, command actions, parsed draft times, shared availability snippets and saved booking receipts Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Keyboard shortcuts never submit an ambiguous parsed date without confirmation; shared availability omits private event names.
Phase 3
Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Store UTC instants plus the intended IANA timezone. Reserve locally in a transaction, recheck provider availability, create with a stable external ID, then reconcile timeouts before retrying.
Phase 4
Permissions and integration failure. Encrypt refresh tokens with a separately managed key; expose busy intervals rather than event titles publicly. Hash guest management tokens and bound their lifetime. 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. Draft an event in a different timezone and confirm its exact instant; a stale edit detects a provider conflict instead of overwriting the event. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.
WORKING SLICE Build a keyboard-first view of one calendar with quick event drafts, timezone conversion and a reviewed availability-sharing action. Add a simple booking link after reliable event editing. Build this scoped Vimcal-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. - One Google Calendar OAuth adapter, a timezone-aware date library, and an outbox worker for email/ICS delivery. Prerequisites and limits Google OAuth credentials, a registered HTTPS callback and calendar access granted by the owner. Confirm the provider scopes and publishing requirements before adding guests. Outside this release: native client polish, multiple accounts, mobile apps, time-zone tools, and reliability; multiple calendar providers Data model and correctness provider events, command actions, parsed draft times, shared availability snippets and saved booking receipts Invariant: Keyboard shortcuts never submit an ambiguous parsed date without confirmation; shared availability omits private event names. Store UTC instants plus the intended IANA timezone. Reserve locally in a transaction, recheck provider availability, create with a stable external ID, then reconcile timeouts before retrying. Security and privacy Encrypt refresh tokens with a separately managed key; expose busy intervals rather than event titles publicly. Hash guest management tokens and bound their lifetime. 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: Build a keyboard-first view of one calendar with quick event drafts, timezone conversion and a reviewed availability-sharing action. Add a simple booking link after reliable event editing. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: native client polish, multiple accounts, mobile apps, time-zone tools, and reliability; multiple calendar providers 2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model provider events, command actions, parsed draft times, shared availability snippets and saved booking receipts Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Keyboard shortcuts never submit an ambiguous parsed date without confirmation; shared availability omits private event names. 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. Store UTC instants plus the intended IANA timezone. Reserve locally in a transaction, recheck provider availability, create with a stable external ID, then reconcile timeouts before retrying. 4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Encrypt refresh tokens with a separately managed key; expose busy intervals rather than event titles publicly. Hash guest management tokens and bound their lifetime. 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. Draft an event in a different timezone and confirm its exact instant; a stale edit detects a provider conflict instead of overwriting the event. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder. Acceptance Draft an event in a different timezone and confirm its exact instant; a stale edit detects a provider conflict instead of overwriting the event. 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: [gws-calendar](https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli/blob/main/skills/gws-calendar/SKILL.md) — Use Google Calendar calendars, events, recurrence, free/busy queries and integration discovery through the gws CLI. 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: provider events, command actions, parsed draft times, shared availability snippets and saved booking receipts Project rule — preserve this invariant: Keyboard shortcuts never submit an ambiguous parsed date without confirmation; shared availability omits private event names. Project rule — acceptance evidence: Draft an event in a different timezone and confirm its exact instant; a stale edit detects a provider conflict instead of overwriting the event.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan
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Vimcal pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free (ios only) | $0/user | $0/user | 1 user; iOS-only calendar; no numeric event or calendar-account cap published. |
| vimcal ios & desktop | $20/user | $16.67/user | Unlimited personal booking links; group polls; desktop apps; team scheduling.Annual total is $200. |
| vimcal ea | $75/user | $62.50/user | 5 simultaneous time zones; delegated scheduling; calendar audits and weekly metrics.Annual total is $750. |
| enterprise | — | — | Custom billing; SAML SSO; advanced security; dedicated support.Custom quote for Vimcal or Vimcal EA. |
free tier1 user; iOS-only calendar; no numeric event or calendar-account cap published.
billingmonthly + annual (up to -16%); Enterprise custom
pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Vimcal
Can you build your own Vimcal with AI?
Partly. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Vimcal, build a fast keyboard-first calendar client with scheduling links. The hard boundary is native client polish, multiple accounts, mobile apps, time-zone tools, and reliability, plus calendar integrations and reliability.
What does the Vimcal build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Build a keyboard-first view of one calendar with quick event drafts, timezone conversion and a reviewed availability-sharing action. Add a simple booking link after reliable event editing. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: native client polish, multiple accounts, mobile apps, time-zone tools, and reliability; multiple calendar providers; team routing and round-robin. 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 Vimcal 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 Vimcal 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 Vimcal?
native client polish, multiple accounts, mobile apps, time-zone tools, and reliability; multiple calendar providers; team routing and round-robin; payments; timezone edge-case maturity. People still pay for Vimcal because people pay because one double booking or missed invite can cost more than years of subscription fees. The recurring cost buys OAuth refresh, webhooks, timezone databases, race conditions, reminders, deliverability, privacy, and uptime, not just the visible interface.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Vimcal iOS & Desktop plan is $20/mo per seat (monthly per user), checked 2026-08-14. 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 Vimcal?
Notion Calendar: Cron with a Notion badge: quick keyboarding, multiple calendars and availability sharing, but no contact brain. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.