CRM · checked 2026-10-13

Can I vibecode Attio?

KINDA· weekend project

The data model is the easy part: people, companies and deals as typed tables, objects of your own, lists that work as pipelines, and a record page with notes, tasks and a timeline. An agent builds that in a sitting, and filling contacts from your mailbox over IMAP takes a few more hours. The weekend goes into what Attio does in the background, and some of it stays out of reach: calendar sync, company and people enrichment, relationship-strength scores and workflows. For a small team sharing one CRM, Attio's free plan or a self-hosted Twenty is a shorter way out than building.

$44/moprice per seat

$528you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeAn afternoon for the CRM; the mailbox sync takes longer to get right

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Node.js 22better-sqlite3 compiles a native module, so build tools must be installed.
Your Attio workspace exportA zip of CSVs from Workspace settings > General > Export Workspace data.
An IMAP app password (optional)Gmail only issues app passwords once 2-Step Verification is on; work accounts may block IMAP entirely.

Before you buildIf you work alone or with two others, Attio Free (3 seats, 50,000 records) may already cover you; it keeps email sync and enrichment.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a personal relationship CRM to replace Attio. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript: a Hono API and a React front end built with Vite.
  `npm start` serves everything on http://localhost:4800.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 in ./data/crm.db. Built-in objects People, Companies
  and Deals, plus objects I define. Attribute types: text, number, currency,
  date, select, multi-select, email, URL, checkbox, rating, and a reference to
  a record of another object.
- A table view per object with inline editing, sort, filter and saved views.
- Lists: add records to a list that has its own extra attributes (stage, owner,
  amount) and show it as a table or as a kanban grouped by a select attribute.
- Record page: attributes on one side, a timeline on the other with Markdown
  notes, tasks with due dates and logged emails.
- Mailbox sync: IMAP host, user and app password from .env. Fetch headers only
  (from, to, cc, date, subject) for the last 90 days, then every 15 minutes.
  Create People by address, link them to a Company by email domain, and keep
  "last contacted" and an interaction count. Skip noreply and bulk senders.
  Never store message bodies.
- CSV import with a column-mapping preview, and CSV export of any view.
- Single user. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first.
- Out of scope: calendar sync, enrichment from outside data, workflows and
  sending email.
- README: setup, the Gmail app-password steps, and where the database lives.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Attio.

Add an Attio importer to the CRM in this folder. Requirements:

- A command that takes the zip from Attio's Export Workspace data.
- For each object CSV, create the object and its attributes, guessing types
  from the values; show the plan and ask before writing anything.
- Import records, then lists and list entries, then notes, tasks and
  comments, resolving references between records by their Attio IDs.
- Columns that can't be mapped go into a JSON field, listed at the end.
- Running it twice must not duplicate anything.
- Update the README with the export steps.

Add calendar meetings to the CRM in this folder. Requirements:

- Read one or more iCal URLs from .env (for Google: the secret address in
  iCal format from the calendar's settings) and refresh every 30 minutes
  with node-ical.
- Match attendees to People by email; create People for unknown external
  attendees.
- Show past and upcoming meetings on each record's timeline and keep "last
  met" and "next meeting" attributes.
- Ignore events with no external attendees.
- Update the README with how to find the secret iCal address.

Add website lookups to the CRM in this folder. Requirements:

- For a Company with a domain, fetch its homepage once and store the page
  title, meta description, favicon, and links to LinkedIn and X if present.
- Run on demand from the record page, and for new companies in the
  background, at most one request per second.
- Respect robots.txt and a 10-second timeout; store failures and move on.
- Out of scope: paid data providers and scraping LinkedIn.
- Update the README.

Add workflows to the CRM in this folder. Requirements:

- Triggers: record created, attribute changed to a value, list entry moved
  to a stage, and no interaction for N days.
- Actions: create a task, set an attribute, add to a list, POST JSON to a
  webhook URL.
- A page to create, enable and disable rules, with a log of the last 200 runs.
- Out of scope: sending email and AI steps.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Automatic enrichment of companies and people (logo, funding, headcount)
Calendar sync and meeting history on every record
Connection strength: who on the team knows whom, and how well
Workflows, sequences and the AI features such as Ask Attio and call notes
A shared workspace with permissions, and the integrations catalog

Why people still pay

Startups pick Attio because it bends to their data instead of forcing a sales template, and because connecting Gmail or Outlook fills the CRM without any typing. Teams then stay for the shared picture of every relationship and the workflows built on top of it.

Moatintegrations proprietary data collaboration

Do the math

Attio or your own copy?

Seats

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Attio, 1 yr$528

Your own copy, 1 yr$8running + build session

You keep$521pays for itself in the first month

Estimate · Runs on your machine with no paid services. The build is token usage on your agent plan; a VPS for access from your phone would add a few dollars a month.

Leaving Attio

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Attio

1For everything: click your workspace name > Workspace settings > General > Export Workspace data > Start new export, then download the zip when it reaches 100%. Admins only.
2The zip has CSVs for companies, people, deals, custom objects, lists, notes, tasks, comments, files and members.
3For one view: open it, click Save for everyone so filters apply, then Import / Export > Export view as CSV.
4Emails can't be exported at all, enriched attributes come out blank, and meetings and call recordings are only available through the REST API.

2 · Cancel Attio

1Click your workspace name > Workspace settings > Billing (admins only).
2At the bottom of the page choose Cancel subscription.
3Confirm that you'll lose access at the end of the billing period, give a reason and click Cancel Subscription.

The whole team loses access to the workspace when the paid period ends, and you can't export after that.
To keep a smaller workspace instead, pick a lower plan under Workspace settings > Plans; downgrades take effect at the next renewal.
Deleting the workspace cancels at once and erases all data immediately, with no undo.
Plan on losing enriched values such as funding and headcount; anything you typed in yourself comes with you.

Checked 2026-10-13 against Attio's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

TwentyOpen sourceThe closest open-source match: custom objects, table and kanban views, Gmail and Outlook sync, workflows. AGPL with a few enterprise-only files.★ 58k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗Frappe CRMOpen sourceLead and deal pipelines with email, notes, tasks and custom fields on the Frappe framework.★ 3.8k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗EspoCRMOpen sourcePHP CRM with an entity manager for your own objects and fields, plus email import; some extensions are paid.★ 3.5k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗

All 6 free alternatives to Attio ›

The numbers

Attio pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Free	$0	$0	Up to 3 seats, 3 objects, 50,000 records, 3 reports, 200 emails a month, 50 GB of files; 100 credits per seat and 250 per workspace each month.
Plus	$44	$35	Up to 10 seats, 5 objects, 250,000 records, 15 reports, 1,000 emails a month, private lists; 500 credits per seat and 1,500 per workspace each month.
Pro	$99	$79	Unlimited seats, 12 objects, 1,000,000 records, 100 reports, unlimited email, 2 synced mailboxes per user, sequences and call intelligence; 1,000 credits per seat and 10,000 per workspace.
Enterprise	custom	—	Unlimited objects and teams, SSO, SCIM, advanced permissions.

Free tier: 3 seats, 3 objects, 50,000 records, 3 reports and 200 sent emails a month.
Billing: Monthly or annual per seat (annual saves 20%); card payment, invoices on Pro and Enterprise. Upgrades are charged pro rata at once, downgrades apply at renewal.
Hidden costs: AI features and workflows draw on monthly credits; extra workspace credits cost $85 a month for 5,000 up to $595 for 50,000 ($70 to $475 on annual). Prices shown in euros or pounds outside the US differ.
Source: attio.com

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Questions

Attio, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

Free covers up to 3 seats, 3 objects and 50,000 records, with 200 sent emails a month.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: Automatic enrichment of companies and people (logo, funding, headcount), Calendar sync and meeting history on every record.

About $44 a month on the Plus plan per seat, $528 a year (checked 2026-10-13).

Automatic enrichment of companies and people (logo, funding, headcount); Calendar sync and meeting history on every record; Connection strength: who on the team knows whom, and how well; Workflows, sequences and the AI features such as Ask Attio and call notes; A shared workspace with permissions, and the integrations catalog. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.