Analytics · checked 2026-10-19

Can I vibecode Mouseflow?

KINDA· weekend project

Recording a session is a solved problem: rrweb captures DOM events and replays them, and a click heatmap is a table of coordinates drawn over a screenshot. For one site with a few thousand sessions a month, an agent builds the collector, the player, basic heatmaps and funnels in a sitting or two. The weekend goes on what makes it safe and useful: masking form fields and personal data before they leave the browser, heatmaps that stay aligned across screen sizes and page changes, friction scoring, and storage that doesn't balloon. Mouseflow's AI summaries, surveys and integrations are further builds.

$25/moprice

$300you'd save a year

weekendbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeA weekend; masking and heatmap alignment take the longest

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.
A public HTTPS addressYour site's visitors' browsers must reach the collector: a small VPS with a reverse proxy.
Playwright browsersUsed once per page and width to take heatmap screenshots.

Before you buildMouseflow's Free plan records 500 sessions a month for one project with a month of data; Microsoft Clarity is free without a session cap. Check whether either is enough before building.

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 self-hosted session recorder and heatmap tool to replace Mouseflow on my own
site. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript: a Fastify collector and dashboard. `npm start` serves
http://localhost:4860, and the tracking script is served from /t.js with one script tag.
- Capture in the browser with `rrweb`: DOM changes, mouse moves, clicks, scrolls and inputs.
Mask all inputs and anything with a data-private attribute by default and never record
password fields. Batch events and send them with `navigator.sendBeacon` every 5 seconds.
- Collector: POST /collect takes event batches per session id, checks the Origin against
ALLOWED_ORIGINS in .env, rate-limits per IP and rejects batches over 512 KB.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 in ./data/sessions.db for session metadata (start, duration, URL,
device width, browser, referrer, UTM, pages, rage-click count) and gzip event files under
./data/events/. A nightly job deletes sessions older than RETENTION_DAYS (default 30).
- Sampling: SAMPLE_RATE in .env records a percentage of sessions, Do Not Track is honoured and
`window.noTrack()` stops recording.
- Dashboard behind a basic-auth password from .env: a session list filtered by URL, duration,
device and rage clicks, with a player built on `rrweb-player` and speed control.
- Heatmaps: click and scroll-depth maps for one URL drawn over Playwright screenshots taken at
1440, 768 and 390 px wide. Funnels: steps defined as URL patterns, with drop-off per step.
- Friction: flag rage clicks (3 or more within 700 ms inside 40 px) and dead clicks (no DOM
change within 1 s).
- Single user. No accounts, no third-party calls, no telemetry. Out of scope: surveys, AI
summaries, several sites or teams, form-field analytics, cross-domain tracking.
- README: adding the script tag, what is captured and masked, and a reminder that EU visitors
need a consent notice before recording.

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 Mouseflow.

Add segments to the session recorder in this folder. Requirements:

- Save named filters (UTM source, device class, country from an offline GeoLite2 database file, new or returning, min duration) and apply them to the session list, heatmaps and funnels.
- Show a comparison view with two segments side by side for one heatmap or funnel.
- Never send IP addresses to any outside service; discard the IP after the country lookup.
- Update the README with where to put the GeoLite2 file.

Add custom events to the session recorder in this folder. Requirements:

- `window.track(name, props)` in the tracking script stores an event on the session timeline; props are limited to 10 string or number values.
- A goals page that counts sessions reaching an event, with conversion rate per day.
- Show event markers on the player's timeline and let me filter sessions by 'did X' or 'did not do X'.
- Update the README with examples.

Harden privacy in the session recorder in this folder. Requirements:

- A CSS selector allowlist and blocklist in .env for what is masked or unmasked, applied in the browser before sending.
- A "forget this visitor" command that deletes all sessions for a visitor id, and a consent mode where the script records nothing until `window.recordConsent(true)` is called.
- Strip query-string values named in a QUERY_REDACT list from stored URLs.
- A test page that proves a typed email address never appears in stored events.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Friction detection that ranks problems by impact across all recordings
Ask Mina AI answers, AI insights and the MCP server over your behavior data
Feedback surveys and field-level form analytics
Heatmap comparisons across time periods, devices and visitor segments
A Danish vendor maintaining anonymization and compliance controls

Why people still pay

Most of what you pay for is not running a recording pipeline: a script tag is pasted once, sessions are masked and stored, and the vendor keeps up with browsers and privacy rules. Marketing teams get heatmaps and funnels without a developer. Reviews say price grows with traffic, which is where free tools start to look good.

Moatexecution polish infrastructure scale

Do the math

Mouseflow or your own copy?

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Mouseflow, 1 yr$300

Your own copy, 1 yr$46running + build session

You keep$254pays for itself in the first month

Estimate · A $5 VPS holds a few thousand compressed sessions a month; heavier sites need more disk. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Mouseflow

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Mouseflow

1Session Replay list: apply your filters and date range, open the three-dot menu at the top right and choose Download CSV (up to 10,000 rows).
2Heatmaps, Funnels and Forms: set the date range and filters, then click the download icon at the top right (heatmaps are capped at 2,000 rows).
3Feedback surveys: open the survey and click the download icon (up to 10,000 responses).
4The REST API exports recordings, pageviews, heatmaps, funnels, forms and feedback responses; create a token under the gear icon, Account, API. It is available on Premium and Enterprise, legacy plans and the trial.
5The exports are CSV and API data: nothing in what we read describes downloading replay videos or heatmap images.

2 · Cancel Mouseflow

1As the account owner, open Billing, click Change next to your plan, choose the Free Forever option at the bottom of the pop-up and confirm.
2The change applies on your next billing date; the Downgrade Now banner at the top of Billing switches immediately. Your saved payment method is removed.
3To stop everything instead, open Account Settings, scroll to the bottom and click Delete Account: all session and analytics data is erased and can't be restored.
4Enterprise plans need written notice to sales at least 30 days before renewal.

Neither step removes the Mouseflow script from your website: delete the snippet yourself, or it keeps loading.
Free keeps a month of data and 500 sessions, so export what you need before the downgrade takes effect, in batches by date range because of the row caps.
Cancellations take effect at renewal and the current period isn't refunded, except the 14-day guarantee for first-time annual subscribers.
Screenshot the heatmaps and funnels you still need: they can't be rebuilt from CSV exports.

Checked 2026-10-19 against Mouseflow's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4

The escape hatch

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

Microsoft ClarityFreeFree hosted session recordings and heatmaps; the site says free forever with no limits on traffic. Third-party reviews say it has no survey tool.they host it
WebVisit ↗OpenReplayOpen sourceSelf-hostable session replay and product analytics; most of the code is AGPLv3 with an enterprise directory under a commercial license.★ 13k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗PostHogOpen sourceProduct analytics suite with session replay, heatmaps and funnels; the core is MIT with an enterprise directory under a commercial license, and a hosted free tier.★ 40k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗

All 4 free alternatives to Mouseflow ›

The numbers

Mouseflow pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Free	$0	$0	500 sessions a month, 1 project, 1 month of data retention.
Essential	$25	—	5,000 sessions a month, 1 project, 3 months of data retention.
Advanced	$109	—	25,000 sessions a month, 2 projects, 6 months of data retention.
Premium	$319	—	100,000 sessions a month, 5 projects, 12 months of data retention, REST API access.
Enterprise	custom	—	Custom sessions, projects and retention.

Free tier: 500 sessions a month; when the sessions run out, tracking stops until the next monthly refill.
Billing: Monthly or annual (up to 35% less when billed annually). Sessions refill monthly. A 14-day money-back guarantee applies to first-time annual subscribers on any plan except Enterprise. Cancellations take effect at the next renewal date and the current period isn't refunded.
Hidden costs: Sessions are the meter: traffic growth pushes you up a plan, and tracking stops when the allowance is used until you upgrade or request a refill. Extended Open REST API access, professional services and priority support are listed as add-ons.
Source: mouseflow.com

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Questions

Mouseflow, briefly

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

Ask a question ›

Free forever: 500 sessions a month, 1 project and 1 month of data retention, with limited features.

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: Friction detection that ranks problems by impact across all recordings, Ask Mina AI answers, AI insights and the MCP server over your behavior data.

About $25 a month on the Essential plan, $300 a year (checked 2026-10-19).

Friction detection that ranks problems by impact across all recordings; Ask Mina AI answers, AI insights and the MCP server over your behavior data; Feedback surveys and field-level form analytics; Heatmap comparisons across time periods, devices and visitor segments; A Danish vendor maintaining anonymization and compliance controls. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.