Tasks & calendar · checked 2026-10-19Can I vibecode Routine?
KINDA· weekend project
A planner where you drag tasks onto today's calendar, keep notes and capture new items from a hotkey is a good one-prompt web app on SQLite with Google Calendar read access. The weekend goes on what makes Routine feel like one place: two-way sync with Google and Outlook calendars, tasks pulled in from Gmail, Todoist, Asana and Notion, offline apps on desktop and phone, and the voice assistant, meeting notes and agents. Build a single-calendar planner for yourself and skip the rest, or keep paying for the sync.
$8/moprice
$96you'd save a year
weekendbuild time
—people replaced it
What you need on hand.
DifficultyAdvanced · Real infrastructure or OAuth work.
TimeA weekend; calendar access and drag-and-drop polish 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 Google Cloud project or a CalDAV app passwordGoogle's Testing status expires refresh tokens after 7 days; CalDAV with an iCloud, Fastmail or Nextcloud app password avoids that.
- A way to open it on your phoneTailscale or a small VPS with HTTPS; skip it if you only plan at a desk.
- A hotkey toolYour OS shortcut settings, Raycast or AutoHotkey can run the capture command.
Before you buildRoutine's Free plan already has tasks, calendars, notes and an AI assistant, with 3 integrations. Time blocking and exporting start on the paid Personal plan.
- 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 planner to replace Routine, with tasks, a calendar and notes in one window. Requirements: - Node.js 22 + TypeScript: a Fastify API and a React UI built with Vite. `npm start` serves http://localhost:4790 and the UI installs as a PWA. - Storage: better-sqlite3 in ./data/planner.db with tasks (title, notes, project, labels, priority, due date, estimate in minutes, recurrence rule), time blocks (task, start, end), projects, and Markdown notes with an FTS5 index. `npm run backup` writes a copy of the database. - Planner screen: today's agenda as a timeline next to the task list. Dragging a task onto the timeline creates a time block snapped to 15 minutes; dragging it back removes the block. A week view groups tasks as overdue, today, upcoming and unplanned. - Calendar: read events from Google Calendar (`googleapis`, OAuth with offline access, calendar IDs in .env) and show them beside the time blocks; write each block to a dedicated "Planner" calendar. Put it behind a CalendarProvider interface and add CalDAV (`tsdav`) as a second one. - Quick capture: `npm run add -- "Send invoice tomorrow 3pm #work p1 30m"` and a /capture page parse the text with `chrono-node` and a small tag grammar. The README shows how to bind the command to a global hotkey on macOS, Windows and Linux. - Recurring tasks with `rrule`; completing one creates the next. Tests for month-end and daylight-saving edge cases. - Notes: Markdown pages with [[links]] to tasks and other notes, backlinks listed under each page, and an export of every page to ./export/*.md. - Single user with one password in .env. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first; the only outbound calls go to your calendar provider. - Out of scope: Gmail, Asana and Todoist inboxes, team workspaces, AI assistant, meeting recording, native phone apps. - README: the Google Cloud OAuth setup, and a warning that a project in Testing status issues refresh tokens that expire after 7 days.
Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.
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 Routine.
Extend the planner in this folder. Requirements: - A weekly review page listing tasks completed this week, tasks that slipped (due earlier and not done) and time blocks that were never completed. - One button per slipped task: reschedule to a chosen day, move to a Someday project, or delete. - Show planned versus actual minutes per project as a table. - Update the README.
Add a focus mode to the planner in this folder. Requirements: - A Focus button on a task opens a full-screen view with the title, notes and a stopwatch. - Stopping the timer stores a time entry (task, start, end) and shows total time on the task. - Only one timer runs at a time; starting another stops the first. - A table of time per project per week, exportable as CSV. - Update the README.
Add a one-way Todoist import to the planner in this folder. Requirements: - TODOIST_TOKEN in .env; `npm run import:todoist` fetches projects, labels and open tasks through the Todoist REST API and creates matching rows, remembering the Todoist ID of each. - Re-running updates changed tasks and never duplicates; completed tasks stay completed. - Print a summary of created, updated and skipped items. - Update the README.
What you lose
- A universal inbox that pulls in tasks and messages from Gmail, Todoist, Asana, Notion and more
- Native apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android and Apple Watch with offline sync
- The AI assistant, voice commands, meeting notes and agents
- MCP and API access that lets Claude or ChatGPT operate your workspace
- Custom databases with relations, shared workspaces and team access control
Why people still pay
Planning apps live or die on friction. Routine puts tasks, calendar and notes in one window, pulls things in from the tools you already use and works offline on every device, so planning the day takes a minute. People pay for that one-window habit and for the AI that files things for them.
Routine or your own copy?
Over
Your usage
12h ×$/h
Routine, 1 yr$96
Your own copy, 1 yr$46running + build session
You keep$50pays for itself in 2 months
Estimate · Runs on your own machine for free, or a $5 VPS if you want it on a phone. The build is token usage on your agent plan.
Take your data, then cancel.
1 · Take your data out of Routine
- 1Exporting is a paid feature: Personal and up can export their information as Markdown, HTML or PDF, which Routine added in its 1.1 release in July 2026.
- 2Export notes and pages one by one; we found no whole-account export on the pages we read, and the privacy policy only says you may have a right to request your data depending on where you live.
- 3Events and tasks synced from Google Calendar, Todoist, Asana or Notion still live in those apps, so you don't need to move them.
2 · Cancel Routine
- 1The pricing page promises cancel-anytime on every paid plan, and the terms say renewals charge automatically unless you cancel before renewal under the billing terms.
- 2The pages we read don't spell out the in-app cancel steps. Billing questions go to billing@routine.co.
- 3Fees are non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise.
- Export before you downgrade: exporting is not part of the Free plan.
- Free allows 3 integrations and 3 custom databases, so expect to trim connections and databases after a downgrade.
- The price on the page is a promo (38% off Personal, 17% off Professional and Business); check the renewal amount in billing before you commit.
- Disconnect integrations that write back to your calendar and task apps before you stop using Routine, so nothing keeps syncing both ways.
The escape hatch
Don't feel like building it? These are already free.
Super ProductivityOpen sourceMIT to-do list with a planner, schedule timeline, timeboxing and time tracking; imports tasks from your calendar, Jira and GitHub.★ 23k · active Oct 2026 · they host it
Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, AndroidVisit ↗VikunjaOpen sourceAGPL self-hosted task manager with list, Kanban, Gantt and table views, plus imports from Todoist, Trello and Microsoft To-Do; a hosted version exists.★ 5.8k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
Web, iOS, AndroidVisit ↗PlanifyOpen sourceGPL-3.0 task manager for Linux with Todoist sync and Nextcloud support; a tasks app rather than a time-blocking planner.★ 5.8k · active Oct 2026 · they host it
LinuxVisit ↗
Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, AndroidVisit ↗VikunjaOpen sourceAGPL self-hosted task manager with list, Kanban, Gantt and table views, plus imports from Todoist, Trello and Microsoft To-Do; a hosted version exists.★ 5.8k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
Web, iOS, AndroidVisit ↗PlanifyOpen sourceGPL-3.0 task manager for Linux with Todoist sync and Nextcloud support; a tasks app rather than a time-blocking planner.★ 5.8k · active Oct 2026 · they host it
LinuxVisit ↗
The numbers
Routine pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual, per month | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Tasks, calendars and notes, AI assistant, AI voice commands, offline mode, 3 integrations, 3 custom databases, 250 AI credits, 5 MB attachments. |
| Personal | $8 | — | Free plus time blocking and time boxing, event coloring, exporting to Markdown, HTML or PDF, unlimited file uploads, 10 integrations, 10 custom databases, 500 AI credits. |
| Professional | $12 | — | Personal plus AI meeting notes, AI agents and automations, menu bar widget, time tracking, contextual capture, unlimited integrations and custom databases, 7,000 AI credits. |
| Business | $18 | — | Professional plus organizations and workspaces, access control, versioning, consolidated billing, priority support, 10,000 AI credits per seat. |
| Enterprise | custom | — | Business plus unlimited history, compliance features, audit logs, analytics, user provisioning and a success manager. |
- Free tier
- Three integrations and three custom databases; attachments up to 5 MB; no time blocking, event coloring or exporting.
- Billing
- Prices are shown per month with 'cancel anytime'; the pages we read show no annual option. Renewals charge automatically unless you cancel before renewal, and fees are non-refundable except where law requires.
- Hidden costs
- AI features spend credits: 250 on Free, 500 on Personal, 7,000 on Professional. Integrations are capped at 3 and 10 below Professional, so a stack of connected tools pushes you up a tier. A temporary promo discounts every paid plan, so check the renewal price in the billing screen.
- Source
- routine.co
Also on the list
Related apps
Free covers tasks, calendars and notes, the AI assistant, voice commands, offline mode, 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits.
Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: A universal inbox that pulls in tasks and messages from Gmail, Todoist, Asana, Notion and more, Native apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android and Apple Watch with offline sync.
About $8 a month on the Personal plan, $96 a year (checked 2026-10-19).
A universal inbox that pulls in tasks and messages from Gmail, Todoist, Asana, Notion and more; Native apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android and Apple Watch with offline sync; The AI assistant, voice commands, meeting notes and agents; MCP and API access that lets Claude or ChatGPT operate your workspace; Custom databases with relations, shared workspaces and team access control. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.
Yes: Super Productivity (open source), Vikunja (open source), Planify (open source).