Project management · checked 2026-10-19

Can I vibecode Smartsheet?

KINDA· weekend project

One person's version is a grid with typed columns, parent rows that roll up, a Gantt view with dependencies, a form and a few email rules. An agent can build that, but the Gantt scheduling and the formulas each take iterations to get right, so it is a weekend rather than a sitting. What you give up is the reason teams buy it: sharing with permissions, dashboards over many sheets, approvals and connectors to the rest of the company's tools.

$12/moprice per seat

$144you'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; the Gantt view and formulas take the most iterations

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.
SMTP credentialsA transactional provider's free tier covers one person's reminders.
Your Smartsheet exportsOne .xlsx per sheet; the export drops formulas, groupings, summary rows and attachments.

Before you buildSmartsheet has no free plan on its pricing page. If you only need a shared task grid for yourself, Baserow, Grist or OpenProject cover that for free.

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 local project grid to replace Smartsheet. Requirements:

- Node.js 22 + TypeScript: a Fastify API and a React UI built with Vite. `npm start` serves
http://localhost:4880 and runs an automation tick every minute in the same process.
- Storage: better-sqlite3 in ./data/grid.db: sheets, columns (text, number, date, checkbox,
dropdown, duration, predecessor), rows (parent id, position, cells as JSON) and an edit log
that powers undo and redo. Files you attach go to ./data/files/.
- Grid: spreadsheet-style inline editing with arrow-key navigation, a frozen first column,
indent and outdent to make parent rows that roll up numbers, dates and a percent-complete,
filters and sorting. Cell formulas through `fast-formula-parser`: SUM, IF, COUNTIF and
arithmetic across rows and columns, with a visible error when a formula breaks.
- Gantt view from start and duration columns: finish-to-start predecessors with a lag in working
days (weekdays set in config, holidays from a list), dragging a bar shifts its successors,
`luxon` for dates. Reject circular dependencies with a message.
- Forms: a public page /f/<token> per sheet that appends a row from chosen columns; honeypot
field and a rate limit of 10 submissions per hour per IP, tokens revocable in the UI.
- Automations: rules like "when column X becomes Y" or "N days before a date" that send an email
(`nodemailer`, SMTP in .env) or set a cell; log every run and cap at 100 actions per hour.
- Import and export: .xlsx both ways (`exceljs`, comments on a second sheet) and CSV; importing a
Smartsheet .xlsx export maps columns by header, keeps column order and dates, and lists
everything it could not carry over (formulas, attachments, summary rows).
- Single user. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first. Outbound calls: SMTP only.
- Out of scope: sharing and permissions, dashboards, cross-sheet reports, proofing, approvals,
resource views, connectors to other apps.
- README: the .env keys, how to expose only /f/* through a tunnel, and where the data 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 Smartsheet.

Add read-only sharing to the project grid in this folder. Requirements:

- From the UI, create a share link per sheet: a random 32-byte token stored hashed, with an
  optional expiry date and a revoke button.
- /s/<token> renders the grid and Gantt view without edit controls, the edit log or the form tokens;
  columns can be hidden per link.
- Share routes listen on a second port (SHARE_PORT in .env) so only that port goes through a tunnel.
- Rate-limit by token and log each open with the token id only.
- Update the README.

Add a summary page to the project grid in this folder. Requirements:

- A saved query builder that pulls rows from several sheets by column name, with filters
  (equals, contains, date range, overdue) and a group-by column.
- Show results as a table plus a count and sum per group; link each row back to its sheet.
- Save the query by name, export it as CSV, and email it on a schedule with `nodemailer`.
- Handle a missing column by skipping that sheet with a visible warning.
- Update the README.

Add recurring rows to the project grid in this folder. Requirements:

- A rule per sheet: copy a template row (with its children) every week on chosen weekdays or
  on the Nth day of a month, with the date columns shifted.
- Never create a copy while the previous one is unchecked in a chosen "done" column, and say why
  in the log.
- Preview the next five occurrences in the UI before saving the rule.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Sharing sheets with many collaborators under role-based permissions
Dashboards, cross-sheet reports and portfolio views
Approvals, proofing and request intake across a team
Connectors to other business apps and Smartsheet's AI features
Smartsheet's mobile apps and its audit and admin controls

Why people still pay

Teams pay for a shared system of record that non-technical people already know from Excel: permissions, reports and automations hold a department's work together, and IT can approve it. A single-user grid doesn't replace the sharing, which is why most buyers stay.

Moatcollaboration switching costs integrations

Do the math

Smartsheet or your own copy?

Seats

Over

Your usage

Count my time12h ×$/h

Smartsheet, 1 yr$144

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

You keep$98pays for itself in 2 months

Estimate · Runs on your machine; a $5 VPS if you want the form reachable from outside. SMTP at this volume fits free tiers. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Smartsheet

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Smartsheet

1Open the sheet, choose File > Export (or right-click it in the workspace panel and pick Export) and select Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets or PDF.
2Gantt views can also be exported as PNG or as a Microsoft Project XML file.
3For a whole workspace, use the three-dot menu above the workspace name and choose Export; for a folder, right-click it and choose Export.
4There is no direct CSV option: open the Excel file and save the first tab as CSV. Comments sit on a separate tab.

2 · Cancel Smartsheet

1Sign in, then open Account > Plan & Billing Info and the Plan & Billing tab.
2Select Cancel Account, then Continue to cancellation, and read the page that shows the effective date and what happens to your data.
3Select Cancel and accept data loss to confirm.
4To close the account immediately instead of waiting for the term to end, select Delete Account in the Account Administration window.

Your work turns read-only on the effective date and is deleted 30 days later, so export first.
The export drops formulas, groupings, summary rows and attachments; the help center suggests a sheet backup for the attachments.
Canceled accounts don't qualify for pro-rated or full refunds.
Invoice-billed accounts use a separate request form, which the help center says to send at least 30 days before renewal.
Only a System Admin can cancel Business plans; the page is inconsistent on whether the owner can cancel Pro, so check which role you hold.

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

The escape hatch

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

OpenProjectOpen sourceGPL-3.0 project management with Gantt charts, work packages, boards and time tracking; a community edition and paid enterprise add-ons.★ 16k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗PlaneOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 project tracker with work items, cycles, modules and views; self-hostable with Docker or a paid cloud.★ 61k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗BaserowOpen sourceSpreadsheet-like database with grid, kanban and calendar views and forms; MIT core, with paid premium and enterprise features.★ 6.2k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗

All 4 free alternatives to Smartsheet ›

The numbers

Smartsheet pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Pro	$12	$9	1 to 10 members and unlimited free contributors, grid, Gantt, board and calendar views, formulas, forms, reports, 250 automations a month, 20 GB storage, AI features.
Business	$24	$19	3 or more members, unlimited guests and contributors, timeline view, workload tracking, admin controls, unlimited automations, an MCP connection to external AI tools, 1 TB storage.
Enterprise	custom	—	10 or more members, Business plus scenario planning, portfolios, SAML single sign-on, directory integrations, unlimited attachment storage.
Advanced Work Management	custom	—	Enterprise plus Control Center, Dynamic View, Data Shuttle, Connectors, DataMesh, Calendar App, Pivot App and premium support.

Free tier: No free plan on the pricing page; a 30-day trial needs no card.
Billing: Monthly or yearly per member; yearly is $9 against $12 for Pro and $19 against $24 for Business. Pro and Business self-serve plans are cancelled in the app; invoice-billed accounts use a request form, and cancelled accounts get no pro-rated or full refunds.
Hidden costs: Add-ons such as Dynamic View (from $125 a month) and Data Shuttle (from $100 a month) are extra on Business and Enterprise; Resource Management, Control Center, Calendar App, DataMesh, Pivot App and Connectors list no price. Pro stops at 10 members, and Business needs at least 3.
Source: www.smartsheet.com

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Questions

Smartsheet, briefly

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

Ask a question ›

Kinda. The core is a weekend build with the prompt on this page, but real gaps remain: Sharing sheets with many collaborators under role-based permissions, Dashboards, cross-sheet reports and portfolio views.

About $12 a month on the Pro plan per seat, $144 a year (checked 2026-10-19).

Sharing sheets with many collaborators under role-based permissions; Dashboards, cross-sheet reports and portfolio views; Approvals, proofing and request intake across a team; Connectors to other business apps and Smartsheet's AI features; Smartsheet's mobile apps and its audit and admin controls. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.