Vibecode Clerky
track this build5 steps, step by step0%A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Clerky, track startup formation facts and generate review-required internal checklists. The hard boundary is specialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise, plus expert judgment, compliance, and regulated services.
You are building a lean indie version of Clerky. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Clerky indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Clerky workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - specialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise - legal advice - jurisdictional assurance - filing and registered-agent network - continuous regulatory monitoring and liability If those capabilities are essential, use docassemble instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Clerky in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a versioned Markdown template engine; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create versioned questionnaires, reusable fact fields, conditional sections, templates, and approval states. Show the source, jurisdiction, owner, reviewed date, and expiry date for every template. Generate DOCX and PDF drafts with prominent draft and review-required labels. Keep an immutable audit log of answers, template version, generation time, downloads, and approvals. Add role-based access, retention, export, encrypted backups, and a deadline calendar. Display legal-review warnings before generation and again before any final download. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out legal advice or guaranteed compliance. Deliberately leave out government filings, identity verification, and registered-agent services. Deliberately leave out automatic consent decisions or deployment without qualified review. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - self-hosted deployment - PostgreSQL - jurisdiction-specific templates supplied by the user or counsel - secure backup ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a lean indie version of Clerky. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== README.md ===== # Clerky indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Clerky workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - specialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise - legal advice - jurisdictional assurance - filing and registered-agent network - continuous regulatory monitoring and liability If those capabilities are essential, use docassemble instead of pretending the gap is solved. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs". ===== BUILD_PLAN.md ===== # Build plan ## Original build brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Clerky in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a versioned Markdown template engine; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create versioned questionnaires, reusable fact fields, conditional sections, templates, and approval states. Show the source, jurisdiction, owner, reviewed date, and expiry date for every template. Generate DOCX and PDF drafts with prominent draft and review-required labels. Keep an immutable audit log of answers, template version, generation time, downloads, and approvals. Add role-based access, retention, export, encrypted backups, and a deadline calendar. Display legal-review warnings before generation and again before any final download. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out legal advice or guaranteed compliance. Deliberately leave out government filings, identity verification, and registered-agent services. Deliberately leave out automatic consent decisions or deployment without qualified review. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - self-hosted deployment - PostgreSQL - jurisdiction-specific templates supplied by the user or counsel - secure backup ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden. ===== .env.example ===== # Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
You are building a production product version of Clerky. Create the following project files first, then implement the application by following them. Keep the files updated as decisions change. Do not collapse this into a single README or prompt. ===== PRODUCT.md ===== # Clerky product brief ## Problem A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Clerky, track startup formation facts and generate review-required internal checklists. The hard boundary is specialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise, plus expert judgment, compliance, and regulated services. ## Product outcome Collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - self-hosted deployment - PostgreSQL - jurisdiction-specific templates supplied by the user or counsel - secure backup ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - specialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise - legal advice - jurisdictional assurance - filing and registered-agent network - continuous regulatory monitoring and liability ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees. ===== ARCHITECTURE.md ===== # Architecture ## Starting brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Clerky in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a versioned Markdown template engine; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create versioned questionnaires, reusable fact fields, conditional sections, templates, and approval states. Show the source, jurisdiction, owner, reviewed date, and expiry date for every template. Generate DOCX and PDF drafts with prominent draft and review-required labels. Keep an immutable audit log of answers, template version, generation time, downloads, and approvals. Add role-based access, retention, export, encrypted backups, and a deadline calendar. Display legal-review warnings before generation and again before any final download. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out legal advice or guaranteed compliance. Deliberately leave out government filings, identity verification, and registered-agent services. Deliberately leave out automatic consent decisions or deployment without qualified review. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it. ===== AGENTS.md ===== # Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone. ===== MILESTONES.md ===== # Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations. ===== OPERATIONS.md ===== # Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Clerky capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
# Clerky indie build ## Goal Build the smallest trustworthy replacement for the core Clerky workflow for one developer or a tiny team. ## Scope Collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. ## Quick start 1. Install the documented dependencies. 2. Copy `.env.example` to `.env`. 3. Run the development command chosen during implementation. 4. Complete the acceptance checks in `BUILD_PLAN.md`. ## Honest limits This build deliberately does not replace: - specialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise - legal advice - jurisdictional assurance - filing and registered-agent network - continuous regulatory monitoring and liability If those capabilities are essential, use docassemble instead of pretending the gap is solved.
# Agent instructions - Optimize for a working, understandable weekend build. - Prefer the fewest moving parts that satisfy the brief. - Do not invent cryptography, security guarantees, APIs, or compliance claims. - Keep secrets out of source control and logs. - Add focused tests for destructive, security-sensitive, and data-loss paths. - Run the project checks before declaring the build complete. - Record any deliberate shortcut in the README under "Tradeoffs".
# Build plan ## Original build brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Clerky in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a versioned Markdown template engine; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create versioned questionnaires, reusable fact fields, conditional sections, templates, and approval states. Show the source, jurisdiction, owner, reviewed date, and expiry date for every template. Generate DOCX and PDF drafts with prominent draft and review-required labels. Keep an immutable audit log of answers, template version, generation time, downloads, and approvals. Add role-based access, retention, export, encrypted backups, and a deadline calendar. Display legal-review warnings before generation and again before any final download. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out legal advice or guaranteed compliance. Deliberately leave out government filings, identity verification, and registered-agent services. Deliberately leave out automatic consent decisions or deployment without qualified review. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Required capabilities - self-hosted deployment - PostgreSQL - jurisdiction-specific templates supplied by the user or counsel - secure backup ## Delivery order 1. Scaffold the smallest runnable application and document its commands. 2. Implement the primary data model and core workflow. 3. Add validation, safe failure states, and persistence. 4. Cover the critical path with automated tests. 5. Exercise a clean install from the README and fix every missing step. ## Done when - A new user can go from clone to first successful workflow using only the README. - The core workflow works without paid infrastructure unless the brief requires it. - Tests cover the highest-risk behavior. - Known limitations are explicit rather than hidden.
# Copy to .env and document every variable when it is introduced. # Never put real credentials in this file. APP_ENV=development # Add only values required by the selected implementation.
# Clerky product brief ## Problem A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Clerky, track startup formation facts and generate review-required internal checklists. The hard boundary is specialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise, plus expert judgment, compliance, and regulated services. ## Product outcome Collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. ## Target user A serious builder who needs a maintainable product foundation rather than a one-off demo. ## Required capabilities - self-hosted deployment - PostgreSQL - jurisdiction-specific templates supplied by the user or counsel - secure backup ## Explicit non-goals for v1 - specialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise - legal advice - jurisdictional assurance - filing and registered-agent network - continuous regulatory monitoring and liability ## Success criteria - The primary workflow is measurable end to end. - Setup is reproducible in a clean environment. - Failure, recovery, and support paths are documented. - Product claims match what the implementation actually guarantees.
# Architecture ## Starting brief Build a closest honest personal substitute for Clerky in an empty repository. Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a versioned Markdown template engine; do not offer alternative stacks. The core loop is: collect startup formation facts, generate internal checklists, fill clearly labeled templates, track versions and approvals, and repeatedly state that the output requires qualified review. Make the first run work locally with one documented command. Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward. Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials. Create versioned questionnaires, reusable fact fields, conditional sections, templates, and approval states. Show the source, jurisdiction, owner, reviewed date, and expiry date for every template. Generate DOCX and PDF drafts with prominent draft and review-required labels. Keep an immutable audit log of answers, template version, generation time, downloads, and approvals. Add role-based access, retention, export, encrypted backups, and a deadline calendar. Display legal-review warnings before generation and again before any final download. Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states. Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs. Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path. Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps. Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane. Do not claim to reproduce proprietary data, network liquidity, regulated access, or frontier infrastructure. Deliberately leave out legal advice or guaranteed compliance. Deliberately leave out government filings, identity verification, and registered-agent services. Deliberately leave out automatic consent decisions or deployment without qualified review. Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used. ## Boundaries Separate the product into replaceable modules for interface, application logic, persistence, external integrations, and operational concerns. Keep domain logic independent from delivery frameworks and vendors. ## Production baseline - Configuration: validated at startup with safe local defaults where possible. - Security: least privilege, input validation, secret redaction, rate limits on abuse-prone paths, and no invented security primitives. - Data: explicit schema and migrations, transactional writes where integrity matters, backup and restore instructions. - Integrations: adapters around third-party providers, idempotent webhook or job processing, bounded retries, and timeouts. - Observability: structured logs with request or operation IDs, an error-tracking hook, and health/readiness checks where a server exists. - Quality: unit tests for domain rules, integration tests at module boundaries, and one end-to-end critical-path test. ## Decision records For each major dependency, document why it was chosen, its failure mode, and how it can be replaced. Do not introduce infrastructure until a requirement justifies it.
# Agent instructions - Read `PRODUCT.md` and `ARCHITECTURE.md` before changing code. - Implement milestone by milestone; keep each change reviewable and leave the application runnable. - Treat authentication, payments, encryption, imports, webhooks, and destructive actions as high-risk boundaries when present. - Never invent cryptography or silently weaken a requirement to make a test pass. - Use provider interfaces for external services and deterministic fakes in tests. - Add migrations and rollback or recovery notes for persistent data changes. - Log useful operational context without credentials, tokens, passwords, or personal data. - Update documentation and run all checks before completing a milestone.
# Delivery milestones ## M0 — Decisions and scaffold - Confirm the runtime, persistence model, threat boundaries, and deployment target. - Create a reproducible local environment and continuous checks. ## M1 — Core workflow - Implement the smallest end-to-end product path with validation and tests. - Keep integrations behind interfaces. ## M2 — Trust layer - Add secure failure behavior, recovery paths, audit-relevant events, and data safeguards. - Test abuse cases and destructive operations. ## M3 — Operability - Add structured logs, error reporting hooks, health signals, backup/restore documentation, and deployment configuration. ## M4 — Release gate - Run a clean-install test, critical-path end-to-end test, dependency review, and documented rollback exercise. - Compare the shipped behavior with `PRODUCT.md` and publish remaining limitations.
# Operations ## Before release - Validate configuration and secrets at startup. - Define backup, restore, and rollback procedures and test them. - Document logs, error tracking, health signals, and alert ownership. - Set dependency update and vulnerability review expectations. ## Incident checklist 1. Contain the issue without destroying evidence or user data. 2. Record the timeline and affected scope. 3. Rotate exposed secrets and revoke compromised sessions or credentials. 4. Restore from a verified source when needed. 5. Document the root cause, remediation, and regression test. ## Launch constraint Do not market omitted Clerky capabilities as implemented. The v1 non-goals in `PRODUCT.md` remain user-visible limitations until they are deliberately delivered.
$ choose a build depth, inspect the files, then open the complete pack in your agent · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
People still pay for Clerky because the durable value is expert accountability and regulated execution; document generation alone cannot supply either. The recurring cost buys law changes, jurisdiction, template provenance, access, signatures, filings, deadlines, evidence, retention, security, and professional liability, not just the visible interface.
xspecialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise
xlegal advice
xjurisdictional assurance
xfiling and registered-agent network
xcontinuous regulatory monitoring and liability
Don't feel like building it? These folks already made it free.
no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Clerky pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| company lifetime package | custom | — | $819 one-time; formation, expedited government fees, first-year registered agent, and unlimited standard fundraising, hiring, commercial, and maintenance paperwork |
| pay per use | custom | — | Delaware incorporation $427 one-time including $203 expedited state fee; post-incorporation $299; stock plan $199; SAFEs $9/use; convertible notes $19/use; unlimited security issuances $99 per 6 months |
free tierno free tier
billingone-time package or pay per document/use; security-issuance bundle renews every 6 months
hidden costsThe lifetime package excludes third-party charges and nonstandard maintenance. Registered-agent renewals after the included first year, state filing fees outside included formation, foreign qualification, and partner/legal work can add cost.
verified 2026-08-10 · source ↗
Vibecode Clerky
Not really. Clerky's value is not the code: Recheck price before merge. See the honest breakdown above.
How much does Clerky cost?
Clerky's pricing is usage-based or varies by plan · Sold as a one-time package; canonical monthly amount is null..
What do I lose by replacing Clerky?
Honestly: specialized startup legal workflow, vetted documents, filings, cap-table context, and expertise; legal advice; jurisdictional assurance; filing and registered-agent network; continuous regulatory monitoring and liability. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Clerky?
Yes: Cooley GO Docs (Law-firm-built startup questionnaires that generate formation and financing documents, an answer summary, and review checklists; useful drafts, not your lawyer.) The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.