Calday
Simple booking pages, calendars, and reminders for service businesses
Calday's solo core is compact: build a personal booking links tool that reads one calendar, publishes availability, reserves a slot, and writes the event back. A competent builder can reach a useful personal version in one sitting, while the paid product mainly wins on OAuth, calendar reliability.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- race-free booking under load
- team routing and round robin
- reliable reminders and timezone edge cases
- calendar-provider edge cases and timezone correctness
- multi-calendar conflict handling
Why people still pay
Calday: People pay because a booking tool must never double-book them, leak private events, or send the wrong time to a client.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- Google OAuth credentials, a registered HTTPS callback and calendar access granted by the owner. Confirm the provider scopes and publishing requirements before adding guests.
- Implementation components: Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations. PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace. One Google Calendar OAuth adapter, a timezone-aware date library, and an outbox worker for email/ICS delivery.
- Scope boundary: race-free booking under load; team routing and round robin
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Optional external skill: gws-calendar — Use Google Calendar calendars, events, recurrence, free/busy queries and integration discovery through the gws CLI. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: supabase-postgres-best-practices — Review PostgreSQL schemas, queries, indexes, pooling, concurrency and row-level security. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: web-design-guidelines — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Project rule — data model: booking page slugs, appointment durations, weekly availability, date overrides and booking states
Project rule — preserve this invariant: Date overrides take precedence over weekly rules; local daylight-saving gaps never become bookable instants.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: Close a normally available date and remove its slots; a guest in another timezone receives an ICS file for the same absolute appointment.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Publish a simple booking link with one appointment duration, guest timezone selection and explicit date overrides. Confirm a calendar event and deliver cancellation and rescheduling links. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: race-free booking under load; team routing and round robin
Phase 2
Durable model. Model booking page slugs, appointment durations, weekly availability, date overrides and booking states Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Date overrides take precedence over weekly rules; local daylight-saving gaps never become bookable instants.
Phase 3
Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Store UTC instants plus the intended IANA timezone. Reserve locally in a transaction, recheck provider availability, create with a stable external ID, then reconcile timeouts before retrying.
Phase 4
Permissions and integration failure. Encrypt refresh tokens with a separately managed key; expose busy intervals rather than event titles publicly. Hash guest management tokens and bound their lifetime. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.
Phase 5
Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.
Phase 6
Acceptance scenarios. Close a normally available date and remove its slots; a guest in another timezone receives an ICS file for the same absolute appointment. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.
WORKING SLICE Publish a simple booking link with one appointment duration, guest timezone selection and explicit date overrides. Confirm a calendar event and deliver cancellation and rescheduling links. Build this scoped Calday-inspired workflow with a documented data model and visible failure states. Architecture - Next.js App Router and TypeScript for server-rendered pages and validated mutations. - PostgreSQL with Drizzle migrations; Better Auth sessions for a small private workspace. - One Google Calendar OAuth adapter, a timezone-aware date library, and an outbox worker for email/ICS delivery. Prerequisites and limits Google OAuth credentials, a registered HTTPS callback and calendar access granted by the owner. Confirm the provider scopes and publishing requirements before adding guests. Outside this release: race-free booking under load; team routing and round robin Data model and correctness booking page slugs, appointment durations, weekly availability, date overrides and booking states Invariant: Date overrides take precedence over weekly rules; local daylight-saving gaps never become bookable instants. Store UTC instants plus the intended IANA timezone. Reserve locally in a transaction, recheck provider availability, create with a stable external ID, then reconcile timeouts before retrying. Security and privacy Encrypt refresh tokens with a separately managed key; expose busy intervals rather than event titles publicly. Hash guest management tokens and bound their lifetime. Recovery and export Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Implementation order 1. Phase 1 — Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Publish a simple booking link with one appointment duration, guest timezone selection and explicit date overrides. Confirm a calendar event and deliver cancellation and rescheduling links. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: race-free booking under load; team routing and round robin 2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model booking page slugs, appointment durations, weekly availability, date overrides and booking states Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Date overrides take precedence over weekly rules; local daylight-saving gaps never become bookable instants. 3. Phase 3 — Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Store UTC instants plus the intended IANA timezone. Reserve locally in a transaction, recheck provider availability, create with a stable external ID, then reconcile timeouts before retrying. 4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Encrypt refresh tokens with a separately managed key; expose busy intervals rather than event titles publicly. Hash guest management tokens and bound their lifetime. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results. 5. Phase 5 — Portable handoff. Export versioned JSON plus attachments and a readable CSV summary. Restore into a separate database and compare record IDs and attachment checksums before switching. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README. 6. Phase 6 — Acceptance scenarios. Close a normally available date and remove its slots; a guest in another timezone receives an ICS file for the same absolute appointment. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder. Acceptance Close a normally available date and remove its slots; a guest in another timezone receives an ICS file for the same absolute appointment. Use real source data or clearly labeled fixtures. Explain unsupported input and provider failures; do not fabricate analytics, delivery receipts, accuracy claims or security guarantees. Optional agent guidance Optional external skill: [gws-calendar](https://github.com/googleworkspace/cli/blob/main/skills/gws-calendar/SKILL.md) — Use Google Calendar calendars, events, recurrence, free/busy queries and integration discovery through the gws CLI. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [supabase-postgres-best-practices](https://github.com/supabase/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/supabase-postgres-best-practices/SKILL.md) — Review PostgreSQL schemas, queries, indexes, pooling, concurrency and row-level security. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Project rule — data model: booking page slugs, appointment durations, weekly availability, date overrides and booking states Project rule — preserve this invariant: Date overrides take precedence over weekly rules; local daylight-saving gaps never become bookable instants. Project rule — acceptance evidence: Close a normally available date and remove its slots; a guest in another timezone receives an ICS file for the same absolute appointment.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md
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Alternatives to building your own
all 6 free alternatives to Calday →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Calday pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0 | $0 | 1 service, up to 100 clients, 1 integration and 1 booking pageFree forever. |
| pro | $12 | $9.60 | Unlimited services/clients; unlimited Google, Outlook and iCloud calendars plus Zoom/Meet; payments, add-ons and remindersAnnual effective rate calculated from the official 20% annual discount. |
free tier1 service, 100 clients, 1 integration and 1 booking page
billingmonthly + annual (-20%); 7-day Pro trial, no card; month-to-month cancellation
hidden costsStripe's normal payment-processing fees apply, though Calday takes no transaction cut. Existing customers are grandfathered if published prices change.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗
Questions about Calday
Can you build your own Calday with AI?
The verdict is yes for the scoped workflow. Calday's solo core is compact: build a personal booking links tool that reads one calendar, publishes availability, reserves a slot, and writes the event back. A competent builder can reach a useful personal version in one sitting, while the paid product mainly wins on OAuth, calendar reliability.
What does the Calday build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Publish a simple booking link with one appointment duration, guest timezone selection and explicit date overrides. Confirm a calendar event and deliver cancellation and rescheduling links. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: race-free booking under load; team routing and round robin; reliable reminders and timezone edge cases. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the Calday prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this Calday project take?
The catalogue estimate is one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing Calday?
race-free booking under load; team routing and round robin; reliable reminders and timezone edge cases; calendar-provider edge cases and timezone correctness; multi-calendar conflict handling. Calday: People pay because a booking tool must never double-book them, leak private events, or send the wrong time to a client.
What can I use instead of building Calday?
Easy!Appointments: A proper provider-and-service booking system, provided you will also become its PHP and MySQL caretaker. Appointy Free: One staffer gets reminders, classes and Square checkout for 100 bookings a month; growth wakes the paywall. Setmore Free: Four staff, payments, classes and 200 monthly bookings; SMS, recurring appointments and two-way sync cost extra. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/calday/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.