HighLevel

Build a deliberately narrow local lead-management starter inspired by one slice of HighLevel, in an empty repository.
Do not portray it as a HighLevel replacement.
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Docker Compose; do not offer alternative stacks.
The core loop is: capture inquiries, manage contacts and deals, schedule follow-ups, and send a few consented email messages for one business.
Make the first run work locally with one documented command.
Store all data locally by default and provide CSV import and export.
Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials.
Create contacts, companies, deals, notes, tasks, configurable pipeline stages, and a next-action dashboard.
Add a public lead form with spam protection, consent capture, validation, and a clear success state.
Add saved filters, search, duplicate detection, merge, and a chronological interaction timeline.
Implement email templates and manual campaign sends through one token-based provider, with unsubscribe, suppression, rate limits, retries, and send logs.
Add role-based access for a tiny team, an immutable activity log, backups, and a recovery command.
Seed a realistic demo workspace and document field mapping for imports.
Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states.
Write focused tests for the core data flow and one end-to-end happy path.
Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, backup steps, and sending-domain setup.
Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane.
Deliberately leave out the operating-system breadth: agency sub-accounts, white-label resale, funnels, websites, memberships, phone and SMS provisioning, payment processing, OAuth integrations, workflow automation, AI, mobile apps, and enterprise reporting.
Do not claim to reproduce managed deliverability, telephony reliability, compliance operations, or a connector ecosystem.
Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used.

# AGENTS.md — Build guide for HighLevel

## Project scope
Build one narrow local slice for one business: capture inquiries, manage contacts and deals, schedule follow-ups, and send a few consented email messages.

Catalogue verdict: no. HighLevel is not a basic CRM. It is a broad operating system for agencies and businesses, bringing hundreds of features under one roof: lead capture, funnels, CRM, marketing, communications, booking, payments, websites, automation, AI, client sub-accounts, and SaaS resale. A constrained local lead-management starter is buildable, but a faithful replacement is not a one-shot project.
Use the implementation prompt below to define the deliverable. Complete each phase's acceptance checks before extending the scope.

## Working agreement
- Inspect the repository and its existing instructions before choosing paths, dependencies or commands. Keep one coherent stack and explain changes to the proposed architecture.
- Plan a vertical slice that accepts a real input and produces the useful output described below. Persist only the state the prompt calls for; respect memory-only and upstream-managed workflows. Use fixtures only when they are clearly labelled.
- After scaffolding, document the actual install, development, check and build commands in README and keep them synchronized with the package or project manifest. Do not report commands as successful unless they ran.
- Work in small steps. At handoff, list implemented flows, checks actually performed, remaining blockers, and any credentials or provider setup the owner must supply.
- Do not publish, spend money, contact customers, delete source data or run irreversible migrations without the project owner's authorization.

## Prerequisites
- Docker
- PostgreSQL
- self-hosted server
- verified sending domain
- optional email API credentials

## Stack and architecture
- Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Docker Compose.
- Model forms, field definitions, responses, consent flags, and exports; store source IDs and timestamps for each.
- Interface for this all-in-one agency and business operating system workflow: a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views.

## Security and data integrity
- Implement email templates and manual campaign sends through one token-based provider, with unsubscribe, suppression, rate limits, retries, and send logs.
- Validate imported records and file paths; keep user data within the storage location named in the prompt.
- State the practical limit: the wider operating system: funnels, websites, reputation, memberships, and client portals.

## Agent implementation rules
- Project rule, data: Model forms, field definitions, responses, consent flags, and exports; store source IDs and timestamps for each.
- Project rule, behavior: Store all data locally by default and provide CSV import and export.
- Project rule, recovery: Implement email templates and manual campaign sends through one token-based provider, with unsubscribe, suppression, rate limits, retries, and send logs.

## Optional agent skills and references
No installable skill is listed for this guide; use the project rules and the stack documentation.

Read the linked SKILL.md and its dependencies before adding a skill. Select only the skills matching this project's runtime and task; their documentation does not supply API access, credentials or approval to perform external actions. Pin the reviewed revision where the tool supports it. Follow the chosen agent's documented project-level installation mechanism.

## Distribution ideas
These are optional planning notes. Obtain the owner's approval before publishing or contacting anyone.
- Demonstrate this all-in-one agency and business operating system operation with sample or user-owned data: Store all data locally by default and provide CSV import and export.
- Show a concrete result or export: Store all data locally by default and provide CSV import and export.
- State the practical limit: the wider operating system: funnels, websites, reputation, memberships, and client portals.

## Engineering roadmap
1. Phase 1, architecture and data: Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Docker Compose. Model forms, field definitions, responses, consent flags, and exports; store source IDs and timestamps for each.
2. Phase 2, implement: Store all data locally by default and provide CSV import and export.
3. Phase 3, implement: Create contacts, companies, deals, notes, tasks, configurable pipeline stages, and a next-action dashboard.
4. Phase 4, review and output: Add a public lead form with spam protection, consent capture, validation, and a clear success state. Store all data locally by default and provide CSV import and export.
5. Phase 5, recovery and acceptance: Implement email templates and manual campaign sends through one token-based provider, with unsubscribe, suppression, rate limits, retries, and send logs. Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: An invalid input or interrupted operation must retain the source and show a recoverable state; exported records must reload with the same IDs. State the practical limit: the wider operating system: funnels, websites, reputation, memberships, and client portals.

## Paid-product capabilities outside this build
- the wider operating system: funnels, websites, reputation, memberships, and client portals
- agency sub-accounts, white-label SaaS resale, and centralized administration
- managed phone, SMS, and email delivery infrastructure
- calendar, payments, AI, reporting, mobile apps, and third-party integrations
- support, uptime, and compliance operations across the stack

## Implementation prompt
Build a deliberately narrow local lead-management starter inspired by one slice of HighLevel, in an empty repository.
Do not portray it as a HighLevel replacement.
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Docker Compose; do not offer alternative stacks.
The core loop is: capture inquiries, manage contacts and deals, schedule follow-ups, and send a few consented email messages for one business.
Make the first run work locally with one documented command.
Store all data locally by default and provide CSV import and export.
Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials.
Create contacts, companies, deals, notes, tasks, configurable pipeline stages, and a next-action dashboard.
Add a public lead form with spam protection, consent capture, validation, and a clear success state.
Add saved filters, search, duplicate detection, merge, and a chronological interaction timeline.
Implement email templates and manual campaign sends through one token-based provider, with unsubscribe, suppression, rate limits, retries, and send logs.
Add role-based access for a tiny team, an immutable activity log, backups, and a recovery command.
Seed a realistic demo workspace and document field mapping for imports.
Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states.
Write focused tests for the core data flow and one end-to-end happy path.
Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, backup steps, and sending-domain setup.
Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane.
Deliberately leave out the operating-system breadth: agency sub-accounts, white-label resale, funnels, websites, memberships, phone and SMS provisioning, payment processing, OAuth integrations, workflow automation, AI, mobile apps, and enterprise reporting.
Do not claim to reproduce managed deliverability, telephony reliability, compliance operations, or a connector ecosystem.
Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used.

## Completion evidence
Demonstrate the prompt's acceptance scenarios against the scoped workflow. Include setup from a clean checkout and failure recovery. Check persistence across restart and export/restore only for the state the prompt says to store; for memory-only tools, confirm that temporary content is discarded as specified. Record actual results and remaining limitations. A detailed plan alone does not establish a working replacement.