Ask HN: What have you built with no-code tools?

I've tried using services like Airtable and Retool but I haven't been able to put anything in production yet. The ideas I want to build are either too simple (so I can develop the whole thing in 100-200 lines without a 3rd party) or too complicated (the tool doesn't have all the components required, so I have to "outsource" to custom code).

I'm curious what sorts of things people have built with this genre of technology.

36 points | by nexuist 1452 days ago

9 comments

  • arisa_a 1451 days ago
    For no-code internal tooling, have you checked out Internal? https://internal.io/

    It doesn't require code or SQL knowledge - so anyone can build/update their internal tools. You can hook it up to your database and/or business apps like Google Sheets, Salesforce, Hubspot, and Strip in a few minutes. You also have the option to add http services, graphql endpoints, or custom SQL queries as well - which turn into reusable building blocks that anyone at your company can use to build internal tools.

    Full disclosure: I'm one of the founders. I'm not a developer, and I use Internal to build all of our internal tools. Some example tools we've seem people build:

    1. Support lookup tool: Allows customer service reps (with permissions) to quickly view relevant data from your company database alongside ticket details (e.g. from Zendesk of Hubspot) in order to resolve customer issues quickly

    2. Refund tool: Allows anyone (with permissions) to view customer orders from your company database, view previous Stripe payments, and issue refunds - all from one tool.

    3. Onboarding tool: Allows anyone (with permissions) to quickly check the status of customers who are onboarding, review information, and create/update records.

    4. Cross-datasource CRUD tool: Allows anyone (with permissions) to create, read, update, and delete data across your company database (e.g. PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Firebase) and business apps like Google Sheets, Salesforce, Zendesk, Hubspot) — in a single interface.

    5. Data mapping: Allows anyone (with permissions) to view data from multiple tables (or even systems) side by side, and map records together.

    6. Easy CRM integration: Allows anyone (with permissions) to use data from your company database to quickly create a new lead or opportunity in Salesforce or Hubspot.

    • jdc 1451 days ago
      I couldn't find a price anywhere on that site. Do you know what it costs?
    • strongbond 1450 days ago
      Please tell us how much it costs. Why would anyone trial any software without knowing the potential cost?

      Edit: The only reason I can think of is if they had no intention whatsoever of proceeding to purchase it.

  • nefitty 1452 days ago
    I found a thread on Indie Hackers on this https://www.indiehackers.com/post/cool-impressive-no-code-pr...
  • Nilef 1451 days ago
    I wrote https://nocode.tech. It show cases NoCode tools and projects (meta, I know).

    May seem simple at first, but you'll see it has more complicated features like:

    - Tool searching/Filtering - Commenting - Complicated form to select tools from a database-generated list - Login/User System - Avatar Generation from API

  • erikbrodch 1451 days ago
    I built Spectroomz (https://www.spectroomz.com/), a freelancing platform for autistic people, with no code.

    The client submits a project via Typeform, gets an email confirmation using Zapier, and the project's details go to an Airtable base. Freelancers go through a similar process when they submit their details.

    I have an "applicants", "submitted projects", and "active projects" tabs on the base.

    When a project is submitted I email relevant freelancers the job description (this could be automated as well with Zapier, haven't got to it), who apply directly via email.

    I just started (launched several weeks ago). These are good for the MVP phase, after which I'll have to build something.

  • mehhh 1452 days ago
    We've rebuilt our internal business processes using erxes.io, having one place for email, live chat, Twitter DMs, Facebook & more has been quite handy.

    Still working on deeper integrations with our other systems, its API is GraphQL which I'm not super familiar with.

  • JackMorgan 1452 days ago
    A former coworker recently found himself in a job for a popular athletics app built entirely in Microsoft VPL by an offshore team. I'm pretty sure he said they were deploying to AWS, and have no plans to rewrite in anything else. I was pretty amazed by the idea, but it seems they are quite bogged in technical debt and are wanting to onshore a new dev team to learn and work in MVPL. They're hiring if you want contact info.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Visual_Programming...

  • redis_mlc 1452 days ago
    Never seen anything that produced a commercially viable product.

    For internal use, you can make anything work.

  • sykwalkervic 1450 days ago
    I actually build my blog with no coding. at first I thought it would be so thought but on trial, www.schoolinginfo.com seems easy and successful and I build it to were it is now without coding
  • kyawzazaw 1451 days ago
    I am hoping to use https://toga.tech/ for my school's clubs.