automation

nocodb: Build Airtable‑like Apps with Free Self‑Hosted Automation

Founders can launch low‑code, spreadsheet‑style databases backed by Postgres or SQLite without vendor lock‑in. Ideal for rapid internal tools, backed by 65k+ GitHub stars.

From the repo · “🔥 🔥 🔥 A Free & Self-hostable Airtable Alternative”

intermediate⏱ 30 minutes💵 Free (self-hosted)
65,318 stars+41★ this week5,097 forksTypeScriptGuide quality 9/10 · reviewed Oct 5Updated 10/22/2026100% free · open source
What it is

Create a free, self-hostable database ideal for founders seeking low-code solutions.

Real use case example

"A founder building a web application uses Nocodb to create a database for customer information, connects it to Stripe for payment data, and sets up an automation to send a welcome email to new customers within minutes."

Best insideSelf-hostedAny AI ClientClaude Desktop
When to use it
  • •When you need a flexible and customizable database solution for your startup
  • •When you want to self-host your database to maintain control and security
  • •When you're looking for a cost-effective alternative to Airtable
Ready-to-paste prompt
To create a new table, navigate to the 'Tables' tab and click the 'New Table' button, then enter the table name and fields, for example: `http://localhost:8080/api/v1/db/data/table?tableName=Customers&fields=name:string,email:string`
Heads up: Before running Nocodb, make sure you have Docker and Docker Compose installed on your machine, as Nocodb uses Docker containers to run its services
Saves to your device
Use with Claude
New

Skip the builder — one click puts this in Claude, Cursor, Antigravity and more.

🛠️ Technical setup

Expect 20–40 minutes in a terminal — or let your AI agent drive it.

Try it instantly — no install
Claude Code
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/nocodb && curl -fsSL https://workflowstacks.com/api/skills/nocodb/claude-skill -o ~/.claude/skills/nocodb/SKILL.md
Open in another AI app

Opens the app with this repo with the prompt ready to go — no copy-paste needed.

Connect the whole catalog (MCP)
claude mcp add --transport http workflowstacks https://workflowstacks.com/api/mcp

Adds a WorkflowStacks connector to Claude Code: search and load any skill here by chatting.

How nocodb: Build Airtable‑like Apps with Free Self‑Hosted Automation works
Codeflow
Free to inspect

Nocodb: Build Airtable‑like Apps with Free Self‑Hosted Automation is a very large TypeScript project (~485k lines across 3086 code files, plus 63 test files). It is a full software project: use it through its install path rather than reading it end to end. Last commit this month, Other license, has a test suite.

Size
Very large codebase
~485k lines · 3086 code files · days to read — use, don't read
Setup
Developer setup
A real software project. Use it via its install path; don't expect to read it all.
Runs on
Node.js
No API keys detected
TypeScript 63%Vue 31%JavaScript 4%
Where to start reading
  1. 1
    README.md
    Start here — what it does and how to install it
  2. 2
    package.json
    Dependencies and the commands it exposes
  3. 3
    packages/nocodb/README.md
    Inside packages/nocodb/ — the main logic begins here
What's in each folder
packages/nocodb/Core code — the actual logic1419 files
packages/nc-gui/Package2534 files
packages/nocodb-sdk/Package275 files
docker-compose/Folder44 files
charts/Folder21 files
markdown/Folder19 files
READMEHas testsDocumentedCI checksOther licenseUpdated this month
Quick Actions
Details
Creator
nocodb
Language
TypeScript
Category
automation
Published
10/29/2017

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Featured on WorkflowStacks
[![Featured on WorkflowStacks](https://workflowstacks.com/api/badge/nocodb.svg)](https://workflowstacks.com/skills/nocodb?utm_source=github&utm_medium=badge)
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