App Forge – Low-Code Application Builder

THE IDEA

App Forge – Low-Code Application Builder

Type: Software Status: MVP Tech Stack: Python, FastAPI, SQLAlchemy 2, Alembic, PostgreSQL 16, Pydantic v2, Jinja2 (codegen), PyJWT, slowapi, React 18, TypeScript, Vite 6, Zustand, TanStack Query, React Router 7, reactflow, @dnd-kit, TailwindCSS, i18next, Vitest, Playwright, Docker, nginx (generated apps) Problem Statement Database-driven business applications consist largely of the same boilerplate over and over: data model, forms, lists, permissions and processes are programmed anew for every app. Developers and technically minded business users need a way to model such CRUD applications visually and still end up with standalone, self-hostable code. This is particularly pressing when replacing legacy HCL Notes/Domino applications, whose structures have to be carried over into modern web applications. Description App Forge is a low-code platform for visually modelling database-driven web applications and, at the push of a button, generating a standalone, runnable FastAPI + React app from them, including a Docker setup. Five graphical designers define the database schema (ER diagram), forms, list views, widget-based pages with calculated fields and node-based workflows; a Jinja2 template engine renders them into the backend (models with real keys, CRUD routers, auth) and a React frontend behind nginx. The platform comes with JWT auth with admin approval, CSRF protection, rate limiting, audit logs, multi-user save protection, referential integrity between forms, views, pages and workflows, and its own workflow runtime that supports partial runs from any node. A Notes exporter converts HCL Notes/Domino databases into App Forge structures, supporting the modernisation of legacy Domino applications. A hardening cycle lasting several months was concluded with a documented audit; around 1,250 backend and 1,200 frontend tests pass. The main open items are widget parity between the designer and the generated app, atomic saving of list views and several workflow node types that cannot yet be executed. Use Case You click business applications together visually — data model, forms, pages and processes — and get a finished, runnable web app for self-hosting at the push of a button. Link: https://github.com/rawk7000/app_forge (private repo)