NetPad

Build and publish MongoDB-connected applications with forms, workflows, data management, and AI-powered conversational experiences.

Overview

NetPad is an open-source, enterprise-grade platform that transforms how organizations build MongoDB-connected applications. The platform combines four core pillars—Forms, Workflows, Data Management, and AI/Conversational Experiences—to deliver a complete solution from database to production in minutes.

Visit https://netpad.io to get started.

Core Capabilities

🔷 Forms

• Visual Form Builder - Drag-and-drop WYSIWYG editor with 30+ field types
• Multi-Page Wizards - Step-based forms with progress indicators
• Template Gallery - 100+ pre-built templates across 15 categories (business, customer service, education, events, finance, government, healthcare, HR, legal, marketing, nonprofit, real estate, sports, technology, travel)
• Search Forms - Query MongoDB collections with configurable operators (equals, contains, between, in, regex, etc.)
• Conditional Logic - Show/hide fields based on other field values
• Computed Fields - Formula-based calculations with expression engine
• Field Encryption - MongoDB Queryable Encryption for sensitive data
• Form Analytics - Response trends, completion funnels, and field-level statistics
• Publishing - One-click publish with custom slugs, embeddable forms, and access control

⚙️ Workflows & Automation

• Visual Workflow Editor - ReactFlow-powered canvas with 25+ node types
• Multiple Triggers - Form submissions, webhooks, schedules (cron), manual execution
• Node Categories - Logic (if/else, switch, filter, loop), Data (transform, code), MongoDB (query, write), Integrations (HTTP, email, Slack, Google Sheets)
• Execution Engine - Queue-based processing with retry logic, error handling, and timeout management
• Workflow Templates - 11 pre-built templates for common automation patterns

💾 Data Management

• Data Browser - Navigate databases, collections, and documents with visual query builder
• Connection Vault - Encrypted credential storage (AES-256-GCM) for MongoDB connections
• Atlas Integration - Auto-provisioning, cluster monitoring, connection string management
• Import/Export - CSV/JSON import with schema inference, export collections or query results
• Schema Analysis - Automatic schema detection and validation

🤖 AI & Conversational Experiences

• Conversational Forms - AI-powered natural language data collection with configurable personas
• Knowledge-Guided Forms (RAG) - Document-grounded conversations using uploaded knowledge bases
• Vector Search - MongoDB Atlas Vector Search for semantic document retrieval
• Source Citations - Traceable references in AI responses with document links
• Template Admin - Built-in templates (IT Helpdesk, Customer Feedback, Patient Intake) + custom template creation
• 15+ AI Agents - Form generation, optimization, compliance audit, translation, insights, and more

Platform Features

📦 Applications-First Model

• Applications - First-class entities grouping related forms, workflows, and connections
• Versioned Releases - Semantic versioning (X.Y.Z) with immutable snapshots
• Application Contracts - Define public API surface with breaking change detection
• Component Protection - Lock forms/workflows to prevent accidental modifications
• Application Permissions (RBAC) - Fine-grained access control (Owner, Editor, Analyst, Viewer)

🛒 Marketplace & npm Integration

• Application Marketplace - Browse, publish, and install applications from the community
• npm Package Support - Publish and install applications directly from npm registry
• Registry Sync - Automatic discovery and syncing of NetPad packages
• Official vs Community - Designation for NetPad-verified vs user-created applications
• Admin Review Workflow - Platform admins review and approve/reject submissions

🏢 Organization & Multi-Tenancy

• Organizations - Team member management with roles (Owner, Admin, Member, Viewer)
• Projects - Environment-based organization (dev, staging, prod)
• Shared Resources - Connections, templates, and applications shared across teams
• RBAC - Three-tier permission system (organization, application, form levels)

🔒 Security & Compliance

• Encryption - Connection strings (AES-256-GCM), field-level (Queryable Encryption), transport (TLS 1.3)
• Data Classification - Sensitivity levels (Public, Internal, Confidential, Restricted, Secret)
• Compliance - HIPAA-ready field encryption, PCI-DSS handling, GDPR data retention, SOC2 audit logging
• Audit Logging - Comprehensive logging of user actions, resource changes, and access events
• Bot Protection - Honeypot fields, timing validation, Turnstile CAPTCHA

🚀 Deployment & Infrastructure

• One-Click Deployment - Deploy to Vercel with auto-provisioned databases
• Self-Hosted Mode - Run NetPad privately with Atlas Local for RAG without M10 upgrade
• Feature Gates - Two-tier access control (subscription + infrastructure requirements)
• Cloud & Self-Hosted - Flexible deployment options with different feature availability

Quick Start

Deploy Your Own Instance

The fastest way to get started is to deploy your own NetPad instance:

1. Click the "Deploy with Vercel" button above
2. Connect your MongoDB Atlas database (get a free cluster)
3. Configure your environment variables
4. Start building forms and workflows

For detailed deployment instructions, see the Deployment Guide.

Use the Hosted Service

Visit netpad.io to use the hosted version with a free MongoDB Atlas cluster included.

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run development server
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm test

# Build for production
npm run build

Environment Setup

Copy .env.example to .env.local and configure your environment variables:

cp .env.example .env.local

Required variables:

• MONGODB_URI - MongoDB connection string
• SESSION_SECRET - 32+ character secret for sessions
• VAULT_ENCRYPTION_KEY - Base64 key for vault encryption

See docs/DEPLOY.md for the complete list of environment variables.

NPM Packages

NetPad includes reusable packages you can use in your own applications:

@netpad/forms

React component library for rendering sophisticated multi-page form wizards with validation, conditional logic, and nested data.

npm install @netpad/forms

Features:

• 28+ field types
• Multi-page wizard support
• Conditional logic engine
• TypeScript support

@netpad/workflows

Workflow API client for triggering and monitoring NetPad workflow executions programmatically.

npm install @netpad/workflows

Features:

• Execution management
• Type-safe TypeScript API
• Status polling utilities

@netpad/mcp-server

MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for AI-assisted NetPad development.

npm install @netpad/mcp-server

Features:

• 75+ tools across 7 categories (Forms, Applications, Workflows, Templates, Data, etc.)
• Validated TypeScript output with inline types
• Compatible with Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other MCP clients

@netpad/cli

Command-line tool for managing NetPad applications and packages.

npm install -g @netpad/cli
# or
npx @netpad/cli

Features:

• Install packages from npm registry
• Search for NetPad packages
• Create new application packages
• Authenticate with NetPad API

API & Integration

NetPad provides 165+ API endpoints for comprehensive programmatic access:

• Forms API - Form CRUD, submissions, analytics (40+ endpoints)
• Workflows API - Workflow management, execution (15+ endpoints)
• Applications API - Application management, releases, permissions (10+ endpoints)
• Marketplace API - Browse, publish, install applications (12+ endpoints)
• Data API - MongoDB operations, queries, aggregations (10+ endpoints)
• AI API - AI agents and generation (12+ endpoints)
• RAG API - Document management, retrieval (5+ endpoints)

See API Documentation for complete reference.

Documentation

• Platform Capabilities - Complete feature guide and capabilities overview
• Deployment Guide - Deploy your own instance
• Architecture - Technical architecture overview
• API Documentation - REST API reference

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

License

MIT