OpenForms

OpenForms is a simple, local-first form collection app for GNOME.
It is designed for situations where setting up online forms is impractical or unreliable — such as conferences, meetups, workshops, or community events.

OpenForms works fully offline, stores responses locally, and avoids unnecessary complexity.

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Why OpenForms?

The idea for OpenForms began during a discussion at a conference.

At many conferences and events, collecting information through online forms often becomes frustrating due to:

• Unreliable or congested networks
• Failing Wi-Fi chipsets
• Captive portals, passwords, and timeouts
• Services that simply don’t work when you need them

In such scenarios, a small, no-fuss, offline-friendly form collection tool makes far more sense.

After searching for existing solutions and not finding anything that fit this use case well, OpenForms was built to fill that gap.

Screenshots

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Features

Current

• Create structured forms using a simple configuration format
• Collect responses locally and store them in CSV format
• Attach images using the system file picker
• Clean integration with GNOME
• Sandboxed distribution via Flatpak

Planned

• Create form configurations directly from the GUI (no manual JSON editing)
• Support for making fields required
• Strong form validation
• Form history to quickly open them again

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Privacy & Permissions

OpenForms is built with a privacy-first, local-first philosophy.

• ❌ No network access
• ❌ No tracking or analytics
• ❌ No accounts or cloud services
• ✅ All data stays on your device

The app only requests pictures access, which is used exclusively for attaching images to form entries via the system file picker.

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Use Cases

• Conference or meetup registrations
• Workshop attendance tracking
• Offline surveys
• Temporary data collection at events
• Any scenario where internet access cannot be relied upon

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Installation

Flatpak (recommended)

Please use the latest release or build using GNOME Builder.

Sample Config

{
  "form_name": "OpenForms – User Feedback",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "title",
      "type": "label",
      "label": "OpenForms Feedback",
      "style": ["title-1"]
    },

    {
      "id": "subtitle",
      "type": "label",
      "label": "Help us improve by sharing your experience",
      "style": ["subtitle"]
    },

    {
      "id": "hero_image",
      "type": "picture",
      "label": "OpenForms logo",
      "uri": "file:///home/aryan/Pictures/OpenForms.png",
      "width": 480,
      "height": 200
    },

    {
      "id": "name",
      "type": "entry",
      "label": "Your name",
      "required": true
    },

    {
      "id": "email",
      "type": "entry",
      "label": "Email address"
    },

    {
      "id": "usage_type",
      "type": "radio",
      "label": "How are you using OpenForms?",
      "options": [
        "Personal use",
        "Education",
        "Work / Research",
        "Just exploring"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "i_agree_to_submit",
      "type": "check",
      "label": "I agree to submit"
    },
    {
      "id": "comments",
      "type": "text",
      "label": "Additional comments or suggestions"
    },
    {
      "id": "first_start",
      "type": "calendar",
      "label": "When did you first started using OpenForms?"
    },
    {
      "id": "rating",
      "type": "spin",
      "label": "What rating would you give OpenForms?",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 5,
      "step": 1
    }
  ]
}