Getting Started

Get a working form endpoint in under 60 seconds.

For AI Agents

If you are an AI agent setting up formdata.dev for a user, follow these numbered steps exactly. Each step includes the expected output so you can verify success.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or later

Step 1 — Create Your Account

npx formdata-dev init

You will be prompted for three values:

Prompt	Example	Description
Organization name	`acme`	Your team or company name
Owner email	`[email protected]`	Contact email for the account
Subdomain slug	`acme`	Creates `acme.formdata.dev`

Expected output:

  formdata.dev — Create Account
  ────────────────────────────

  Organization name: acme
  Owner email: [email protected]
  Subdomain slug: acme

  Creating account...

  Account Created
  ───────────────
  Organization:    acme
  Subdomain:       acme.formdata.dev
  Secret key:      sk_a8f2c9e1b4d7...

  Credentials saved to ~/.config/formdata/credentials
  Warning: Your secret key is shown only once.

Your secret key (sk_) is stored at ~/.config/formdata/credentials. This is the only time the raw key is displayed — the server stores only a SHA-256 hash.

Step 2 — Create a Form

The CLI will prompt you to create your first form:

  Create your first form now? (y/n): y

  Create Form
  ───────────

  Form name: Contact
  Form slug: contact
  Allowed origins (comma-separated, blank for any):
  Enable captcha? (y/n): n

  Done: Form created
  ID:              frm_928...
  Public key:      pk_live_a8f2c...
  Endpoint:        POST https://api.formdata.dev/v1/f/pk_live_a8f2c...

Step 3 — Add a Destination

  Add a destination to this form? (y/n): y

  Select destination type:
    1. webhook
    2. smtp
    3. google_sheets_webhook
  Select (1-3): 1

  Webhook URL: https://hooks.slack.com/services/T.../B.../xxx
  HTTP method [POST]:
  Custom headers (key: value per line, blank to finish):

  Done: Destination added
  ID:              dest_f47...
  Type:            webhook
  Target:          https://hooks.slack.com/services/T.../B.../xxx

Step 4 — Test It

Send a test submission using curl:

curl -X POST https://api.formdata.dev/v1/f/pk_live_a8f2c... \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Jane Doe",
    "email": "[email protected]",
    "message": "Hello from the form."
  }'

Expected response (HTTP 202):

{
  "ok": true,
  "submissionId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "queuedDestinations": 1
}

Your Slack channel should receive the submission within seconds.

Step 5 — Connect MCP (Optional)

Add formdata.dev to Claude Desktop or Cursor for AI-managed form operations:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "formdata": {
      "url": "https://api.formdata.dev/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer sk_your_secret_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Now you can tell Claude: "Add an email destination to my contact form" and it will call the MCP tools directly.

What's Next

CLI Reference — All commands and options
MCP Tools — All 9 tools with parameters
Connectors — Webhook, SMTP, and Google Sheets setup
Architecture — How the system works under the hood

ON THIS PAGE

Getting Started#

Prerequisites#

Step 1 — Create Your Account#

Step 2 — Create a Form#

Step 3 — Add a Destination#

Step 4 — Test It#

Step 5 — Connect MCP (Optional)#

What's Next#