Guide

An RSVP page with no backend,
no form service, no login.

Guests type their name, the list fills up in front of everyone, and you never set up a server. One HTML file, hosted on a link you own.

Updated 2026-09-09 · by Hostus Team

An RSVP is the smallest possible app: a name, a yes or a no, and a list. Getting one online usually means a form service that emails you every reply, or a spreadsheet you then have to read out loud, or a whole event platform for twenty two people at a table.

None of those show the guests the list. This does, and it is one file.

What it looks like

Here is one, live. Add a name and it appears for everyone who opens the link after you, which you can check by opening it in another browser. The names already there were typed by other people reading this page.

It has the three things an RSVP needs and usually does not get: a count against the number of seats, a list guests can see, and the ability to change your mind without emailing anyone.

The prompt

With the Hostus connector on, this writes the page and publishes it in one turn.

Make me an RSVP page for a supper on the last Saturday of the month, 22 seats.

Someone types their name, picks coming or not coming, and the page shows the count and the full list to every visitor, live.

Use the hostus.data SDK so the entries live on the document: data.watch("rsvps", render) and data.add("rsvps", { name, going }). Mark my own row with a quiet "you". No backend, no localStorage, no key in the page. One HTML file, mobile first. Then publish it to Hostus and give me the link.

Change the number of seats and the occasion and it is your page. Ask for a dark theme, a photo, a map link, whatever the evening needs.

Why not a form service

ApproachGuests see the listYou own the pageSetup
HTML page with page storageYesYes, it is a fileDrop it in
Form service plus emailNoThe form is theirsAccount, endpoint
Spreadsheet linkYes, and they can edit each otherSort ofSharing settings
Event platformYesNoAccount, event, invites

Pick the form service when you do not want guests to see each other, which is a real case: a private booking request, an application, anything where the list is your business and not theirs. Then set the page to per reader mode and you get exactly that, on the same page.

Closing it when the seats run out

Two ways, both without touching the HTML. Freeze the data on the document and the page stays up, still readable, and stops accepting new names. Or ask Claude to switch it: it can set the mode and close the page for you.

If instead you want the answers private, switch the document to per reader: each guest sees only their own entry, and you see all of them.

Good to know before you switch

The storage runs because the page is hosted on Hostus: the server is what decides who each reader is. Download the file and open it from your desktop and the list is empty. The HTML is yours either way, and any host will serve the page, but the shared part is ours to run.

There is no spreadsheet view of the records. You read them on the page, or you ask Claude, which has a tool for it. If a dashboard with filters is what you need, this is not that yet.

Questions people ask

Can I make an RSVP page without a backend?

Yes. Host a single HTML page on Hostus and let it write to the document's own storage. Guests do not sign in, and the list is visible to everyone who opens the link.

Do guests need an account?

No. A visitor is identified by a signed cookie the server issues, which is enough to mark their own entry without asking them to register.

How many names fit?

1,000 records per collection on the free plan, 20,000 on paid. A supper, a class, a workshop and a wedding all fit inside the free tier.

Can I stop it accepting names?

Yes. Freezing the document's data keeps the page online and readable while blocking new writes. No edit to the HTML is needed.

Can I see who replied without showing everyone?

Set the document to per reader mode. Each guest sees their own entry only, and the owner sees all of them.

Twenty two seats and one link.

Free plan, no card, no clock.