# Rallly — Open Source Meeting Scheduling & Polling Tool

> Rallly is an open-source Doodle alternative for scheduling group meetings. Create polls, share availability, and find the best time — no sign-up required for participants.

## Install

Save the content below to `.claude/skills/` or append to your `CLAUDE.md`:

## Quick Use

```bash
git clone https://github.com/lukevella/rallly.git
cd rallly
cp sample.env .env
docker compose up -d
```

Open `http://localhost:3000` — create your first scheduling poll and share it with participants.

## Intro

**Rallly** is an open-source scheduling and collaboration tool designed to make organizing events and meetings effortless. It serves as a self-hosted alternative to Doodle, letting you create polls where participants vote on their preferred time slots to find the optimal meeting time — no sign-up required for participants.

With 5K+ GitHub stars and AGPL-3.0 license, Rallly is built with the T3 stack (Next.js, tRPC, Prisma, Tailwind CSS) and provides a clean, modern interface for group scheduling without the ads and upsells of commercial alternatives.

## What Rallly Does

Rallly simplifies group scheduling:

- **Scheduling Polls**: Create a poll with proposed dates/times, share a link, and let participants vote
- **No Sign-up Required**: Participants can vote without creating an account — just enter their name
- **Time Zone Support**: Automatic time zone detection and conversion for international groups
- **Comments**: Participants can leave comments to explain their availability or preferences
- **Notifications**: Email notifications when participants respond or when a final time is selected
- **Finalize & Notify**: Lock in the chosen time and automatically notify all participants
- **Guest Mode**: Create polls without an account for quick, one-off scheduling

## Architecture

```
┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│  Next.js     │────▶│  tRPC API    │────▶│  PostgreSQL  │
│  (T3 Stack)  │     │  (Prisma)    │     │  (Database)  │
└──────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘
```

Tech stack:
- **Frontend**: Next.js 14 + React + Tailwind CSS
- **API**: tRPC for type-safe API calls
- **Database**: PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM
- **Auth**: NextAuth.js with email magic links
- **Email**: React Email templates via Nodemailer
- **i18n**: Support for 30+ languages via i18next

## Self-Hosting

### Docker Compose

```yaml
services:
  rallly:
    image: lukevella/rallly:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://rallly:rallly@db:5432/rallly
      SECRET_PASSWORD: your-secret-password-min-32-chars
      NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL: http://localhost:3000
      NOREPLY_EMAIL: noreply@yourdomain.com
      SMTP_HOST: smtp.yourdomain.com
      SMTP_PORT: 587
      SMTP_USER: your-smtp-user
      SMTP_PWD: your-smtp-password
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: rallly
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: rallly
      POSTGRES_DB: rallly
    volumes:
      - pg-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  pg-data:
```

## How It Works

### 1. Create a Poll

The organizer creates a poll with:
- Title and description
- Proposed date/time options
- Optional: location, deadline for responses

### 2. Share the Link

Share the poll URL with participants via email, Slack, or any messaging app. No app installation or account creation needed.

### 3. Participants Vote

Each participant:
- Selects their availability for each proposed time (Yes / If need be / No)
- Optionally leaves a comment
- Can update their response later

### 4. Find the Best Time

The organizer sees a summary grid showing everyone's availability:

```
              Mon 15   Tue 16   Wed 17
Alice          ✅        ✅        ❌
Bob            ✅        ❓        ✅
Carol          ❌        ✅        ✅
─────────────────────────────────────
Best:          2/3      2.5/3    2/3
```

### 5. Finalize

Lock in the chosen date and all participants receive a notification with the final details.

## Key Features

### Multi-Language Support

Rallly supports 30+ languages including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, and more — making it accessible for international teams.

### Mobile-Friendly

The responsive design works perfectly on phones and tablets. Participants can vote from any device without installing an app.

### Privacy-Focused

- No tracking or analytics on participant activity
- No ads or upsells
- Self-hosted = complete data ownership
- Participant data is never shared with third parties

## Rallly vs Alternatives

| Feature | Rallly | Doodle | When2meet | Calendly |
|---------|--------|--------|-----------|----------|
| Open Source | Yes (AGPL-3.0) | No | No | No |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No | No | No |
| No signup to vote | Yes | No | Yes | N/A |
| Time zones | Auto-detect | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Comments | Yes | Premium | No | N/A |
| Mobile app | PWA | iOS/Android | Web only | iOS/Android |
| Ad-free | Yes | Premium | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | Free | Free + Premium | Free | Free + Paid |

## FAQ

**Q: How is Rallly different from Calendly?**
A: Rallly is poll-based scheduling (group picks the best time); Calendly is appointment-based scheduling (your open slots for others to book). Use Rallly for team meetings and Calendly for client bookings.

**Q: Do I need to configure an email server?**
A: SMTP is recommended to enable email notifications. It works without it, but participants won't receive email reminders and must access the poll via the link.

**Q: Does it integrate with calendars?**
A: It supports exporting finalized events as .ics files for import into Google Calendar, Outlook, etc. Direct calendar API integration is on the roadmap.

## Source & Thanks

- GitHub: [lukevella/rallly](https://github.com/lukevella/rallly) — 5K+ ⭐ | AGPL-3.0
- Website: [rallly.co](https://rallly.co)

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/rallly-open-source-meeting-scheduling-polling-tool-d54be0e0
Author: Script Depot