Spreadsheet to app
Build an app from a spreadsheet in an afternoon
Most internal tools begin as a spreadsheet and outgrow it the day a second person starts editing. Emberblocks takes the spreadsheet as the starting point: import it, get real fields and relations, add the screens and rules the sheet could never enforce.
Builders are always free. Facts about other products on this page were last checked on . Tell us if something is out of date: hello@emberblocks.com.
From CSV to published app
- 1
Import
Upload a CSV (export from Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets). Column types are detected; any row that fails validation stops the import with a line-by-line report before anything is written.
- 2
Fix the model
Turn text columns that repeat values into selects, name columns that point at another sheet into reference fields, and add the field types a sheet cannot hold: images, files, signatures, addresses, barcodes.
- 3
Draft the screens
Describe the process and Ember proposes views and workflows. A table with filters, a record page, a form and a kanban board cover most sheets.
- 4
Add the rules
Required fields, defaults, validation, roles, and workflows that email or update rows when a status changes.
- 5
Publish
One click, a versioned snapshot, and a link that works on phones and installs to the home screen.
What the app has that the sheet did not
Types and validation
A date is a date, an email is an email, and a required field cannot be skipped.
Relations
Customers, orders and items are separate tables that link, with related lists on each record page.
Views for each job
A kanban for status, a calendar for dates, a map for addresses, a chart for the weekly meeting.
Who did what
Activity tracking and comments on every record.
Phones
Published apps are responsive, install on a phone's home screen, and queue edits made offline until the connection is back.
Permissions
Roles decide who sees and edits which views and fields.
What you get in Emberblocks
Your data, live
Start on a built-in database, your own Postgres (Supabase, Neon, RDS, anything that speaks Postgres) or an Airtable base. Apps read and write live rows, so there are no exports to keep in sync.
Blocks on a grid
Drag tables, cards, record pages, kanban boards, calendars, maps, timelines, charts, stats, forms, buttons, comments, activity feeds, file viewers, signatures, barcodes and embeds onto a grid and wire them to tables. What you arrange is exactly what your team gets.
Real field types
Fields include text, email, phone, URL, number, boolean, date, date-time, time, duration, select, multi-select, reference, multi-reference, image, file, signature, address and JSON. Barcode scanning and signatures work in the browser without a native app.
Workflows
Workflows run when a row is created, updated or deleted, on a schedule, or from a button; steps update records, send email, call webhooks, branch on conditions and run code.
Roles and permissions
Roles decide which views a user sees and which fields they can read or edit; app users can be loaded from a table in your own data.
Publishing like software
Every publish is a versioned snapshot you can inspect and roll back, with a stable and a latest channel.
Phones and offline
Published apps are responsive, install on a phone's home screen, and queue edits made offline until the connection is back.
AI where it helps
Ember drafts a first version of an app from a plain-language description, and end users can ask questions of the data in plain language when you turn it on.
Questions
- Can I import Excel files directly?
- Save the sheet as CSV first (File, Save As, CSV). One CSV per worksheet. Emberblocks imports the CSV and detects column types.
- What if my sheet has formulas?
- Exported CSVs carry the computed values. Recreate the formulas that matter as formula fields in Emberblocks; the language is spreadsheet-style with autocomplete.
- Can I re-import later?
- Yes. Table blocks can allow CSV import for app users, so recurring uploads become a button in the app.
- Where does my data live?
- Wherever you want it. Use the built-in database, connect your own Postgres so rows never leave your server, or point an app at an Airtable base. Airtable bases are mirrored into Postgres and kept in sync both ways.
- How is Emberblocks priced?
- Builders are always free. Paid plans are priced by the number of people who sign in to your published apps: Starter $29, Pro $79 and Business $199 a month billed yearly. Every new workspace starts with a 14-day Pro trial, no card needed, and there is a free plan after that. Full details on the pricing page.
- What does Emberblocks not do yet?
- Custom domains, SSO and an Enterprise plan are not available yet. There is no live Google Sheets connector (import the sheet as CSV instead). Apps run in the browser and install to the home screen; there are no App Store or Play Store builds.
Try it on your own data.
Every workspace starts with a 14-day Pro trial without a card. You can also open a template in the editor first and sign up only when you want to keep it.