Turn a family weekend Google Sheet into a shared app in six hours with Claude

WorkedEvidence: Described by posterPosted Jun 9, 2026Last checked Nov 7, 2026

Claude helped a couple turn a family weekend Google Sheet into a shared app, built in 6 hours with a Convex database.

Source checked Nov 7, 2026
Results shared

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Here is the code of a Claude artifact we built to organize weekends with friends: who's bringing what, cars, meals, the grocery list, the address and the wifi password. Add a Convex database so everyone can edit the shared data, keep the existing screens, and tell me which keys and environment variables I need to deploy it on Railway.

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Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Turn a prototype into a small shared app the whole group can edit from their phones.

Questions to ask me first:
- What does the prototype do today, and who will use it?
- Which database and hosting do you want?
- What must work in the supermarket on a phone?

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Prototype code: [PASTED ARTIFACT CODE]
- Database: [E.G. CONVEX]
- Hosting: [E.G. RAILWAY]
- Must-have screens: [GROCERY LIST, WHO BRINGS WHAT, CARS]

Rules:
- Keep the existing screens and wording unless I ask for changes.
- Never put secret keys in the code; use environment variables.
- Explain each setup step I have to do myself.
- Keep it simple enough for a small group of friends.

Checkpoint: Show the data structure before writing the database code.

If you get stuck: If a feature needs more than the free tier, tell me before building it.

Verify before you finish: Two people editing the grocery list at once both see the change.

Output: Working code, a list of environment variables and step-by-step deployment notes.

Done when: Everyone on the trip can open one link and see and edit the same plan.

AI tool

Claude

Outcome

For a couple of years, Benoît Devilliers and family used one big Google Sheet to organize weekends with friends and family: who's bringing what, who has a car, meals, the grocery list, the address and the wifi password. It worked, but was a nightmare to use in the supermarket. Devilliers' wife, who isn't a developer, built and published a Claude Desktop artifact using the sheet as a reference, and after a round of iterations shared its code. Because artifacts have no database, Devilliers pasted the artifact's code into Claude running in Conductor, asked for a Convex database, and hosted the result on Railway. The app, named Saywhat after the friend who always asks what's needed at the last minute, took 6 hours to build as a first version: 4 hours for the artifact and 2 for the database and hosting. It still lacked features such as a good onboarding experience.

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Source

Posted: Jun 9, 2026 by Benoît Devilliers
Last checked: Nov 7, 2026
Method:: How we verify

https://benoitslab.substack.com/p/we-built-an-app-for-the-weekend

Context: Benoît's Lab newsletter on Substack. The author used Claude through the Conductor coding app on an Anthropic subscription, and notes Cursor, VS Code or Claude Code would also work.