Formcarry — Forms Without a Backend

Formcarry is a form backend that collects submissions from HTML or JavaScript forms with minimal configuration. No server code needed. Setup takes ~3 minutes.

Endpoint format: https://formcarry.com/s/{FORM_ID}

Before Building

1. Does the user have a Formcarry account? If not, they need one at formcarry.com
2. What type of form? Contact, feedback, registration, payment, file upload
3. Submission method? HTML (page redirect) or AJAX (no reload)
4. Framework? Plain HTML, React, Vue, Next.js, Astro, or other
5. Features needed? File uploads, spam protection, auto-responder, webhooks, payments

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Quick Start — 3 Steps

Step 1: Create form in Formcarry dashboard

Dashboard → Create Form → Copy endpoint URL from Setup tab.

Step 2: Point your form to the endpoint

<form action="https://formcarry.com/s/{FORM_ID}" method="POST">
  <input type="text" name="name" required>
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message"></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

Step 3: Submit and check dashboard

Submissions appear in Formcarry dashboard. Email notifications sent to form owner.

Critical rule: Every <input>, <textarea>, and <select> MUST have a name attribute. Without it, data won't be collected.

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Submission Methods

Method 1: HTML Form (Page Redirect)

Simplest approach. Form submits, user redirects to thank-you page.

<form action="https://formcarry.com/s/{FORM_ID}" method="POST">
  <input type="text" name="name" placeholder="Name" required>
  <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Email" required>
  <textarea name="message" placeholder="Message"></textarea>
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

Method 2: Fetch API (No Reload)

form.addEventListener("submit", async (e) => {
  e.preventDefault();

  const data = Object.fromEntries(new FormData(form));

  const response = await fetch("https://formcarry.com/s/{FORM_ID}", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "Accept": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify(data),
  });

  const result = await response.json();

  if (result.code === 200) {
    // Success
  } else {
    // Error: result.message
  }
});

Method 3: React

const [status, setStatus] = useState<"idle" | "sending" | "sent" | "error">("idle");

async function handleSubmit(e: React.FormEvent<HTMLFormElement>) {
  e.preventDefault();
  setStatus("sending");

  const data = Object.fromEntries(new FormData(e.currentTarget));

  try {
    const res = await fetch("https://formcarry.com/s/{FORM_ID}", {
      method: "POST",
      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json", "Accept": "application/json" },
      body: JSON.stringify(data),
    });

    const result = await res.json();
    setStatus(result.code === 200 ? "sent" : "error");
  } catch {
    setStatus("error");
  }
}

For complete code examples (Vue, Axios, jQuery, XMLHttpRequest, file uploads), see references/code-examples.md.

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Special Hidden Fields

Control behavior with hidden inputs:

Field	Purpose	Example
_next	Redirect URL after submit	<input type="hidden" name="_next" value="https://site.com/thanks">
_gotcha	Honeypot spam trap	<input type="hidden" name="_gotcha">

Note: Dashboard thank-you page URL overrides _next. Leave dashboard field empty to use _next.

---

Spam Protection

Three layers, use together for best results:

1. Built-in (automatic)

Formcarry's algorithm detects spam automatically. Spam is flagged, not deleted.

2. Honeypot field

<input type="hidden" name="_gotcha">

Bots fill hidden fields. Humans don't. Submissions with _gotcha filled are flagged as spam.

3. Google reCAPTCHA

Configure reCAPTCHA secret key in dashboard or via API (googleRecaptcha parameter).

Plan note: Free plan counts spam toward submission limit. Paid plans don't.

---

File Uploads

Requirement: enctype="multipart/form-data" on the form tag. Limit: 10MB per file. Paid plans only.

<form action="https://formcarry.com/s/{FORM_ID}" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
  <input type="text" name="name">
  <input type="file" name="attachment">
  <button type="submit">Send</button>
</form>

Multiple files: add multiple attribute or use multiple <input type="file"> elements.

AJAX file uploads: Use FormData object, do NOT set Content-Type header (browser sets it automatically with boundary).

const formData = new FormData(formElement);

const res = await fetch("https://formcarry.com/s/{FORM_ID}", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Accept": "application/json" },
  body: formData, // NOT JSON.stringify — send FormData directly
});

---

Field Validations

Configure in dashboard. Six validators:

Validator	Rule
required	Field cannot be empty
number	Must be a number
email	Must be valid email
url	Must be valid URL
contains	Must contain specified value
notContains	Must NOT contain specified value

Error response (HTTP 422):

{
  "code": 422,
  "status": "error",
  "title": "Validation Failed",
  "errors": {
    "email": { "message": "email is not a valid email", "rule": "email" }
  }
}

Handle validation errors by highlighting fields:

if (result.code === 422) {
  Object.keys(result.errors).forEach(field => {
    document.querySelector(`[name="${field}"]`).classList.add("error");
  });
}

---

Email Notifications

Self notifications (to form owner)

Enabled by default. Configure email, subject, and template in dashboard.

Auto-response (to submitter)

Enable in dashboard. Requires an email field in the form. Sends confirmation to the person who submitted.

Custom email templates

Available on Growth/Premium plans. Use Mustache-style variables:

Hi {{name}},

Thanks for reaching out about {{subject}}.

{{#phone}}
We'll also call you at {{phone}}.
{{/phone}}

{{#fallback}}company | your company{{/fallback}}

Variables: {{fieldName}} — maps to form field name attributes. Conditionals: {{#field}}...{{/field}} — renders only if field has value. Fallbacks: {{#fallback}}field | default text{{/fallback}} — default when empty. Iteration: {{#fields}}{{key}}: {{value}}{{/fields}} — loop through all fields.

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Webhooks

Configure webhook URL in dashboard or via API. Formcarry POSTs submission data to your URL in real-time.

Use cases: Slack notifications, CRM updates, database sync, custom processing.

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Stripe Payments

Collect payments alongside form submissions. Configure Stripe integration in dashboard.

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REST API

For programmatic form management and submission retrieval.

Authentication: Pass api_key header in every request. Find key in dashboard → Integrations.

For complete API reference (create/delete forms, list/filter submissions, pagination), see references/api-reference.md.

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Pricing Quick Reference

Plan	Price	Forms	Submissions/mo	File Storage	Team
Baby (Free)	$0	1	50	Yes	1
Starter	$5/mo	Unlimited	500	1GB	3
Basic	$15/mo	Unlimited	2,000	2GB	5
Premium	$80/mo	Unlimited	30,000	30GB	20
Enterprise	Custom	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited

---

Common Patterns

Contact form with spam protection

<form action="https://formcarry.com/s/{FORM_ID}" method="POST">
  <input type="text" name="name" required>
  <input type="email" name="email" required>
  <textarea name="message" required></textarea>
  <input type="hidden" name="_gotcha">
  <input type="hidden" name="_next" value="https://site.com/thanks">
  <button type="submit">Send Message</button>
</form>

Newsletter signup (minimal)

<form action="https://formcarry.com/s/{FORM_ID}" method="POST">
  <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="your@email.com" required>
  <button type="submit">Subscribe</button>
</form>

Multi-step with JS (collect, then submit)

Collect data across steps in a JS object, then submit all at once via Fetch.

React hook pattern

function useFormcarry(formId: string) {
  const [status, setStatus] = useState<"idle" | "sending" | "sent" | "error">("idle");
  const [errors, setErrors] = useState<Record<string, string>>({});

  async function submit(data: Record<string, string>) {
    setStatus("sending");
    setErrors({});

    try {
      const res = await fetch(`https://formcarry.com/s/${formId}`, {
        method: "POST",
        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json", "Accept": "application/json" },
        body: JSON.stringify(data),
      });

      const result = await res.json();

      if (result.code === 200) {
        setStatus("sent");
      } else if (result.code === 422) {
        setErrors(Object.fromEntries(
          Object.entries(result.errors).map(([k, v]: any) => [k, v.message])
        ));
        setStatus("error");
      } else {
        setStatus("error");
      }
    } catch {
      setStatus("error");
    }
  }

  return { status, errors, submit };
}

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
Fields show as empty	Missing name attribute	Add name to every input
CORS error	Missing Accept header	Add Accept: application/json
File upload fails	Missing enctype	Add enctype="multipart/form-data"
File upload fails (AJAX)	Setting Content-Type manually	Don't set Content-Type, send FormData directly
_next redirect not working	Dashboard has custom thank-you URL	Clear dashboard thank-you page field
Spam not filtered	No protection configured	Add _gotcha hidden field + enable reCAPTCHA
422 error	Field validation failed	Check result.errors for specific field issues