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Define a form in a YAML file, push it to a GitHub repository, and Declarative Forms turns it into a live, shareable form. No account, no deployment, no visual editor — the YAML file is the form.
All you need is a GitHub repository. Public or private — both work. There is nothing to install, sign up for, or deploy.

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How it works

You create a .yaml file in a GitHub repository. Declarative Forms reads that file and renders it as an interactive form at a frms.dev URL. Every time you update the YAML and push to main, the form updates automatically.

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Create your form

1

Create a YAML file

In any GitHub repository, create a new .yaml file on the main branch. The filename becomes part of the form URL — for example, contact.yaml becomes /contact.
2

Define the form

Paste this complete contact form into your YAML file:
contact.yaml
version: 1
title: "Contact us"
description: "Send us a message and we will get back to you."

sections:
  - id: contact
    title: "Your details"
    fields:
      - id: full_name
        type: short_text
        label: "Full name"
        placeholder: "Jane Smith"
        validators:
          - required

      - id: email
        type: email
        label: "Email address"
        placeholder: "jane@example.com"
        validators:
          - required

      - id: message
        type: long_text
        label: "Message"
        placeholder: "How can we help?"
        validators:
          - required

    next: done

connections:
  - type: email
    to: "hello@example.com"
    subject: "New contact form submission"
    include_responses: true
Replace hello@example.com with the email address where you want to receive submissions.
3

Commit and push

Commit the file to the main branch and push. Your form is now live.

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Open your form

Once your YAML file is on main, open it through frms.dev. The process differs slightly depending on whether your repository is public or private.
Navigate directly to:
https://frms.dev/<owner>/<repo>/<filename>
PlaceholderValue
<owner>Your GitHub username or organization
<repo>The repository name
<filename>The YAML filename without .yaml
Example: If your GitHub username is acme and you created contact.yaml in the forms repository:
https://frms.dev/acme/forms/contact
The form loads immediately. No authentication required — anyone with the link can fill it in.

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Share your form

After you load the form for the first time, you’ll be redirected to a permanent short URL like: 
https://frms.dev/c979ac5b
This is your form’s shareable link. Share it with anyone who should fill in the form. It always points to the latest version of your YAML — every push to main updates the form automatically.
No redeploy needed. Edit the YAML, push to main, and the form updates. There is no build step, deploy step, or cache to clear.

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Verify it works

Open your form URL and run through these checks:
1

Form loads

The title, description, and all fields should appear.
2

Validation works

Submit with empty required fields — each one should show an error.
3

Submission succeeds

Fill in every field and submit. You should see the default completion screen.
4

Email arrives

Check the inbox you configured. A submission email with all responses should arrive within a few minutes.

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Troubleshooting

  • Confirm the file is on the main branch.
  • Check that the URL matches the filename exactly (without .yaml).
  • For private repos, make sure you’ve completed the GitHub authorization.
  • Use spaces, not tabs. YAML is whitespace-sensitive.
  • Ensure all strings with special characters (:, #, ") are wrapped in quotes.
  • Validate your YAML with an online linter like yamllint.com.
  • Confirm you replaced hello@example.com with your actual email address.
  • Check your spam or junk folder.
  • Verify the connections block is at the top level of the YAML (not nested inside a section).
  • Make sure you pushed to the main branch, not a different branch.
  • Hard-refresh the form page (Cmd+Shift+R or Ctrl+Shift+R) to bypass browser cache.