# Internal tools, built with AI, for your team only

> Canonical: https://teamonly.dev/internal-tools

Last updated 25 October 2026. Written by TeamOnly. We make one of the options below, so prices link to each vendor's own page.

The small apps a team runs on: a quote calculator, a stock count, an approval flow. You can now build one in an afternoon with an AI tool. This page is about getting it into your coworkers' hands without putting it on the open web.

**Quick answer:** Build the tool with Claude Code or Cursor, then put it on a host that checks your company login before the app loads. On TeamOnly that is one command, and coworkers sign in with the work account they already have.

## What is an internal tool?

An app made for the people inside a company, not for customers. It does one job a team does every week, and only staff can open it.

Most start as a spreadsheet, an email thread or someone's memory. They turn into a tool when enough people need the same answer. Here are ones teams actually build:

1. **Quote calculator.** Sales prices a job in a minute, with today's rates and the right margin.
2. **Inventory tracker.** Counts by location, a history of every change, and a list of what is running low. (Template)
3. **Expense approval.** People send a receipt, a manager approves it, finance sees the month. (Template)
4. **Request form.** One place to ask for a laptop, a repair or a day off, with a status people can check. (Template)
5. **Customer lookup.** Find a customer by name or account number and read the team's notes. (Template)
6. **Ask the docs.** Search the handbook and policies in plain words instead of asking the same person again. (Template)
7. **Onboarding checklist.** What a new hire needs in week one, ticked off by each team that owns a step.
8. **Shift planner.** Who works when, who wants to swap, and who is short a person.
9. **Equipment booking.** Meeting rooms, vans, cameras or test devices, without double bookings.
10. **Site visit log.** Photos and notes from inspections or deliveries, sent from a phone.

## How do teams get internal tools today?

There are four common routes, ours included. None is right for everyone. They differ in who builds, who can open the tool, and what you have to look after yourself.

| Option | What it is like | Suits | Watch out for | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A spreadsheet or form (Google Sheets, Excel, Forms) | You already have it. Share the file and people start typing. | A simple list a few people keep up to date | Formulas get overwritten, everyone can see every row, and it gets slow and messy as more people use it. | Included in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 |
| An internal tool builder (Retool, Appsmith, Softr and similar) | You drag tables, forms and buttons onto a page in their editor and connect your data. | Teams that want a visual editor and already keep their data in a database or another app | People who use the tool need a user on that platform, often paid. You build inside their editor, not with your AI tool. | Retool Team: $10 per builder and $5 per user a month, billed yearly. Appsmith Business: $15 per user a month. Both have a free plan for up to 5 users |
| Build with AI, host it yourself (Claude Code, Cursor or Lovable, plus Vercel, Netlify or a server) | Your AI tool writes the app. You pick a host, a database and a login, and connect them. | Developers who already run apps and know how to lock one down | Most hosts are public by default. Keeping it private, the secrets and the database are your job. | Depends on the host and the services you add |
| **Build with AI, host on TeamOnly** (company login built in) | Your AI tool writes the app. One command puts it online behind your company login, with a database, file storage and secrets. | Anyone who built a tool with Claude Code or Cursor and wants the team using it today | Internal apps only, never public. The app is a React front end with a small JavaScript or TypeScript API. Python apps can't run here. | Builder: $19 a month. Team: $249 a month. People who only use apps are free |

Checked 25 October 2026. Sources: [Retool pricing](https://retool.com/pricing), [Appsmith pricing](https://www.appsmith.com/pricing). For sharing an app you already built, see [the guide](https://teamonly.dev/guides/share-an-ai-built-app-with-your-team) and [the full comparison](https://teamonly.dev/compare).

## How do I build one with AI and share it with my team?

About ten minutes the first time. You need Node.js on your computer, which Claude Code and Cursor users already have.

1. **Start free with your work email.** Try it free for 14 days, no card needed. After that, Builder is $19 a month for one builder and up to three apps. https://teamonly.dev/pricing#trial
2. **Start from a template, or from nothing.** Run `npx teamonly init --template inventory-tracker stock` to get a ready-made app in a new folder called `stock`, or `npx teamonly init` in an empty folder for a blank one. Either way, your AI tool gets instructions for building apps that run on TeamOnly.
3. **Ask your AI tool for what you need.** Plain words are fine: "Add a reorder button that puts the item on a list for purchasing." Try it on your computer with `npm install` and `npm run dev`.
4. **Sign in once, then deploy.** Run `npx teamonly login` the first time, then `npx teamonly deploy`. You get a link like `stock.acme.teamonly.app`. The database, file storage and secrets are created on the first deploy.
5. **Send the link.** Anyone at your company can open it. To narrow it to named people, run `npx teamonly access only dana@acme.com sam@acme.com`.

```
$ npx teamonly init --template inventory-tracker stock
✔ Created "stock" from the inventory-tracker template
$ cd stock && npm install
$ npx teamonly login
✔ Signed in as dana@acme.com
$ npx teamonly deploy
✔ Live at https://stock.acme.teamonly.app
  Only @acme.com accounts can sign in.
```

**Or just ask.** In Claude Code or Cursor, in the folder of your app, type "deploy this on TeamOnly". It runs the commands for you, asks for your work email and the code we send, and offers a 14-day free trial if your company has no plan yet.

## Five templates to start from

Each one already uses the company login and the database. Change it by asking your AI in plain words.

- [Expense approval](https://teamonly.dev/templates/expense-approval): receipts, approvers and a monthly view for finance. `npx teamonly init --template expense-approval`
- [Inventory tracker](https://teamonly.dev/templates/inventory-tracker): counts by location, reorder levels and low stock. `npx teamonly init --template inventory-tracker`
- [Request form](https://teamonly.dev/templates/request-form): a queue marked new, in progress or done. `npx teamonly init --template request-form`
- [Customer lookup](https://teamonly.dev/templates/customer-lookup): search customers and share notes. `npx teamonly init --template customer-lookup`
- [Ask the docs](https://teamonly.dev/templates/ask-the-docs): search your handbook and policies. `npx teamonly init --template ask-the-docs`

## What IT gets

People are already building these tools. TeamOnly gives them one approved place to put them, and gives IT a clear view of all of it.

- **Login before any app code runs.** Every request is checked for a signed-in person on your domain before it reaches the app. A builder can't switch it off.
- **Every app in its own room.** Each app has its own database, file storage and secrets, and can't read another app's data.
- **One list of every app.** A dashboard shows each app, its owner, who can open it and how many emails it sent. Apps can only email people at your company. When someone leaves, an admin hands their apps to a new owner.
- **Never in search.** Every response tells search engines not to list the app, and nothing loads without a login anyway.

On the Business plan, Okta or another SSO provider, audit logs and offboarding are included, set up with your IT team.

More: [TeamOnly for IT](https://teamonly.dev/for-it), [security details](https://teamonly.dev/security).

## When TeamOnly is the wrong choice

- The app is for customers or the public. TeamOnly only hosts apps for people at your company.
- It is written in Python, or depends on Next.js server features. Those need a different host, or changes first.
- It has to reach a server that is only on your office network. Apps on TeamOnly can call services on the internet, not inside your network.
- You would rather build in a visual editor than with an AI tool. An internal tool builder suits that better.

## Questions people ask

### What is an internal tool?

A small app used only by the people inside a company, like a quote calculator, an inventory tracker or an expense approval flow. It replaces a spreadsheet, a shared inbox or a manual step, and it should never be open to the public.

### Can I build internal tools with AI if I don't code?

Often, yes. Claude Code and Cursor write the code from a plain description, and the TeamOnly instructions keep it to a shape that deploys first time. Starting from a [template](https://teamonly.dev/templates) makes it easier. You still need to be comfortable typing a few commands, or asking your AI tool to run them.

### Where should I host an internal tool?

Somewhere that checks your company login before the app loads, not a public host with a password. On TeamOnly, coworkers sign in with their work Google or Microsoft account, or a code sent to their work email, and nobody else gets in.

### Do my coworkers need an account or a paid seat?

No. They sign in with the work account they already have. You pay for the people who build and deploy apps. Everyone who only uses them is free.

### How is TeamOnly different from Retool or Appsmith?

Retool and Appsmith are visual builders: you build in their editor, and each user of the tool is a user on their platform. TeamOnly is a host for apps your AI tool writes as ordinary code. The code is yours, and coworkers don't need a seat.

### Can an internal tool use our existing data?

Each app has its own database. You can load data into it, for example from a CSV export, and the app can call other services that have an API, with the keys kept in secrets. It can't reach servers that are only on your company's private network.

## Keep reading

- [How it works](https://teamonly.dev/how-it-works)
- [Templates](https://teamonly.dev/templates)
- [Share an AI-built app with your team](https://teamonly.dev/guides/share-an-ai-built-app-with-your-team)
- [Every option, side by side](https://teamonly.dev/compare)
- [Pricing](https://teamonly.dev/pricing)

Try it free for 14 days, no card: https://teamonly.dev/pricing#trial. Or subscribe: https://teamonly.dev/pricing#subscribe (Builder $19/mo, Team $249/mo)
Not ready? Get updates: https://teamonly.dev/waitlist