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surveydown

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What surveydown is

surveydown is a free, open-source platform for programmable surveys built with Quarto, Shiny, and PostgreSQL. Authors write survey content in Markdown and R code inside a Quarto document, with settings and server configuration in an R script. Supported question types include text, numeric, multiple choice, image choice, sliders, dates, and matrix inputs. Conditional display, forward skipping, and other controls provide survey logic. Responses can use PostgreSQL, including Supabase, with database, preview, and local modes; preview and local modes store data locally. Surveys are Shiny applications and must run on an R-capable host such as Posit Connect Cloud, Hugging Face Spaces, Google Cloud Run, or self-hosted Posit Connect. The sdstudio package supplies a local Shiny app for editing, previewing, and monitoring, with response charts, statistics, previews, and CSV downloads. Code-based content supports version control and reproducibility through tools such as Git. The project provides no security compliance certificate or guarantee of SOC 2 Type 2 or HIPAA compliance.

Who it suits

It suits people comfortable with Quarto and basic coding who want reproducible survey collaboration. It also fits users able to host Shiny applications on an R-capable service.

What it does well

  • Free and open source
  • Supports programmable survey logic
  • Uses PostgreSQL and local storage modes
  • Supports Git-based version control
  • sdstudio provides response charts and CSV downloads

What to know first

  • Requires basic coding knowledge
  • Live surveys need an R-capable host
  • Static hosts such as GitHub Pages are unsuitable
  • No SOC 2 Type 2 or HIPAA guarantee

Verdict

surveydown provides code-based survey authoring, branching, database storage, and reproducible collaboration. Its hosting requirements and stated compliance limitations matter for deployment planning.

Facts from surveydown's own pages

Compliance limitation
The project says it does not yet provide a security compliance certificate and cannot guarantee SOC 2 Type 2 or HIPAA compliance for its application code. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Custom branding
Yes · surveydown.org, 22 Sept 2026
Database integrations
Responses are stored in PostgreSQL, and the documentation recommends Supabase while allowing any PostgreSQL service. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Data dashboard
The studio Responses tab shows statistics and charts, previews response data, and offers CSV download. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Data storage
Responses can be stored in PostgreSQL, with database, preview, and local modes available. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Deployment requirement
A live survey is a Shiny application and must be hosted on a service that runs R; static hosts such as GitHub Pages and Netlify are unsuitable. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Hosting
Surveys are live Shiny applications and must run on an R-capable host; documented options include Posit Connect Cloud, Hugging Face Spaces, Google Cloud Run, and self-hosted Posit Connect. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Hosting considerations
The security page says shinyapps.io is not HIPAA compliant and recommends operating Posit Connect or Shiny Server for users who need a HIPAA-compliant hosting environment. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Integrations
The documented stack includes Quarto, Shiny, PostgreSQL, and recommended Supabase; surveys can be deployed to Posit Connect Cloud, Hugging Face Spaces, or Google Cloud Run. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Intended users
The FAQ says it may suit people comfortable with Quarto and basic coding who want reproducible collaboration, and may not suit those requiring polished, mature software or a guaranteed security level such as HIPAA compliance. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Logic branching
Yes · surveydown.org, 22 Sept 2026
Operating modes
Surveys support database, preview, and local modes, with preview and local modes storing data locally. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Purpose
surveydown is an open-source platform for creating programmable, markdown-based surveys with Quarto, Shiny, and PostgreSQL. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Question features
Documented question types include text, numeric, multiple choice, image choice, sliders, dates, and matrix inputs. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Reproducibility
The project says its code-based survey content supports reproducibility and version control with tools such as Git. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Security certification
The project says it does not currently provide a security compliance certificate and cannot guarantee compliance with standards such as SOC 2 Type 2 or HIPAA. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Security practices
The project says it uses SQL injection prevention strategies and recommends keeping database credentials in a .env file excluded through .gitignore. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Support
The FAQ directs users to GitHub issues for bugs or documentation problems and GitHub Discussions for questions, feature requests, and discussion. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Survey authoring
Survey content is written in a Quarto document using Markdown and R code, with app settings and server configuration in an R script. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Survey design
Survey content is authored in a Quarto document using Markdown and R code, with app settings defined in an R script. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Survey logic
The package supports conditional question and page display, forward skipping, and other survey control options. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026
Survey studio
The companion sdstudio package launches a locally run Shiny app for editing, previewing, and monitoring surveys. · surveydown.org, 12 Oct 2026

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