🎟️ Queuecraft
Self-hosted viral waitlist with referral queue-jumping. Pay once.
Every launch playbook says the same thing: open a waitlist, reward referrals, email the list on launch day. LaunchList charges $29/month for that, GetWaitlist $50/mo, Prefinery from $137/mo — monthly rent for a signup form and a ranking query, paid for months before you make a cent. Queuecraft is the whole stack for $29, once, self-hosted, with your list in a SQLite file you own.
Queuecraft, as it actually looks — a real screenshot, not a mockup.
Features
Hosted page + embed widget
Every waitlist gets a page at /w/your-slug and a one-line script snippet — shadow-DOM isolated, so your site's CSS never bleeds in.
Referral queue-jumping
Every signup gets a unique link; each verified referral moves them up N positions (you pick N). "You're #42 of 1,203 — refer 3 friends to jump the line."
Double opt-in via YOUR SMTP
Signed verification links through Nodemailer. Unverified signups never credit referrers — and your deliverability and sender reputation stay yours.
Broadcasts
"We're live!" emails to everyone, verified-only, or your top-N superfans, with position and referral-link placeholders.
Anti-spam that actually ships
450+ disposable email domains blocked, per-IP rate limits, honeypot field, Gmail dot/+tag dedupe, self-referral prevention, per-IP referral-credit caps.
CSV export, zero lock-in
Email, name, position, referral count, verified status, source — your list is a SQLite file on your disk, exportable anytime.
Reliable sending
All mail goes through a SQLite-backed queue with retry, so a bad SMTP config can never lose a signup.
Desktop or VPS
Run it as a Windows desktop app, or docker compose up on a $5 VPS. Unlimited waitlists, unlimited subscribers.
Queuecraft vs LaunchList
LaunchList at $29/mo runs roughly $348/year — $696 over two years. Queuecraft is $29, once.
| Queuecraft | LaunchList | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 once | $29/month, forever ($348/yr) |
| Waitlists | Unlimited | Plan-limited |
| Subscribers | Unlimited — it's your SQLite file | Tiered |
| Referral queue-jumping | Yes | Yes |
| Email verification | Yes, via your SMTP | Yes, via their sender |
| Custom domain | Yes — it's your server | Paid tier |
| Your data | On your disk, CSV anytime | In their cloud |
| Source code | MIT, on GitHub | Closed |
Queuecraft costs exactly one month of LaunchList Pro — and a typical waitlist runs 3–12 months before launch. It pays for itself in month one.
Three steps, no subscription
Buy once on Whop
One-time $29 for the packaged 1-click Windows installer with updates — less than a single month of the alternatives.
Create a waitlist
Desktop app or a $5 VPS. Set your SMTP, pick the accent color, choose how many spots a referral is worth.
Drop in one line
Paste the script snippet into any site (or share the hosted page) and watch the referral loop run: sign up, share, jump the line.
Honest answers
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/queuecraft, always. If you're comfortable with npm i && npm start it's free forever; the $29 buys the 1-click Windows installer for people who'd rather not touch a terminal.
Does the referral mechanic actually work?
"Refer friends to jump the line" is the exact loop behind Robinhood's, Superhuman's and Monzo's million-person waitlists. Queuecraft implements it with computed ranking — position is always calculated from verified referral points, never stored, so it can't drift.
What stops people gaming the queue?
A lot, honestly: only verified (double-opt-in) signups credit referrers, disposable email domains are blocked, Gmail dot/+tag variants dedupe to one entry, self-referrals are detected, and referral credits are capped per IP. Determined fraudsters exist, but the cheap tricks all bounce.
Do I need my own email service?
Yes — Queuecraft is deliberately BYO-SMTP (any provider: your host, SES, Postmark, etc.). That's a real trade-off versus LaunchList, which sends through their infrastructure with zero setup. In exchange, your sender reputation and your list stay entirely yours.
What happens after I launch?
Broadcast "we're live!" to the list, export the CSV into your email tool, and keep the app for your next launch. No subscription was harmed — the same $29 covers every waitlist you ever run.
Deep-dive comparisons:
Own Queuecraft forever
$29 once. Deploy on your own server — your data never leaves it. No renewal, no account with us, no meter. Or build it yourself from the MIT source — it's the same app.