How Dibs works

Dibs is a sign-up sheet. You list the things people can claim, like dishes, shifts or time slots, with how many people each one needs. You share a link, and people claim a spot from their phone. Here is the whole thing, start to finish.

1. Type your list

Write your slots one per line, the way you would on paper. Dibs turns each line into a slot as you type, and shows you a preview of the sheet.

Then fix anything by hand. Rename a slot, change a limit, drag to reorder, lock a slot you want to hold back, or delete it.

2. Add the details

• Title and description. Say what it is, when and where, and anything people need to know first, like "Nut-free room" or "Drop off by 10am".
• Questions. Ask short questions on the whole sheet or on one slot: a short answer, a choice, a number or a checkbox. "What are you bringing?" is the most useful one there is.
• Names. Choose whether others see full names, first name and initial, or just "taken".
• Per-person limit. Stop one person taking every slot.
• Open and close times. Optional. Close sign-ups a couple of days before so you know where you stand.

You don't need an account. Add your email and we send you a link to manage the sheet. A cookie on this device keeps you signed in to it.

3. Share the link

Copy the short link into the group chat, an email or a newsletter. Print a QR code for a poster. Embed it on a website. When you paste the link into WhatsApp or iMessage, the preview shows how many spots are left.

4. People sign up

People open the link and see the sheet: what's taken, what's open and what's full. They tap a slot, type their name and email, answer your questions and confirm. That's it. No account, no app, no ads.

They can take several slots at once, or say how many they are bringing where you allow it. They get a confirmation email with a calendar file and a private link to swap or cancel.

5. Full slots, waitlists and swaps

When a slot reaches its limit, it shows as full. The next person can join that slot's waitlist. If someone cancels, the first person on the waitlist moves up straight away and gets an email.

Two people can't take the last spot. Each claim is checked against the limit at the moment it is made, so if two people tap at the same second, one gets it and the other is offered the waitlist.

Anyone can move to another open slot from their own link, without asking you.

6. Reminders

Reminders are on by default: one email two days before and one on the morning, in your sheet's time zone. You can change or turn them off. Each reminder includes the person's link to swap or cancel, which is usually how you hear about a gap in time to fill it.

7. Keep track

Your page shows every slot, who's on it and who's waiting, with what's still missing at the top. From there you can:

• Add, move or remove someone by hand
• Message everyone, one slot or the waitlist
• Export a CSV
• Print a copy that looks like a clipboard sheet, with names on the lines
• Invite a co-organizer by email
• Duplicate the sheet for next time

For developers and AI assistants

Dibs has a public API and an MCP server, so an assistant can create a sheet for you ("set up a meal train for the Smiths, three weeks, dinners only") and read back who signed up. Sign-ups made this way are labelled as coming from an agent, so you can always tell them apart. See the API docs for details.