ClearFlask

What is ClearFlask

ClearFlask is an open-source feedback management tool. It helps businesses collect, organize, and prioritize ideas from their customers. The main purpose of ClearFlask is to create a clear channel between a company and its users. This allows for transparent product development. Its core functions include a feedback board for collecting ideas, a product roadmap to show what is being worked on, and an announcements feature to share updates. The tool is developed by Smotana, a company focused on creating software for community engagement and product management. ClearFlask is available as a managed cloud service or as a self-hosted version, giving companies full control over their data.

ClearFlask Features

ClearFlask offers several features to manage the entire feedback lifecycle.

• Customer Feedback Collection: Set up a dedicated portal to gather ideas, feature requests, and bug reports from your users. You can integrate it directly into your website or app.
• Product Roadmap: Create and share a public roadmap. This shows customers which features are planned, in progress, and completed. It builds trust and transparency.
• Announcements: Keep your community informed about new features, product updates, and company news. Users can subscribe to receive notifications.
• Feedback Analysis: Use built-in tools to analyze submitted feedback. You can identify popular requests, merge duplicate ideas, and tag suggestions to organize them.
• AI-Powered Insights: ClearFlask includes an AI assistant that helps you talk to your feedback data. You can ask questions to quickly find valuable insights from all the customer comments.
• Prioritization Tools: Convert the best ideas into actionable tasks. The platform helps you find the most valuable features requested by your most important customers.
• Self-Hosting Option: As an open-source tool, you can download and host ClearFlask on your own servers. This gives you complete ownership of your data and the ability to customize the platform.

ClearFlask Pricing Plans

ClearFlask provides different plans to suit various needs.

• Self-Hosted Plan: This is the open-source version of the software. It is free to use and has no limitations on features. It is ideal for developers and companies that want full control over their infrastructure and data. The user is responsible for server costs, setup, and maintenance.
• Cloud Plans: ClearFlask offers managed cloud hosting with usage-based pricing. This option is for businesses that prefer a ready-to-use solution without the hassle of managing servers. These plans typically scale based on factors like the number of users, feedback volume, and team members, offering different tiers for small startups to larger enterprises.

ClearFlask Free Plan

ClearFlask offers a free plan through its self-hosted, open-source version. This plan includes all features without any limitations. Users must have the technical ability to deploy and maintain the software on their own infrastructure. For the cloud offering, there may be a free trial period or a limited free tier available for small projects, allowing users to test the platform before committing to a paid plan.

How to use ClearFlask

Getting started with ClearFlask is a direct process.

1. Choose Your Version: First, decide if you want to use the Cloud offering for a managed solution or the Self-hosting option for full control.
2. Set Up Your Project: After signing up or installing, create your first project. Give it a name and configure basic settings like branding and access permissions.
3. Integrate the Feedback Portal: Embed the ClearFlask widget on your website or link to your dedicated feedback page. This is where users will submit their ideas.
4. Collect Feedback: Encourage your customers to visit the portal and share their thoughts. They can vote on existing ideas or submit new ones.
5. Analyze and Prioritize: Go to your admin dashboard to review all submitted feedback. Use tags to categorize ideas and see which ones have the most votes. This helps you decide what to build next.
6. Update Your Roadmap: Move the prioritized ideas to your public roadmap. Update the status of each item from 'Planned' to 'In Progress' and finally to 'Completed'.
7. Make Announcements: When you release a new feature, use the announcements section to inform your users. This closes the feedback loop and shows customers you are listening.

Pros and Cons of ClearFlask

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using ClearFlask.

Pros:

• Open-Source: Being open-source gives you full control over your data and the ability to customize the tool.
• All-in-One Platform: It combines feedback collection, roadmapping, and announcements in a single tool.
• Transparency: Public roadmaps and announcements help build trust with your user community.
• Flexible Deployment: You can choose between easy cloud hosting or powerful self-hosting.
• AI Features: The AI assistant provides a modern way to get quick insights from customer feedback.

Cons:

• Technical Setup for Self-Hosting: The self-hosted version requires technical knowledge for installation and maintenance.
• Simpler Feature Set: It may not have all the advanced features of larger, more expensive product management platforms.
• Smaller Community: As a newer tool, its user community and support resources may be smaller than those of established competitors.

ClearFlask integrations

ClearFlask is designed to be extensible, primarily through its API and webhooks. This allows it to connect with various other tools in your workflow. While it may not have a large library of pre-built, one-click integrations, you can set up connections to popular services. Typical integrations include:

• Jira & Trello: You can push feedback and ideas from ClearFlask to your project management tools to create development tasks.
• Slack: Set up notifications in Slack for new feedback or comments to keep your team updated.
• GitHub: Link feedback items to GitHub issues for seamless tracking between customer requests and code development.

These integrations are usually configured using webhooks or by developing a custom script with the ClearFlask API.

ClearFlask Alternatives

If ClearFlask is not the right fit, here are some alternatives:

• Canny: A popular and user-friendly feedback management tool. It is known for its clean interface but is not open-source and can be more expensive.
• Productboard: A comprehensive product management platform that connects feedback to roadmap planning and feature prioritization. It is more suited for larger teams with complex needs.
• Fider: Another open-source alternative to ClearFlask. It is simple and focuses purely on feedback collection and voting, making it a lighter option.
• Upvoty: A straightforward tool for creating feedback boards and product roadmaps. It is easy to use and aimed at SaaS companies and startups.

ClearFlask API

Yes, ClearFlask provides a REST API for developers. This allows you to build custom integrations and automate workflows. As an open-source platform, its API is well-documented and accessible.

To get an API key, you typically need to navigate to the administration settings within your ClearFlask project dashboard. From there, you can generate a new API token for your application. The developer documentation, often found on their website or GitHub repository, provides all the necessary details on endpoints and authentication.

Here is an example of how you might use the API with curl to fetch posts from a project:

# Example API call to get all feedback posts
# Replace YOUR_PROJECT_ID and YOUR_API_KEY with your actual credentials

curl -X GET \
  https://your-clearflask-instance.com/api/v1/project/YOUR_PROJECT_ID/post \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'

ClearFlask Affiliate program

There is no public information available about a formal affiliate program for ClearFlask. Companies that are open-source often focus more on community contributions than on traditional marketing programs. However, if you are interested in partnering with ClearFlask or promoting their tool, it is best to contact their business or support team directly. You can email them to ask about potential partnership, referral, or influencer collaboration opportunities.