# Driver.js / Shepherd

In-app product tours you ship. Driver.js is MIT; Shepherd is AGPL-3.0 (commercial license also offered) — Appcues, Userpilot, or WalkMe without the guide seat.

**Replaces:** Appcues / Userpilot / WalkMe

**Tier:** Easy

## Problem

Appcues and Userpilot sell in-app guides as a seat. WalkMe is the enterprise digital-adoption / tour seat on that same highlight job — this page is a tooltip you ship, not WalkMe's every flow, analytics, or DAP SKU. You wanted a highlight and a tooltip on a page you already host. Driver.js is MIT (nilbuild/driver.js; last push 18 Oct 2026) — a lightweight, dependency-free focus library. Shepherd is AGPL-3.0 for open-source and non-commercial use (shipshapecode/shepherd; last push 22 Oct 2026); commercial products need a paid license at shepherdjs.dev/pricing. Intro.js is AGPL-3.0 with a commercial license for commercial apps (usablica/intro.js; last push 21 Sep 2026). This is not Appcues' every flow, checklist, or NPS SKU, Userpilot's every resource-center SKU, WalkMe's every DAP pack, or Pendo's analytics suite — /replace/pendo. A research survey stays on /replace/maze (Formbricks).

## Stack

- [Driver.js](https://driverjs.com) — MIT product-tour / focus library — the published Appcues / Userpilot path
- [Shepherd](https://shepherdjs.dev) — AGPL-3.0 tour library (commercial license for commercial use)
- [Intro.js](https://introjs.com) — AGPL-3.0 onboarding library (commercial license for commercial apps)

## Estimated SaaS cost saved

| You stop paying | Typical / year | Self-host instead |
|---|---:|---|
| Appcues / Userpilot (small team) | $2,400 | Driver.js or Intro.js in the app you already host |

**About $2,400 / year** on a small team, before you count lock-in.

## Deploy on Railway

Placeholder: these are front-end libraries, not a hosted dashboard. Ship Driver.js (preferred) or Intro.js from your app. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway if you need a static host for a demo. Product analytics stays on /stacks/posthog-insights.

[Start on Railway](https://c17.io/go/railway/driver-tours?from=%2Fstacks%2Fdriver-tours.md)

[PostHog if this is product analytics or replay, not a tour](https://c17.io/stacks/posthog-insights)

## AGENT_PROMPT

```
Replace Appcues or Userpilot with Driver.js (preferred) or Intro.js.

- Official docs. Add one tour on one page you already ship. Do not claim Appcues flows, checklists, or NPS SKUs.
- Shepherd if you want that AGPL library and accept the commercial-license rule for commercial products — /compare/driver-js-vs-shepherd.
- Intro.js if you want that AGPL library — /compare/intro-js-vs-driver-js. Pendo analytics stays on /replace/pendo.
- Write AGENT_PROMPT.md.
```

## FAQ

### Driver.js or Shepherd?

Driver.js if you want the published MIT Appcues / Userpilot path. Shepherd if you want that AGPL library and will buy a commercial license for a commercial app — /compare/driver-js-vs-shepherd.

### Is this Pendo?

Pendo is product analytics plus guides — /replace/pendo (PostHog). This page is a tour library you ship.

### Is this a survey?

A research survey stays on /replace/maze (Formbricks). This page is an in-app highlight.

### WalkMe?

Same published tour library — /replace/walkme. This is not WalkMe's every digital-adoption pack.

### Are these free?

Driver.js is MIT. Shepherd and Intro.js are AGPL-3.0 for the open-source path; both sell a commercial license for commercial products. You pay hosting for the app. Template users never pay c17.

Source: https://c17.io/stacks/driver-tours