Five years of building boldly with Retool
To celebrate our five year anniversary on Retool we reflect on five years of building on Retool, how much the platform has changed and how far we've come.
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Powered by Bold Tech, Retool experts.
UI tips: Creating dropdown actions in Retool
In this tutorial we show you a great UI tip in Retool - using table buttons to set up dropdown actions that save space in your apps.
What is Retool?
Retool is a business software builder aimed at helping developers build faster. Devs require decent knowledge of JavaScript and SQL but can build highly custom apps much faster than traditional code.
Advanced permissions in Retool: The Fundamentals (Retool for Enterprises)
Permissioning for large-scale deployments can be complex, so in this article we break down the fundamentals of how Permissions work in Retool, and share some essential tips.
Building the Steam UI on Retool (with template)
In the final release of our Retool UI inspiration series, we recreated the Steam interface. Newsletter members can download the template for free!
Retool for Enterprises Part 1: The Basics
Retool is a powerful tool for enterprises yet many still struggle to build for scale. In this first article, we’ll cover essentials for enterprises, like how they can use Retool best, pricing plans and self-hosted vs cloud.
Creating Retool in Retool (with template)
In this UI inspiration piece, we created Retool-ception. Retool, built on Retool. Check it out! Newsletter members can download the template too.
How we built YouTube in Retool (with template)
In this UI inspiration template, we have recreated the YouTube UI using Retool! Newsletter members can download the template for free.
Reddit-inspired UI in Retool (with template)
In this UI inspiration template, we have recreated the Reddit UI using Retool! Newsletter members can download the template for free!
Building interactive maps with OpenStreetMap API in Retool
The native Mapbox component in Retool offers powerful capabilities for building interactive maps, giving users the ability to visualize and work with geospatial data.
Hubspot-inspired UI in Retool: CRM Template (with template)
We built a Hubspot-inspired CRM UI in Retool with some super useful features. Members can download the template for free!
Retool Basics: Create a CRUD app for your data
This tutorial is an intro to the basics of Retool, including connecting to resources, setting up a basic CRUD app, and deploying your app with permissions.
Plotly AI helper - Generate Plotly charts in Retool in seconds!
We built an AI chatbot to quickly generate Plotly charts inside of Retool according to user prompts. Newsletter members can download the chatbot module TypeScript for free!
Charting in Retool with Plotly. Part II: The Sankey Diagram
In Part II, we share a case study of how we used Plotly to build a complex Sankey generator with a super user-friendly interface.
Charting in Retool with Plotly. Part I: Line graphs step-by-step beginners guide
In this first part of the Plotly in Retool series, we’re going back to basics with the line/scatter chart and how to add more useful features like trend lines and annotations.
UI tips for building efficient data dashboards in Retool
In this UI guide, we run through some practical tips and tricks to apply to your data dashboards and admin panels to ensure the best user experience for your team.
Building a custom calculator for pricing quotes, loan estimates, tax planning & more, using JavaScript & Retool
In this tutorial, we will show you how we built a complex Retool Pricing calculator so that you can too.
Build an AI chatbot with custom knowledge base in <1 hour
Looking for a simple AI chatbot to help you quickly search many internal business resources? In less than an hour build an AI chatbot with a custom knowledge base in Retool.
10 tips to increase speed and performance in Retool
In this article, we summarize 10 tips to help you speed up your Retool apps and ensure they stay performant.
![Build an inventory-tracking app on Supabase & Retool [pt. 2]](/content/images/size/w600/format/webp/2025/05/retool-black-for-tools-3.webp)
Build an inventory-tracking app on Supabase & Retool [pt. 2]
In part 2 of this tutorial, we use Retool and Supabase to build an inventory tracker in less than an hour.
Create a CRUD app from Google Sheets in <1 hour with Retool
Looking to level-up your Google Sheets data with a simple app? Using Retool you can build a useful CRUD in less than an hour, to increase functionality and keep your data more secure.
Creating PDFs in Retool (4+ methods)
For many companies looking for Retool apps, PDF end products are essential. Here are 4+ options to generate PDFs within Retool.
Building an AI-assisted customer support chatbot using Intercom and Retool AI
In this tutorial, learn to build an AI-supported customer chatbot app, connected to the Intercom.io API, which helps customer support agents by generating accurate, editable responses fast.
Custom Salesforce Inbound BDR tool template in Retool
Looking for a custom tool to use on top of your Salesforce data? Download the template to use this lead enrichment app in your own Retool environment.
Harvest Alternative: Building our team’s time tracker application in Retool
In this post, we tell you why we at Bold Tech created our own time tracker in Retool to replace Harvest, and a bit about how we built it.
Making an HMAC hashing function with Crypto JS & Retool
In this tutorial we walk through how to make an HMAC hashing function in Retool using Crypto.js.
How to build powerful sales apps in Retool: unleash your Salesforce data with Sequin
This article will guide you through some solutions to common Salesforce issues. It includes a step-by-step process of how to leverage Retool and Sequin to build a tailored app that enriches Salesforce data with ease.
How to create great multi-page applications in Retool
In this article, we discuss how to make great multi-page applications with optimal performance and effective UI.
5 Great Sidebar Layouts in Retool, UX/UI tricks, and more
In this article, we discuss the functionality and limitations of the Retool sidebar frame, provide a couple of different layout ideas, as well as some UI tips and tricks for using the sidebar in internal apps.
‘Bilt’ on Retool: A Bold Tech Client Case Study
Over the past 18 months Bold Tech has worked with Bilt to build internal admin dashboards and tools on Retool. Using on a mixture of PostgreSQL, Redis Cache, and other APIs, here are some of their apps.
50 apps in 50 days: How Blue Valet turbo-charged their migration from Chartio to Retool
When Chartio announced it was being deprecated in March 2022, Blue Valet & Bold Tech had a mammoth task of migrating 50 internal apps to Retool in just a matter of weeks. Here is how we did it.
What are the best layouts for your Retool internal tools and dashboards?
In this tutorial we will walk you through some different possible CRUD layouts in Retool, what they are good for and not-so-good for, as well as give you our top tips and tricks to achieve best practice (and avoid worst practice) when it comes to layout.
9 great ways to improve your forms in Retool - make that CRUD less… cruddy
Most Retool apps are based on some kind of CRUD interface, and we think that with form inputs, a little goes a long way in turning an unfriendly UI into an optimized, beautiful user experience. Here’s a couple of simple tips to help make this happen.
Generating Retool PDF reports in minutes for free using Hybiscus
Hybiscus and Retool are a dream team, providing beautiful and dynamic PDF reports in a matter of minutes. In this tutorial, I’ll walk through how to sign up for Hybiscus, set up a Hybiscus Resource in Retool, connect it to an application and get started making some stunning, automated reports.
6 amazing ways to make your buttons more UI-friendly (in Retool)
In the first instalment of Bold Tech’s UI sessions, we are tackling busy component enemy no.1: the button, to bring you some top tips for making better use of this powerful component, as well as some handy and innovative tricks to improve your UI even more.
Release Manager/ Versioning Explained: How to Develop Together Best in Retool
The Release Manager (or versioning) in Retool is a useful feature for splitting up your work into shippable units and version-controlling your apps. We clear up how it works, and how to work with versioning to avoid any crucial mishaps.
Building Internal DocuSign Workflows in Retool
DocuSign is a brilliant way to electronically sign and manage key documents between different users and devices, here's how to integrate it into your Retool app.
Retool Table Filter Tutorial for SQL Beginners
Using Retool’s “Query JSON with SQL” query, we create a filter panel that streamlines the experience for the end user. We will focus on setting up a filter container with a bespoke UI to help your users sort and find data in tables more effectively and with fewer clicks.
