Introduction

Typeform has perfected the art of beautiful, engaging data collection; its one-question-at-a-time interface is a masterclass in user experience.

But for the creators and stakeholders behind the form, this elegance comes at a cost.

When it's time to review, collaborate on, or even migrate your form, you'll quickly discover a frustrating truth: getting a simple, comprehensive view of your form's structure is surprisingly difficult.

Typeform's library of form templates

Typeform's library of form templates

While exporting submission data is straightforward, Typeform offers no simple way to export a blank form's schema - the very blueprint of your questions, question types, and conditional logic.

This limitation turns your carefully crafted form into a black box, accessible only through its public-facing interface or a complex API.

Not being able to extract your form's structure and logic isn't a niche problem; it's a significant bottleneck for any serious enterprise user. Imagine these common scenarios.

  • Academic and Scientific Research: A researcher designs a complex survey for their thesis. To meet academic standards, they need to include a printout of the full survey - questions, options, and branching logic - in their paper's appendix.

    With Typeform, their only options are tedious screenshotting or trying to decipher a complex JSON file.
  • Stakeholder Reviews: A product team builds a multi-path onboarding form. Before launch, they need to walk through the entire flow with legal, marketing, and sales teams.

    A simple, printable document showing all questions and logic paths would make this review efficient.

    Instead, they're forced to click through every possible path live, hoping they don't miss a crucial branch.
  • System Migration: Your company decides to move to a new form builder or a self-hosted solution.

    To rebuild the form, your development team needs a clear schema.

    The lack of a simple export means they have to manually document every question and rule, a process ripe for human error that adds unnecessary time and cost to the project

In each case, the inability to easily view the form's "blank" structure creates friction, slows down processes, and introduces risk.

The Flawed "Solutions" to an Obvious Need

So, how do you get your form's schema out of Typeform? The native options are less than ideal for the average business user.

1. The Developer's Route: Typeform API

For those with technical expertise, Typeform's API offers a solution.

By using the GET /forms/:formId endpoint, a developer can retrieve a JSON object containing the entire form schema.

Typeform API endpoint for extracting form schema

Typeform's API endpoint for extracting form schema

However, this JSON output is notoriously complex and verbose; it's designed for machines, not for a quick human review. It requires programming knowledge to authenticate, make the request, and then parse the dense output into something readable.

2. The Power User's Path: iPaaS Tools (Make, Zapier)

Integration platforms like Make and Zapier can simplify the process slightly. These tools abstract the authentication and provide a visual interface for making a custom HTTP call to the same Typeform API endpoint.

Typeform 'Get a Form' module output in Make

Output of Typeform's "Get a Form" module in Make

While this removes the need to write code, it still leaves you with the same convoluted JSON data.

You've simply changed how you get the data, not the unsuitability of the data itself for review or documentation purposes.

For most teams, these "solutions" are just different flavors of a technical headache. They don't solve the core problem: the need for a simple, human-readable export of the form's structure.

Specialized Tools for a Clearer View

While the API and iPaaS platforms provide access to the data, they still leave you with the task of interpreting and formatting it.

A more direct approach is a tool specifically designed for this purpose - one that handles both the data extraction and the final presentation.

To address this need ourselves, we built Koppie. It's a free utility designed to export a Typeform schema and present it in multiple, beautifully formatted outputs tailored for different needs:

  • Professional HTML: A clean, styled document perfect for presenting to stakeholders or including in formal reports.
  • Koppie export format preview - professional HTML

    Typeform schema exported as a custom HTML page

  • Interactive Form: A classic, one-page version of your form that remains interactable. It's ideal for testing and can even be customized with your own submit actions after export.
  • Koppie export format preview - interactive form

    Typeform schema exported as an interactive HTML form

  • Flow Chart: A visual diagram that maps out your form's conditional logic and branching paths, making complex flows easy to understand at a glance.
  • Koppie export format preview - flow chart

    Typeform conditional logic exported as a flow chart

  • Compact Print: An optimized layout designed to save paper and ink, perfect for physical copies and workshop sessions.
  • Koppie export format preview - printable compact HTML

    Typeform schema exported as a compact, printable HTML

  • Markdown & Plain Text: Simple, universally compatible formats great for technical documentation, wikis, or quick sharing.
  • Koppie export format preview - plain text

    Typeform schema exported as plain text

  • Cleaned-Up JSON: For developers who need it, we provide a simplified and more universal JSON structure, easier to work with than Typeform's native output.
  • Koppie export format preview - custom JSON

    Typeform schema exported as a custom JSON schema

Automate Your Documentation with Make

For teams looking to integrate this functionality into their automated workflows, the capability is available natively in Make.

Our "Servalian Tools" app includes a dedicated module for Koppie, which enables people to include the functionality of Koppie in their workflows instead of having to go through our website.

'Servalian Tools' custom app in Make.com

"Servalian Tools" custom app in Make

This allows you to build powerful automations, such as a daily workflow that automatically finds recently updated Typeforms, exports their schemas via Koppie, and saves the various output formats to a shared Google Drive folder. It's documentation on autopilot, really.

Don't Let Your Forms Dictate Your Workflow

Ultimately, a form's structure is a valuable piece of intellectual property; it represents a carefully designed process.

Ensuring you have clear visibility into that structure isn't just about convenience - it's about better governance, smoother collaboration, and maintaining control over your own workflows.

The tools you choose should empower that clarity, not create obstacles.