Gap analysis, not another roster
Every Scout against every requirement, so the meeting you plan is the one that moves the most Scouts forward. Bobcat first is enforced, because nothing else counts toward rank until it is done.
For Cub Scout den leaders
Plan the den meeting your Scouts actually need
DenBuddy reads your den's advancement out of Scoutbook Plus, shows you the requirements each Scout is still missing, and turns those gaps into an agenda you can run on Tuesday night. It works with Scoutbook Plus. It is not a replacement for it: it reads always, and writes back only when you press Send.
Free for one den. No credit card. Works with Scoutbook Plus.
DenBuddy in numbers
6
ranks covered, Lion through Arrow of Light
181
adventures with requirements and a meeting plan
0
writes back to Scoutbook, by design
0
accounts for youth, ever
How it works
Six steps, and the last one feeds the first
Den leading is a loop, not a project. DenBuddy is built around the loop you are already in: what the Scouts still need decides the meeting, and what happens at the meeting decides what they still need.
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Connect Scoutbook Plus
Install the DenBuddy Sync extension, open your den in Scoutbook Plus, and your roster and advancement history come across. Importing only reads — nothing goes back to Scoutbook until you press Send — and your Scouting password never touches DenBuddy.
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See the gaps
A grid of every Scout against every open requirement. Who is one meeting away from rank, which adventure the most Scouts still need, and whether Bobcat is blocking the whole den.
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Plan the meeting
Drop an adventure or a single requirement onto the agenda and the coverage meter tells you how many requirements the meeting closes. Materials, timings and adult help included.
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Run it
Publish the plan and you get a check-in link and a QR code for the door. Parents check their Scout in, late is marked automatically, and the agenda becomes a timeline you work through.
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Record advancement
Everyone who attended starts pre-checked against what you planned. Uncheck what did not happen, preview the result, then export a CSV you upload to Scoutbook yourself.
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Share it forward
Publish a plan that worked to the community library. Scout names, your den and the dates are scrubbed before anyone else can see it. Borrow someone else's the week you have no time.
What you get
A planner that knows your den, not another roster to keep up to date
Import from Scoutbook Plus
The DenBuddy Sync extension reads your den in your own Scoutbook session and hands it to DenBuddy. No retyping the roster, no second system of record, no write-back.
Run the meeting from your phone
Publish and you get a run view with the agenda as a timeline, live check-in counts, and a QR code a parent can scan at the door without signing in to anything.
Akela drafts the agenda
Tell Akela it is raining, you have 55 minutes and six tired Scouts, and it proposes blocks grounded in your den's open requirements. Optional, clearly labelled, and off until you turn it on.
A library of meetings that worked
Fork a plan another den already ran, scrubbed of names and dates, and the blocks drop straight into your meeting with credit back to the leader who wrote it.
Youth protection is structural
Scouts have no accounts and cannot be messaged. Check-in is parent mediated and shows no full names. Anything shared publicly is scrubbed first. None of this is a setting you can switch off.
Free for anyone, no account
Browse adventures by rank
Every Cub Scout rank, every adventure, what each requirement asks in plain words, and a 60 minute den meeting plan with a materials list. Written for the leader who is reading it on Monday for a meeting on Tuesday.
Lion Kindergarten Tiger 1st grade Wolf 2nd grade Bear 3rd grade Webelos 4th grade Arrow of Light 5th grade
Bobcat comes first
Whatever rank your den is working on, every Cub Scout completes Bobcat before anything else counts toward rank. DenBuddy enforces it, and says so loudly when Bobcat is the thing blocking the whole den.
What DenBuddy will not do
Den leaders hand over data about other people's children, so the limits matter more than the features. These are the ones we hold ourselves to.
- Nothing reaches Scoutbook behind your back. A send takes a press of Send, on a screen showing the exact rows — and the CSV you upload yourself still works.
- Never store your Scouting America credentials. The extension works inside the session you are already signed in to.
- Never create an account for a Scout, and never let anyone message one.
- Never publish a plan to the community library until scout names, your den and the dates are removed.
- Never claim a rank that Scoutbook has not been told about.
DenBuddy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Scouting America. Cub Scouts, Scoutbook and adventure names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Questions den leaders ask first
Is this a Scoutbook replacement?
No. Scoutbook Plus stays your system of record, because that is what your council requires. DenBuddy reads from it so it can plan the meeting and hand you a file to upload back. If you stopped using DenBuddy tomorrow, your advancement records would be exactly where they have always been.
Does it write to Scoutbook?
Yes — but only when you press Send. DenBuddy reads Scoutbook to show you the gaps, and writes only after showing you exactly which rows it will file, through Scoutbook's own Import Advancement path, keeping the receipt. Automatic sync only ever reads, a pack admin has to turn on Write to Scoutbook first, and the CSV you upload yourself still works.
Is it free?
Yes, entirely, while we launch. One den is free forever, with the planner, gap analysis, Scoutbook Plus import, check-in and the CSV export, and the pack features are switched on for every account today: every den, the pack admin view, Akela and community publishing. Pack pricing is coming and we will publish it before we charge for it.
Do Scouts need accounts?
No. Scouts never sign in to DenBuddy, and there is no way to create an account for one. Leaders have accounts, parents check in through a public link with no login, and there is no direct messaging to a Scout anywhere in the product.
Is DenBuddy affiliated with Scouting America?
No. DenBuddy is an independent tool built by a den leader. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by Scouting America. Rank and adventure names are used to describe the program, and requirement text is paraphrased with a link to the official page.
What is Akela?
Akela is the optional AI assistant inside the meeting planner. It drafts agenda blocks from your den's open requirements and the constraints you give it, and every suggestion is a proposal you accept or ignore. Turn it off and DenBuddy still plans a complete meeting from the gaps.
Your next den meeting is on a Tuesday
Import your den, look at the gaps, and have an agenda before the end of the evening. Free for one den, and nothing in Scoutbook changes while you try it.
Free for one den. No credit card. Works with Scoutbook Plus.