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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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Appwrite Has a Free API — Here's How to Build a Full Backend Without Writing Backend Code

#appwrite #backend #api #opensource

A frontend developer told me: 'I spent 3 weeks setting up auth, database, file storage, and an API. Then I found Appwrite — I had the same thing running in 2 hours.' He now ships side projects in a weekend.

What Appwrite Offers for Free

Appwrite Cloud free tier:

  • Unlimited projects
  • 75,000 document reads/month + 10 GB storage
  • Authentication — email, OAuth, phone, magic link, anonymous
  • Database — document store with real-time subscriptions
  • Storage — file uploads with image transformations
  • Functions — serverless functions in any language
  • Messaging — email, SMS, push from one API
  • Self-hosted option — completely free, no limits

Quick Start 

npm install appwrite
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import { Client, Account, Databases, Storage } from 'appwrite';

const client = new Client()
  .setEndpoint('https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1')
  .setProject('YOUR_PROJECT_ID');

const account = new Account(client);
const databases = new Databases(client);
const storage = new Storage(client);
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Authentication (5 Minutes) 

// Sign up
await account.create('unique()', 'alice@example.com', 'password123', 'Alice');

// Login
const session = await account.createEmailPasswordSession('alice@example.com', 'password123');

// OAuth (Google, GitHub, etc.)
account.createOAuth2Session('google', 'https://yourapp.com/success', 'https://yourapp.com/fail');

// Get current user
const user = await account.get();
console.log(user.name); // 'Alice'

// Magic link
await account.createMagicURLToken('unique()', 'alice@example.com', 'https://yourapp.com/verify');
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Database 

const DB_ID = 'main';
const POSTS_ID = 'posts';

// Create a document
const post = await databases.createDocument(DB_ID, POSTS_ID, 'unique()', {
  title: 'My First Post',
  content: 'Hello, Appwrite!',
  author: 'Alice',
  published: true,
  likes: 0
});

// Query documents
const { documents } = await databases.listDocuments(DB_ID, POSTS_ID, [
  Query.equal('published', true),
  Query.orderDesc('$createdAt'),
  Query.limit(10)
]);

// Update
await databases.updateDocument(DB_ID, POSTS_ID, post.$id, { likes: post.likes + 1 });

// Real-time subscription
client.subscribe(`databases.${DB_ID}.collections.${POSTS_ID}.documents`, (response) => {
  console.log('Document changed:', response.payload);
});
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File Storage 

// Upload a file
const file = await storage.createFile(
  'avatars', // bucket ID
  'unique()',
  document.getElementById('fileInput').files[0]
);

// Get file URL with transformations
const previewUrl = storage.getFilePreview(
  'avatars',
  file.$id,
  200, // width
  200, // height
  'center' // gravity
);
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Serverless Functions 

// functions/sendWelcome/index.js
module.exports = async ({ req, res, log }) => {
  const { email, name } = JSON.parse(req.body);

  // Send welcome email using Appwrite Messaging
  // or any third-party service
  log(`Welcome email sent to ${email}`);

  return res.json({ success: true });
};
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REST API (Server-Side) 

# List documents
curl 'https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1/databases/main/collections/posts/documents' \
  -H 'X-Appwrite-Project: YOUR_PROJECT_ID' \
  -H 'X-Appwrite-Key: YOUR_API_KEY'

# Create document
curl -X POST 'https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1/databases/main/collections/posts/documents' \
  -H 'X-Appwrite-Project: YOUR_PROJECT_ID' \
  -H 'X-Appwrite-Key: YOUR_API_KEY' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "documentId": "unique()",
    "data": { "title": "API Post", "published": true }
  }'
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Self-Hosted (Unlimited Everything) 

docker run -it --rm \
  --volume /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  --volume "$(pwd)"/appwrite:/usr/src/code/appwrite:rw \
  --entrypoint="install" \
  appwrite/appwrite:1.5
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Perfect For

  • MVPs — ship in a weekend, not a month
  • Mobile apps — SDKs for Flutter, React Native, iOS, Android
  • Hackathons — auth + database + storage in 30 minutes
  • Side projects — free forever, no credit card

Need to scrape web data into your Appwrite database? Check out my web scraping actors on Apify — automated data collection.

Need a custom backend solution? Email me at spinov001@gmail.com.

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