PocketBase Has a Free Backend API in a Single Binary

#pocketbase #backend #api #database

PocketBase gives you a complete backend — database, auth, file storage, and real-time subscriptions — in a single 20MB binary. No Docker, no dependencies.

Setup

# Download and run
./pocketbase serve
# Admin UI at http://localhost:8090/_/
# API at http://localhost:8090/api/

CRUD API

import PocketBase from 'pocketbase';

const pb = new PocketBase('http://localhost:8090');

// Auth
await pb.collection('users').authWithPassword('user@example.com', 'password');

// Create
const post = await pb.collection('posts').create({
  title: 'My Post',
  content: 'Hello world',
  author: pb.authStore.model.id
});

// Read
const posts = await pb.collection('posts').getList(1, 20, {
  filter: 'created > "2026-01-01"',
  sort: '-created',
  expand: 'author'
});

// Update
await pb.collection('posts').update(post.id, { title: 'Updated Title' });

// Delete
await pb.collection('posts').delete(post.id);

Real-Time Subscriptions

pb.collection('messages').subscribe('*', (e) => {
  console.log(e.action); // 'create', 'update', 'delete'
  console.log(e.record);
});

// Subscribe to specific record
pb.collection('posts').subscribe(postId, (e) => {
  console.log('Post updated:', e.record);
});

File Storage

const formData = new FormData();
formData.append('title', 'Photo');
formData.append('image', fileInput.files[0]);

const record = await pb.collection('gallery').create(formData);

// Get file URL
const imageUrl = pb.files.getUrl(record, record.image);

REST API Direct

# List records
curl "http://localhost:8090/api/collections/posts/records?filter=(title~'hello')"

# Auth
curl -X POST http://localhost:8090/api/collections/users/auth-with-password \
  -d '{"identity":"user@example.com","password":"pass"}'

Why This Matters

Single binary: No Docker, no Node, no Python — just one file
Full backend: DB + Auth + Files + Realtime
SQLite: Battle-tested storage, easy backups
Embeddable: Use as Go framework for custom logic

Need custom backend tools or rapid prototyping? I build developer tools. Check out my web scraping actors on Apify or reach out at spinov001@gmail.com for custom solutions.

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