DEV Community: AppoBase

One Firebase project, three named databases — stop losing your place

AppoBase — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:03:24 +0000

The switcher tax

A lot of Firebase projects now use more than one named Firestore database.

In the console you flip a switcher, wait for the tree to reload, and hope you remember which filters belonged to which database. Open Auth or Storage and you lose the document context you just had. By afternoon you are not “managing data.” You are recovering context.

What isolated tabs fix

AppoBase is a local Mac/Windows client. Each named database can sit in its own tab with isolated state — queries, history, and tree position stay with that database instead of collapsing into one switcher.

You still keep billing and project admin in Google’s console. The daily path is the desktop window: documents, query builder (filters or JavaScript), history with replay, and Auth + Storage when you need them beside the tree.

Honest scope

This is not multiplayer Google Cloud IAM. It is not Linux/mobile. Other desktop GUIs exist; only claim what appobase.com lists. Spelling: AppoBase.

Pricing (truth only)

Free to start (1 project). Pro $6.49 / month. 3-day trial. 14-day refund from first payment.

Download: appobase.com

Stop hopping Auth ↔ Storage ↔ Firestore across Google pages

AppoBase — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 20:32:21 +0000

The tax nobody tickets

Firebase work rarely stays in documents.

You open a user in Auth to check a custom claim. You jump to Storage for the upload that user owns. You bounce back to the collection to fix the document that pointed at the wrong path. Three product pages. Three mental resets. Same afternoon.

That hop is not a “feature gap” on a slide. It is ten minutes before every support dig.

What “one window” actually means

AppoBase is a local Firestore GUI for macOS and Windows. Billing and IAM stay in Google’s console. Daily Database, Auth, and Cloud Storage sit in one multi-tab window.

Auth: search users, custom claims, next to the docs you are already editing
Storage: Folder / Tree / Grid / Table views, signed URLs, previews — same place as the collection tree
Firestore: query builder (filters or JavaScript), history with replay

You are not building an admin panel framework. You are keeping the three surfaces you touch every day in one desktop client.

Honest scope

This is not “Firebase, but ours.” Project settings and billing stay where they are. Other desktop GUIs exist; AppoBase’s public comparison table is the source for feature claims. Spelling: AppoBase.

Pricing (truth only)

Free to start (1 project). Pro $6.49 / month. 3-day trial. 14-day refund from first payment.

Download: appobase.com

The Firebase console is fine for a peek. Daily Firestore work needs a different GUI.

AppoBase — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 22:52:59 +0000

The gap

If you only need to open one document and tweak a field, the Firebase console is enough.

The pain starts when the job looks like this:

build a query with more than a couple of filters
run it again tomorrow and remember what you ran
keep Auth users and Cloud Storage next to the documents instead of bouncing across product pages
work across more than one named database without losing your place

That is daily Firestore work. The console was not built as a desktop client for that loop.

What AppoBase is

AppoBase is a local Firestore GUI for macOS and Windows. It sits on your machine. Billing and project admin stay in Google’s console. The daily path for Database, Auth, and Storage moves into one multi-tab window.

Spelling on the product: AppoBase.

Beat 1 — Problem to product

Common console friction, from the product’s own problem list:

limited querying, no JavaScript mode
no query history with replay and execution logs
awkward collection/document navigation
Database, Auth, and Storage split across pages
no native visual edit for GeoPoints / DocumentReferences
export without solid background progress
basic JSON viewer
no real multi-tab / named-database workspace

AppoBase’s answer is not another web admin.” It is a desktop client aimed at those gaps: query builder (filters or JS), history with logs and replay, tree navigation with tabs, Auth and Storage in the same window, GeoPoint/DocumentReference editing, import/export with progress, a stronger JSON viewer, multi-tab and multi-database with isolated state.

Beat 2 — Feature that matters: query builder + history

The surface most people feel first is the query builder.

visual Where filters, optional Order By / Limit
JavaScript mode with Monaco when filters are not enough
run the query, then keep history with execution logs and one-click replay

That is the difference between “I think I ran this yesterday” and “replay this collection’s last good query.”

Beat 3 — Vs the Firebase console (honest frame)

Need	Firebase console	AppoBase
Query + JS	limited / no JS	filters + Monaco JS
Replayable history + logs	no saved history	history, replay, logs
Firestore + Auth + Storage	split across product pages	all three in one window
Document views	document panel	Tree, Table, List, JSON
Named databases	switcher	isolated tab per database
Storage browsing	separate Storage flow	Folder / Tree / Grid / Table

Other desktop GUIs exist (Firefoo, Firelize, etc.). AppoBase’s public comparison table is the source for feature claims; do not invent competitor gaps beyond what appobase.com lists. FireCMS is a CMS framework, not the same product class as a local desktop GUI.

Pricing (truth only)

Free to start
Pro $6.49 / month
3-day trial
Refund window: 14 days from first payment (site /refund)

Download: appobase.com

Who this is for

Teams that already live in Firestore and feel the console tax on query, history, Auth, and Storage in one day. Not a replacement for Google Cloud billing or IAM. Not a “build your own admin panel” kit.