Introduction

Fluxbase is a lightweight, single-binary Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) alternative to Supabase. It provides essential backend services including auto-generated REST APIs, authentication, realtime subscriptions, file storage, and edge functions - all in a single Go binary with PostgreSQL as the only dependency.

Why Fluxbase?

Single Binary Deployment

Simple: Deploy one ~40MB binary or ~80MB container
Fast: Starts in seconds, not minutes
Portable: Runs anywhere Go runs

Minimal Dependencies

PostgreSQL Only: No Redis, no RabbitMQ, no additional services
Self-Contained: Everything runs in one process
Easy Operations: Less moving parts = less complexity

High Performance

Efficient: Written in Go for maximum performance
Scalable: Handle 1000+ concurrent connections
Fast: Sub-millisecond response times

Developer Friendly

PostgREST Compatible: Use existing Supabase knowledge
Auto-Generated APIs: Database tables become REST endpoints automatically
TypeScript & Go SDKs: First-class support for modern development

Core Features

REST API

Automatically generate CRUD endpoints from your PostgreSQL schema with PostgREST-compatible query syntax:

# Filter and select
GET /api/v1/tables/posts?published=eq.true&select=id,title,author(name)

# Order and paginate
GET /api/v1/tables/posts?order=created_at.desc&limit=10&offset=20

# Complex queries
GET /api/v1/tables/posts?or=(status.eq.draft,status.eq.published)&author_id=eq.1

Authentication

Built-in authentication with JWT tokens:

Email/password authentication
Magic link authentication
Session management
Protected endpoints

Realtime

WebSocket-based realtime subscriptions:

PostgreSQL LISTEN/NOTIFY integration
Channel-based subscriptions
Presence tracking
Broadcast capabilities

Storage

File storage with access policies:

Local filesystem or S3-compatible backends
Bucket management
Public/private access control
Image transformations

Edge Functions

JavaScript/TypeScript function execution:

HTTP-triggered functions
Scheduled functions (cron)
Database webhook triggers
Deno runtime

Quick Comparison

Feature	Fluxbase	Supabase	Firebase
Deployment	Single binary (~40MB)	~10 containers (~2GB)	Cloud only
Dependencies	PostgreSQL only	PostgreSQL + 5+ services	Proprietary
Self-hosting	✅ Easy	⚠️ Complex	❌ No
REST API	✅ Auto-generated	✅ PostgREST	✅ Auto-generated
Authentication	✅ Built-in	✅ GoTrue	✅ Built-in
Realtime	✅ WebSocket	✅ WebSocket	✅ WebSocket
Storage	✅ Local/S3	✅ S3	✅ Cloud Storage
Functions	✅ Deno	✅ Deno	✅ Cloud Functions
Background Jobs	✅ Built-in	✅ pg_cron (ext)	❌ No
Open Source	✅ MIT	✅ Apache 2.0	❌ Proprietary

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Go 1.22+ (for building from source)
PostgreSQL 14+

Quick Install

# Download the latest binary
curl -L https://github.com/fluxbase-eu/fluxbase/releases/latest/download/fluxbase-linux-amd64 -o fluxbase
chmod +x fluxbase

# Or use Docker
docker run -p 8080:8080 ghcr.io/fluxbase-eu/fluxbase:latest

# Or build from source
git clone https://github.com/fluxbase-eu/fluxbase.git
cd fluxbase
make build
./fluxbase

Your First API

Create a table in PostgreSQL:

CREATE TABLE posts (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    title TEXT NOT NULL,
    content TEXT,
    published BOOLEAN DEFAULT false,
    created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);

Access your auto-generated API:

# Create a post
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/v1/tables/posts \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title": "Hello World", "content": "My first post!"}'

# Query posts
curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/tables/posts?published=eq.true

That’s it! Your API is ready.

Architecture

Fluxbase is built as a monolithic Go application with a modular architecture:

graph TB
    Client[Client Application]

    subgraph Fluxbase ["Fluxbase (Single Binary)"]
        API[REST API Layer]
        RT[Realtime Engine]

        Auth[Auth Service]
        Storage[Storage Service]
        Functions[Functions Runtime]
        DB[Database Layer]

        API --> Auth
        API --> Storage
        API --> Functions
        API --> DB
        RT --> DB
        Auth --> DB
        Storage --> DB
        Functions --> DB
    end

    PG[(PostgreSQL)]
    S3[S3/Local Storage]

    Client --> API
    Client --> RT
    Fluxbase --> PG
    Storage --> S3

Next Steps

Installation Guide - Set up Fluxbase in your environment
Quick Start Tutorial - Build your first application
Configuration Reference - Customize Fluxbase for your needs
SDK Documentation - TypeScript SDK API reference
SDK Guides - Learn how to use the TypeScript SDK

Community & Support

GitHub: github.com/fluxbase-eu/fluxbase
Discord: discord.gg/fluxbase
Twitter: @fluxbase

License

Fluxbase is open source and released under the MIT License.