Appwrite
Self-hosted backend platform with auth, databases, functions, storage, and messaging.
About
Appwrite is an open-source backend-as-a-service platform you can self-host with Docker. It bundles the primitives most apps need: authentication (email, OAuth, phone, anonymous), document and relational databases, serverless functions in multiple runtimes, file storage with image transformations, realtime subscriptions, and messaging across push, email, and SMS. A newer Sites product adds static hosting, rounding it into a full Firebase alternative.
The project is BSD-3-Clause licensed with 57,000+ GitHub stars and same-day commits as of October 2026, backed by a commercial Appwrite Cloud. It is a solid fit for AI side projects and MVPs that need user accounts, a database, and file storage without assembling five services, though the self-hosted edition means you own uptime.
What it can do
- Auth with email, OAuth, phone, and anonymous sessions
- Document and relational databases with realtime
- Serverless functions in Node, Python, Dart, and more
- File storage with image transformations
- Messaging (push, email, SMS) and static Sites hosting
Setup
Self-host with the Docker-based Appwrite installer, or sign up for Appwrite Cloud; create a project in the console and connect with a client SDK.
Prerequisites
Docker for self-hosting; or an Appwrite Cloud account. Client SDKs exist for web, Flutter, iOS, Android, and server runtimes.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 9/10
Scored 9/10 (verified tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: 57,693 GitHub stars; repo pushed 2026-10-15 (same-day activity); BSD-3-Clause license confirmed in repo LICENSE; Self-hostable via Docker plus commercial Appwrite Cloud; docs verified at appwrite.io/docs. Manual review: auth/databases/functions/storage/messaging/Sites claims verified against official site copy; self-hosted uptime is the user's responsibility. License: BSD-3-Clause.
★ 57,693 GitHub stars
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.