
Show HN: BackendLab – Code-free web app builder - chris140957
Hi all,<p>I&#x27;m currently validating an idea for a new BaaS solution which will allow you to build and host a web app backend without writing a single line of code.<p>The app is called BackendLab and the landing page is here: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.backendlab.app&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.backendlab.app&#x2F;</a><p>The idea is that it allows you to define your database models by specifying what fields to include and BackendLab automatically creates a CRUD API which you can start using straight away.<p>We&#x27;ve just launched the public beta and are looking for early adopters (free of charge, just looking for some feedback on the tool)<p>Looking forward to hearing your feedback!<p>Thanks,<p>Chris
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lucaslee
Why only backend? You are competing with other solutions out there that have a
frontend available directly from db schema. Some examples:
[https://www.salesforce.com/products/platform/overview/](https://www.salesforce.com/products/platform/overview/)
[https://github.com/sferik/rails_admin](https://github.com/sferik/rails_admin)

I am not totally clear who your target customers are. I think backend alone
will be a barrier for a non-technical person. For a developer, as said by
others, CRUD/authentication usually isn't the most time consuming part.

With that said, congrats on shipping! I know this is a work in progress. I
think your landing page needs more work/content too. Good luck!

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codenesium
There is a patent troll who owns creating a frontend from a database. He's
successfully sued Microsoft and Oracle and put a code generation product out
if business. So I'd tread carefully there.

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chris140957
Interesting, thanks for the heads up. But is this likely to be an issue for a
UK-based startup? I understand its a bigger problem in the US

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codenesium
Probably not if you're UK based.

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yoava
Hay Chris,

Looking like a great project, simple and fun.

Keep in mind that other similar projects tried the same approach before,
namely firebase and parse.com. both for only so much traction because at the
end, real world applications need more features - business logic, backend that
uses other APIs, etc.

Still, looks like a fun project

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codingdave
I tend to agree - great prototype, but most coders whip out basic CRUD code
quickly, and their time is really spent on all the additional features of an
app. Often, changing the basic CRUD code in the process.

This could work fine as a rapid prototyping tool, but from a feature parity
perspective, it looks like you end up with something equivalent to a
Salesforce app or Sharepoint list (also non-code CRUD solutions), without the
stigma and cost of enterprise platforms, but also without the integration with
everything else you may do.

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ollerac
Hi Chris,

I think a product like this deserves to have a great design. I worked on the
color scheme, copy, and spacing for you and came up with this:
[https://imgur.com/a/UUoEij5](https://imgur.com/a/UUoEij5)

The I replaced the hero image with is:
[https://unsplash.com/photos/trYl7JYATH0](https://unsplash.com/photos/trYl7JYATH0)

Good luck with your project! I'm not in the market for your product right now,
but if I am some day, I'll definitely test this out!

Cheers, David

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chris140957
Thanks David, this is interesting. I like that hero image, but not sure if the
overall design might be a bit too dark.

Kind of interested to hear how anybody else in this thread rates David's
version over mine?

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kadfak
For me, parent's design definitely feels more premium than the original, which
to me seems a bit amateurish.

Here are my observations:

* Layout is too wide. Parent has made it more narrow which feels more natural to me.

* Form inputs are too wide. Same thing as above.

* Weird color palette. I like parent's color simplicity. Notice how he has used different shades of the same color.

* Too random images. IMO the images used for the hero and pricing sections don't make any connection with the product. Parent has left out these images and it is much nicer.

Takeaway, prefer simplicity if you're not good at design.

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tinyvm
>The idea is that it allows you to define your database models by specifying
what fields to include and BackendLab automatically creates a CRUD API

I don't see the advantage over Firebase FireRules , AWS AppSync , Azure Cosmos
or MongoDB Stich all of which have advanced querying options with great SDK
and integrations support.

This idea is not bad , it's just it doesn't seem to bring much compared to
others on the market already offering BaaS...

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chris140957
Hi, thanks for the feedback. I think the main difference between the products
you mention and BackendLab is that BackendLab will soon offer the ability to
export your code (this isnt yet mentioned on the landing page). So you can
build your prototype, export it then build it out. The export would initially
be done as a Django project, as that's how the BackendLab api is built

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SimonDorfman
This sounds great. I decided to try it out after reading about this export
feature.

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brett40324
Im considering signing up and trying out your service. What is holding me back
are all questions I was hoping to have answered on your website. The main
questions I have are important implementation details that I think customers a
going to care about. What language, framework, dependencies, are handling
requests? What is the performance like? How do I scale?

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brett40324
Also, slow down if youre shipping typos on your landing page: revolutonizes

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enraged_camel
On the other hand, as the saying goes, if you are not embarrassed by your
first version, you waited too long to ship. ;)

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chris140957
Exactly :) I'm aware that there's a long way to go yet, but ultimately its
still just a beta

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clappia
We have a similar concept but with frontend and permission as well. The
backend is automatically created based on what is defined in the frontend.
Makes it more of a business tool than a developer tool. For developers, we
have CRUD APIs. APIs make it useful to collect data from different hardware
devices.

Here is the link if you want to explore:
[https://www.clappia.com](https://www.clappia.com)

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verdverm
Some examples on the website would be helpful to understand the experience.
How do I interact with the tool, what does the output look like, how do I use
the back end?

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cbg0
On a similar note, what would be a good option for building front-ends without
much coding? Maybe something that could export a React project, for quick
prototyping.

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awake
What would this look like? I understand that there is a specific pattern
repeated over and over again with models authentication users and CRUD for a
simple backend but even a simple front end seems much harder to implement in a
generic way. Maybe some form of templating?

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bdcravens
I would think something like Rails scaffolds, only it generates React code.
Heck, you could probably extend Rails scaffolds (or other frameworks that
provide similar utility) to accomplish this.

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ericathegreat
I like the look of this. A couple of questions I can't see answers to on the
landing page... \- Is it possible to change the schema after creation? Or is
this a "get it right first time" deal? \- Is validation strictly not-
null/range-check? Or can you add more complex validation rules?

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chris140957
Hi, thanks for looking. You can edit your data models at any time - fields can
be added/removed/renamed as necessary. There is some validation already -
string stra fields must be strings, number fields must be numbers, etc and you
can make fields as required (meaning that it a value must be supplied), unique
(meaning that two instances can't have the same value for a particular field)
and also set default values. Additionally, foreign key and many to many fields
are validated to ensure the related objects actually exist.

I'll also be adding additional validation (e.g. regex, max/min numbers) in the
very near future

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hyperpape
Small note:

[http://www.backendlab.app](http://www.backendlab.app) fails to load.
[https://backendlab.app](https://backendlab.app) gives a security error

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chris140957
Thanks, but I'm not seeing the first issue - it automatically redirects me to
https. What browser are you using?

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hyperpape
Saw it on Firefox on Fedora. Today at work it works with Chrome on MacOS.

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hmnd0
Looks like a very interesting alternative to Knack
([https://knack.com](https://knack.com)), but without the frontend building
aspect.

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hyperpape
One question I have with a project like this is: suppose I used it, and got
traction. What is the story if I then realize that I need to migrate to a more
traditional architecture?

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awake
Take the code they give you and change it?

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hyperpape
I think that's the ideal story: the system generates an intermediate
representation that can be interpreted or compiled to a programming language.
There are bindings to common languages/runtimes, and you can take your system
and leave at any point.

In practice, lock-in seems like a real issue.

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leowoo91
If maybe you could allow few lines of code execution that can work for many
devs, then they could recommend it to beginners after community emerges :/

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chris140957
Eventually I'll be adding the ability to add your own endpoints to the auto
generate ones, which would initially give you the ability to implement various
additional functions, e.g. sending emails, integrations with other services,
etc. This could very easily be expanded to allow users to call functions they
have written themselves. However, I've been holding off on this one as
BackendLab is primarily a no-code solution. If enough people are keen, I will
implement it

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raymondgh
this is awesome. looking forward to a couple years a of fun and easy
prototyping before this inevitably gets bought and shut down by some giant

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pictur
I reviewed the site. Really nice work. You can sell additional features like
the live monitoring tool. Heroku add-ons style. Good luck.

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janvdberg
This is a pretty great idea! I've always wondered where "MS Access for the
web" is, ie RAD DB development.

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mgkimsal
add roles in addition to groups.

these are different logical segmentations that are nearly always conflated
together in most "quick crud" systems, and never map to reality on things much
more complex than "todo list" API stuff. Or, perhaps more specifically, in
anything that might end up being considered a 'line of business' app.

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jspdown
There's no email verification, I have been able to register using
plop@plop.com. Feel free to delete this account.

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chris140957
Yeah i know, its on my to do list...

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victorshoaga
Hi Chris,

Great Idea I guess some work needs to be done regarding building a frontend
for your idea

Best, Victor

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z3t4
> Stop writing code. Start deploying apps

I find this is close to sarcasm.

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gitgud
Trying to remove code from creating apps seems like an oxymoron to me too.
Eventually you need constructs which code can efficiently provide.

    
    
        if, for, while...

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clappia
Sir, please try our product Clappia (www.clappia.com). You are right that you
need IF, ELSE etc. You can use the formula syntax of Excel sheet and you can
still manage without learning any new coding script. That's what we do.

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appdrag
Hey Chris,

Congratulation for launching your beta!

This seems quite similar to what we do here:
[https://cloudbackend.appdrag.com/](https://cloudbackend.appdrag.com/)

But it's look like your auto generated API support only CRUD operations, this
can be very limited even for common use cases like: "Create a new order" make
some business validations, store in the db, generate a pdf, send an email ...

Disclaimer: I'm the CTO of AppDrag

