
Ask HN: What are some no-code tools for the back end? - askjdlkasdjsd
Off the top of my head, I would love an add-on kind of tool that I can point to my database and all manner of CRUD APIs are generated and managed by the tool itself. Although I&#x27;m speaking as a developer.<p>Just brainstorming here, what kind of no-code tools can exist for the backend?<p>- Simplified drag-drop schema builder<p>- CRUD API generator on top of the above<p>- Templatized plug-and-play schemas for common use cases, role based user access capabilities, teams, billing system, feature based pricing etc. &lt;-- All of these really have the same-ish playbook in every tech stack, might make sense to abstract it out in a nocode tool<p>What other nocode tools can be built for the backend? I&#x27;m specifically talking about backend only, since this is likely the hardest area for nocode to tackle, it would be like automating all of software development itself, or at least laying the groundwork to begin with.<p>Keep in mind I&#x27;m talking strictly about the no-code audience (which means no code at all, no&#x2F;optional SQL, no tech stack, <i>nothing</i>, no tech stuff - only tools that can be used easily by the 99.7% of humans that don&#x27;t code)
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xgenecloud
Not exactly no-code, but the spirit is the same in what we are building at
XgeneCloud. Via our GUI you can scaffold most of the repeatable code that is
required in any backend and modify it to your business needs from there on.

* [https://github.com/xgenecloud/xgenecloud](https://github.com/xgenecloud/xgenecloud)

* Demo link : [https://youtu.be/gEU-QvmwSKQ](https://youtu.be/gEU-QvmwSKQ) (Creating CRUD APIs via GUI for a MySQL database)

* So by just pointing to a database via a GUI, you can generate CRUD-Aggregation APIs (REST/GraphQL) automatically for any given database. It has built in GUI to edit and manage schemas and access control as well.

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benjaminjosephw
You're talking about a "strictly no-code audience" who are just building
backends? That'd be a very strange situation if you asked me since audiences
that are somewhat technical in the first place are usually not put off by a
little bit of optional code.

Here are a few products that are close but not spot on:

* [https://parabola.io/](https://parabola.io/)

* [https://useparagon.com/](https://useparagon.com/)

* [https://n8n.io/](https://n8n.io/)

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matt_s
For people that don't code, I think what you're describing they know as MS
Excel. They don't know what a schema is and possibly can't define what user
roles would be for what they need.

Generated code is great to start with and then someone requests a change to do
something, for example add a column, and you need someone to maintain that
code from the database thru the backend up to the UI to add that column.

I think no-code is really geared towards verticals and not a generic base of
an application.

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sh461
Where's the demand for such a tool? If you have the experience and
understanding to build a good back-end with a no-code tool, then you're
already at a point where working with code isn't a problem for you.

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jacobwilliamroy
Usually to streamline certain oft-repeated tasks. The audience for such tools
is not people who dont know how to build them, it's people who know how to
build them but dont have time, which is very common condition for people
working in computers.

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shanecleveland
Does the need for some front end JS meet your criteria? If so, an interesting
one is [https://userbase.com](https://userbase.com).

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jacobwilliamroy
Ethernet Cable

Switch

Box cutter

RJ45 crimper

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thelastinuit
ROFL

