Supabase Explained: The Open-Source Firebase Alternative
Introduction Firebase (the batch 18 post) gives you a backend as a service — but on Google's platform, with a NoSQL database. Supabase, launched in 2020, offers the same idea with a different philosophy: open source, built on PostgreSQL, and designed so you can self-host it if you ever want to leave. Its pitch is "Firebase, but on Postgres" — and for developers who want relational data with backend-as-a-service convenience, that combination is exactly the appeal. What you get in one project A Supabase project bundles the pieces a typical app needs: Postgres database — a full relational database (the PostgreSQL post's engine) with a table editor, SQL access, and Row Level Security rules that decide who can read or write each row Authentication — email, OAuth (Google, GitHub), and magic links, with user data stored in Postgres tables you can query like any other data Storage — file uploads with access policies, for avatars, images, and documents Realtime and Edge Functi...