Authentication
Provide email, SMS, OAuth, anonymous-session, and magic-URL authentication, with phone OTP available for SMS-based verification.
Appwrite
Appwrite is an open-source developer platform that provides authentication, databases, storage, serverless functions, messaging, Realtime, hosting, and security capabilities in one stack. It helps developers and teams build, deploy, and operate web and application backends through Appwrite Cloud or self-hosted workflows.
Open-source application development platform
Appwrite is an open-source developer platform for building and operating applications. It brings authentication, databases, file storage, serverless functions, messaging, Realtime, and frontend hosting into a unified stack, with Appwrite Cloud and self-hosted workflows supported by the platform.
The service is designed to cover multiple stages of an application lifecycle: teams can authenticate users, persist and protect data, run backend logic, deliver notifications, react to live events, and deploy web frontends. Its site also describes MCP and agent-oriented workflows for interacting with live Appwrite projects.
Core platform capabilities
Databases
Model and query data using Appwrite databases, or use managed PostgreSQL and MySQL options. The pricing page also lists vector databases and text-embedding quotas.
File storage
Store files with compression, encryption, image transformations, and access control. Buckets can be used alongside the rest of a project’s backend services.
Serverless functions
Deploy backend code in secure isolated runtimes with event-driven execution. Functions have configurable execution and compute allowances based on the plan.
Sites hosting
Deploy static, SSR, and CSR frontends from Git with instant previews, while Appwrite provides the application backend behind them.
Messaging, Realtime, and protection
Send email, SMS, and push notifications, subscribe to project events through Realtime, and apply traffic rules and abuse controls through the platform’s network security features.
Practical use cases
Full-stack application development
Create an application backend with user accounts, database records, file uploads, and server-side logic without assembling each foundational service independently.
User authentication and verification
Use email, SMS, OAuth, anonymous sessions, or magic URLs to support different sign-in and verification flows. Mock phone numbers allow no-cost testing of phone integrations.
Web frontend deployment
Deploy a web frontend from a Git repository and use static, SSR, or CSR delivery depending on the application architecture, with instant previews for changes.
Backend automation
Run event-driven backend tasks in isolated serverless runtimes, such as processing uploads, responding to application events, or connecting custom application logic to platform services.
Notifications and live application updates
Send transactional or engagement messages through email, SMS, and push channels, while using Realtime subscriptions when an application needs to react to project events as they occur.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Combines backend, hosting, notification, and realtime capabilities in one platform.
- Supports both Appwrite databases and managed PostgreSQL or MySQL options.
- Offers several authentication methods, including OAuth, SMS, anonymous sessions, and magic URLs.
- Includes deployment options for static, SSR, and CSR frontends plus isolated serverless functions.
- Provides project-level security capabilities such as encryption, DDoS protection, abuse protection, and access control.
Cons
- The platform spans many services, so teams may need to evaluate several separate quotas and billing dimensions, including bandwidth, storage, executions, database operations, and messaging.
- Some capabilities and allowances vary by plan; phone OTP messaging is usage-based and depends on destination country.
FAQ
What is Appwrite?
Appwrite is an open-source developer platform that combines authentication, databases, storage, serverless functions, messaging, Realtime, Sites hosting, and network security capabilities in one stack. It is available as Appwrite Cloud and supports self-hosted data migrations according to the site content.
What authentication methods does Appwrite support?
Appwrite Auth supports email, SMS, OAuth, anonymous sessions, and magic URLs. Phone OTP is billed per SMS sent on applicable plans, while mock phone numbers can be used to test integrations without SMS charges.
Does Appwrite have a free plan?
Appwrite Cloud plans include a free tier, a Pro plan, and an Enterprise plan. The pricing page states that plan limits cover services such as bandwidth, storage, executions, users, databases, buckets, and functions; exact allowances depend on the plan.
Can Appwrite host a frontend and run backend code?
Appwrite Sites can deploy static, server-side rendered, and client-side rendered frontends from Git, with instant previews. Appwrite Functions provide isolated serverless runtimes and event-driven execution for backend code.
How does Appwrite Cloud billing work?
Appwrite billing is configured per organization. Billing periods last 30 days from a plan change, and organizations can view invoices, use supported credit or debit cards, and set budget caps and alerts for add-on usage.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Developer Tool / Backend as a Service
- Platform model
- Open-source cloud platform with self-hosted workflows
- Primary users
- Application developers and development teams
- Core services
- Auth, Databases, Storage, Functions, Messaging, Realtime, Sites, and Firewall
- Cloud plans
- Free, Pro, and Enterprise
- Source domain
- appwrite.io
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