Product Overview

What is Bakend?

Bakend is an open-source backend platform designed for developers who want to build and launch products quickly without the complexity of modern cloud platforms.

Bakend combines:

  • Database
  • Authentication
  • Storage
  • Realtime
  • Functions
  • Jobs

into a single executable.

The project philosophy is:

One executable. One database. One admin panel.

No cloud account. No vendor lock-in. No Kubernetes. No Redis. No DevOps degree required.

Positioning

Bakend = PocketBase + Functions + Jobs

Bakend is not trying to compete with AWS, Firebase, or Supabase feature-for-feature.

Instead, it focuses on providing the fastest path from idea to working product.

Target users:

  • Indie hackers
  • Solo developers
  • Startups
  • MVP builders
  • Internal tools teams
  • Flutter developers
  • Web developers

Core Principles

Simplicity First

Every feature must be understandable within minutes.

If a feature adds significant complexity, it should be questioned.

Local First

Bakend runs locally without requiring cloud services.

Development and production share the same runtime.

Single Executable

The entire platform is deployed as a single executable.

Example:

bak start

TypeScript First

Functions and jobs are written in TypeScript.

Developers should not need to learn a custom language.

Event Driven

Subsystems communicate through an internal Event Bus.

The Event Bus is a core architectural component.

Core Features

Collections

Dynamic database collections.

Automatically generates CRUD APIs.

Built on SQLite.

Authentication

Built-in user management.

Version 1:

  • Email/password
  • JWT
  • Sessions

Future:

  • Google
  • Apple
  • GitHub
  • Microsoft

Storage

Built-in file storage.

Supports:

  • Public files
  • Protected files

Future:

  • S3
  • Cloudflare R2
  • Backblaze B2

Realtime

WebSocket-based subscriptions.

Receive updates when records change.

Functions

TypeScript server-side logic.

Example:

export default async ({ db, auth, storage }) => {
}

Supported triggers:

  • onCreate
  • onUpdate
  • onDelete
  • onLogin
  • onRegister

Jobs

Cron-based scheduled tasks.

Example:

export const schedule = "0 3 * * *"

export default async () => {
}

Technology Stack

Runtime:

  • Bun

Language:

  • TypeScript

Database:

  • SQLite

Dashboard:

  • SvelteKit

Protocols:

  • REST
  • WebSockets

Why Bakend Exists

Modern MVP development often requires many separate services:

  • Database
  • Authentication
  • Storage
  • Realtime
  • Background jobs
  • Serverless functions

Developers spend more time integrating infrastructure than building products.

Bakend exists to reduce that complexity.

Non Goals

Bakend is not:

  • AWS
  • Firebase
  • Supabase
  • Kubernetes
  • Microservices framework
  • Workflow automation platform

Bakend intentionally focuses on simplicity.

Typical Workflow

Install:

curl -fsSL https://alpbak.github.io/bakend/install.sh | sh

Create project:

bak init myapp

Start:

bak start

Create collections.

Write functions.

Write jobs.

Ship product.

Long-Term Vision

A developer should be able to launch a production-ready MVP in hours instead of days.

Bakend aims to become the simplest backend platform available for modern application development.

The success metric is simple:

Spend less time configuring infrastructure and more time shipping software.