PocketBase

Capabilities

• Embedded SQLite with realtime subscriptions Collections live in an embedded SQLite database, and clients can subscribe to realtime record changes without adding a separate pub/sub service.[1]

• Password and OAuth2 authentication Auth collections support identity and password login plus more than 15 OAuth2 providers, including Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, VK, GitHub, and GitLab.[1][2]

• Admin dashboard UI A builtin dashboard manages collections, auth settings, files, and mail from the browser, so routine backend administration needs no custom tooling.[1][2]

• REST-ish API with SDKs A stateless token API covers records, auth, and files, with JavaScript and Dart SDK examples in the official docs; tokens are never stored server-side.[1][2]

• File upload and handling The backend handles file uploads alongside records, keeping user content in the same self-contained deployment as the data.[1]

• Single-file deployment Version 0.40.5 ships as a roughly 12MB download for Linux, Windows, and macOS on x64 and ARM64, started with a single serve command after extraction.[1]

• Go and JavaScript extension Instead of cloud functions, PocketBase extends through event hooks, routing, migrations, scheduled jobs, and mail as a Go or JavaScript framework.[1][2]

• API rules and filters Per-collection API rules control record access, and superuser accounts bypass those rules for administration; OAuth2 login is disabled for superusers.[1][2]

Who will love it

• One executable plus a single serve command is the whole deployment, which fits side projects and prototypes on a small virtual server.[1][2]

• The FAQ names small and midsize applications, SaaS, mobile API backends, and intranets as the intended scope, citing 10,000-plus realtime connections on a cheap VPS as its reference point.[1]

• Event hooks, custom routes, migrations, and scheduled jobs give framework-level control without surrendering the portable single-file backend.[1]

Who should avoid it

• The pre-1.0 codebase carries no backward-compatibility guarantee, and upgrades can require manual migration steps, which makes it a poor fit where breaking changes are unacceptable.[1]

• PocketBase scales vertically on one server only, so applications that must scale horizontally across machines should look elsewhere.[1]

• There is no hosted offering, no company, and no paid support behind the project; the operator owns deployment, updates, backups, and scaling.[1]

Alternatives and compatibility