Quick answer: PocketBase ships auth, admin UI and realtime API as one binary – ideal Firebase alternative on a VPS for MVPs.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
PocketBase or Supabase?
PocketBase: one binary + SQLite, extremely simple. Supabase: Postgres, heavier, closer to Firebase scale.
Production ready?
Yes for small/mid apps. Back up the data directory. For very high write load, prefer Postgres stacks.
Built-in auth?
Yes – email/password, OAuth providers, per-collection rules.
Reverse proxy?
Yes – Caddy/Traefik to PocketBase; allow WebSockets for realtime.
Backup?
Back up entire pb_data (SQLite + storage). On heavy writes: brief stop or use file backup tools.