How does PocketBase compare to Supabase or Firebase?

PocketBase is far lighter: one binary on 512 MB RAM vs Supabase's 10+ Docker services needing 8+ GB. You get SQLite (excellent for most apps) instead of PostgreSQL, and full data sovereignty at a fixed VPS cost. Firebase and Supabase win at infinite scale; PocketBase wins on simplicity and cost for apps under ~1 M daily requests.

Is PocketBase production-ready?

Yes. PocketBase is used in production by thousands of projects. Embedded SQLite scales to millions of rows for most workloads. For extremely high write concurrency (10 000+ writes/sec), a dedicated relational database is more appropriate — but that threshold is far above typical app traffic.

Can I add custom business logic to PocketBase?

Yes. PocketBase supports JavaScript hooks (available since v0.17) for event-driven logic: run code before or after record create, update, delete, auth, and more. For advanced cases, use PocketBase as a Go framework and extend it by embedding it in your own Go application.

Which OAuth2 providers does PocketBase support?

PocketBase supports 10+ OAuth2 providers out of the box: Google, GitHub, GitLab, Apple, Twitter/X, Facebook, Microsoft, Spotify, Kakao, Twitch and more. Enable them in Settings → Auth Providers and paste your OAuth2 client credentials.

Kick off a software project quickly.

PocketBase

Your complete backend in a single Go binary — database, realtime API, auth and admin UI in one command.

512 MB (2 GB recommended) RAM 1 vCPU Port 8090 Available

Source code

Tech stack

DockerGoSQLite

Minimum RAM512 MB (2 GB recommended)

Minimum CPU1 vCPU

Default port8090

Compatible OSubuntu-24.04

PocketBase is an open-source backend-as-a-service written in Go. It ships as a single executable: launch it and you instantly get an embedded SQLite database with automatic migrations, a realtime REST and WebSocket API, a full authentication system (email/password, OAuth2, OTP, magic link), file storage with image resizing, and a web-based admin dashboard.

Deployed on a ServOrbit VPS, PocketBase replaces an entire backend stack for prototypes, MVPs and production apps. No separate database server to manage, no ORM to configure, no auth library to wire up — one binary, one port, one volume to back up. Its OpenAI-friendly REST API and JavaScript SDK make it the go-to backend for solo developers and small teams who want to ship fast without managing infrastructure.

Key features

Embedded SQLite with schema builder and automatic migrations — no database server to configure

Realtime subscriptions via WebSocket — push record updates to clients the moment they happen

Built-in auth: email/password, OAuth2 (Google, GitHub, Apple, Twitter…), OTP, and magic link

File storage with on-the-fly image resizing and public/private access control per collection

Auto-generated REST API with filtering, sorting, pagination and field visibility rules

Web-based admin dashboard — manage collections, records, users and settings in your browser

Extend with JavaScript hooks or use PocketBase as a Go framework for custom business logic

When to use this solution?

1

MVP / prototype backend

Launch a full backend API in 5 minutes. No separate database, no auth library, no config files — just one binary and you start building your frontend.

2

Self-hosted BaaS

Replace Firebase or Supabase with a self-hosted alternative at a fixed monthly VPS cost. No per-row billing, no surprise invoices, full data ownership.

3

Mobile & SPA backend

Wire your React, Vue, Flutter or React Native app to PocketBase via its JavaScript or Dart SDK. Realtime subscriptions update your UI instantly on every record change.

Deploy PocketBase on your VPS

Guide optimized for ServOrbit Cloud VPS.

01

Order a ServOrbit VPS

PocketBase is very frugal: 512 MB of RAM is enough to run it, and 2 GB gives comfortable headroom for real production use with file storage. One vCPU is fine in the vast majority of cases.

02

Deploy PocketBase from the Marketplace

In your ServOrbit client area: Marketplace → Development → PocketBase → Deploy. The ghcr.io/muchobien/pocketbase:latest image starts in under a second, and all state — the SQLite database as well as the uploaded files — lives in the pocketbase volume mounted on /pb/pb_data.

03

Sign in for the first time

The admin console is not created self-service, and that is good news: on first boot, PocketBase writes a single-use installation link into the container logs, of the form /_/#/pbinstal/<token>. Without that link and the token it carries, nobody can create the superuser account — so there is no default username and no default password to change. ServOrbit picks the link up for you and shows it on your app's card in the client area; you can also find it yourself with docker logs pocketbase. Open it, choose the e-mail address and the password of your superuser account, and the console is yours.

04

Open the admin console

Once the superuser account has been created, the console is at https://<your-domain>/_/ if a domain is attached to the application. Without a domain there is no public address: open an SSH tunnel with ssh -L 8090:127.0.0.1:8090 root@<your-vps-ip> then go to http://localhost:8090/_/ — 8090 is the catalogue port, use the one shown on your app's card in the client area.

05

Define your collections

From the console, create your collections — the equivalent of tables — and their fields: text, number, relation, file, JSON, select list. Each collection carries its own read and write access rules, expressed as conditions: that is where you decide who sees what, rather than in your application's code.

06

Attach your domain and connect your app

Attach the domain that will carry your API from your client area: ServOrbit installs the nginx vhost and the TLS certificate, including for the WebSocket connections that realtime subscriptions rely on. There is no reverse proxy to install and no certificate to renew. All that is left is to point your SDK at https://<your-domain> and consume the API from your application.

Frequently asked questions

PocketBase is an open-source backend-as-a-service (BaaS) written in Go. It packages an SQLite database, a realtime REST+WebSocket API, authentication, file storage and an admin dashboard in a single binary — no external dependencies required.

All data lives in the /pb/pb_data directory: one SQLite file plus uploaded files. Back up this Docker volume and you have everything. PocketBase also has a built-in backup API endpoint (POST /api/backups) available from the admin dashboard.

Embed the deploy button

Maintaining a project that uses PocketBase? This button lets your readers deploy it on a VPS in one click, without reading Docker documentation.

Markdown

[![Deploy PocketBase on ServOrbit](https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg)](https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=pocketbase&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pocketbase)

HTML

<a href="https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=pocketbase&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pocketbase"><img src="https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg" alt="Deploy PocketBase on ServOrbit" height="40"></a>

The button points to a VPS order with the template preselected. The image is served from servorbit.com — nothing to host on your side.

Complementary solutions

Development

Activate PocketBase on your infrastructure.

Dedicated Cloud VPS — IPv4 included, European datacenter, support included. Your data never leaves your server.

Recommended configuration: 512 MB (2 GB recommended) RAM · 1 vCPU