Appwrite has come a long way from “open-source Firebase for the poor” to a mature platform on which production applications are built. Today, it is one of the leading open-source backend services with an audience of hundreds of thousands of developers.
Components
Appwrite is a set of services in a single Docker container:
- Database — document-oriented DB with indexes and queries
- Auth — 30+ OAuth providers, email/password, phone auth, 2FA
- Storage — file storage with compression, resizing, and antivirus scanning
- Functions — serverless functions in Node.js, Python, Go, Dart, Ruby, Java, .NET
- Messaging — email, push, SMS out of the box
- Realtime — WebSocket subscriptions for data changes
The API is uniform, SDKs are available for a dozen languages, and the documentation is decent.
What’s Improved
In 2026, Appwrite has noticeably matured. New features include: relationships between collections (analogous to SQL joins), aggregation queries, full-text search, and improved function performance. The admin console has been redesigned — it is now a full-fledged web application, not just a “checkbox on the feature list.”
Self-Hosting
Docker is the only way to deploy Appwrite on your own server. Minimum requirements: 2 GB RAM, 2 vCPU. For production — 4 GB. The database is MariaDB, plus Redis for caching and queues. Updates between major versions can be painful; migrations require attention.
Drawbacks
Cold start of functions is still noticeable: the first call after a period of inactivity can take 2–5 seconds. There is no built-in cron — scheduled tasks must be implemented via external means. The cloud version pricing is steep for small projects.
What Projects It Suits
Mobile apps, SaaS products, web applications with medium-complexity backends. If you need authentication, a database, and file storage quickly without writing boilerplate — Appwrite covers those needs.