I'm building an open-source platform for your database, API, auth and apps
I'm Duc. Since May 2025 I've been building Excalibase on nights and weekends, next to my day job. It started as a GraphQL engine for Postgres, because I like SQL. It's now an open-source platform as a service: one place for the database, the API on top of it, auth, and the apps that use it. What you get When you create a project, you get: A database. Postgres, or MySQL from this week's release.…
Duc is a developer who has been working on Excalibase, an open-source platform, since May 2025 alongside his full-time job. Initially focused on creating a GraphQL engine for Postgres, the project has evolved into a comprehensive platform encompassing a database, an API (both GraphQL and REST), authentication, and applications built on top of it.
Upon creating a project on Excalibase, users receive a Postgres or MySQL database, automatic backups, point-in-time restore, and an API automatically generated from their schema. The platform enforces permissions on a row and column level, allowing users to have read-only access to their own data. This consistency extends across GraphQL, REST, and real-time interactions.
Additionally, Excalibase offers real-time subscriptions and functions, container hosting for applications alongside the database, and an MCP server for AI coding tools to manage database interactions without exposing sensitive information to the AI. The API works by compiling GraphQL queries with permission rules into a single SQL statement, ensuring efficient database access and eliminating N+1 queries.
Excalibase provides three hosting options: hosted (with a free beta at excalibase.io), self-hosting via Docker or Podman on a single VPS with identical features, or Kubernetes deployment for more advanced setups. The open-source engine is available under the Apache 2.0 license on GitHub.
Looking ahead, Duc plans to test hosting static frontends on Cloudflare's network, with support for React, Vue, Astro, and other build-to-file frameworks. Future developments may also include ClickHouse, Redis/Valkey, or AI agent workflows, with a poll on X (formerly Twitter) to gather community preferences. Duc shares updates on his progress daily via X under the handle @dukevu2506, encouraging feedback on what works well and what needs improvement.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
