Getting Started with Supabase

Introduction

Supabase is an open-source backend-as-a-service platform that provides developers with a suite of tools to build scalable and secure applications. It offers features like a PostgreSQL database, authentication, storage, and real-time subscriptions, making it a powerful alternative to Firebase. In this guide, we will walk you through setting up Supabase using Docker, configuring the environment, and getting started with its dashboard.

Features of Supabase

• PostgreSQL Database: A fully managed PostgreSQL database with support for extensions.
• Authentication: Built-in user management and authentication.
• Storage: File storage with an API for managing files.
• Real-time: Real-time database updates using WebSockets.
• Edge Functions: Serverless functions for custom business logic.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed on your system:

• Docker and Docker Compose
• Git

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Clone the Supabase Repository

# Get the code
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/supabase/supabase

2. Create a New Project Directory

# Make your new supabase project directory
mkdir supabase-project

# Tree should look like this
# .
# ├── supabase
# └── supabase-project

3. Copy Configuration Files

# Copy the compose files over to your project
cp -rf supabase/docker/* supabase-project

# Copy the fake env vars
cp supabase/docker/.env.example supabase-project/.env

4. Navigate to Your Project Directory

# Switch to your project directory
cd supabase-project

5. Pull the Latest Docker Images

# Pull the latest images
docker compose pull

6. Start the Services

# Start the services (in detached mode)
docker compose up -d

7. Verify Running Services

After all the services have started, you can see them running in the background:

docker compose ps

Configuring the Dashboard

The Supabase Dashboard is protected with basic authentication. Follow these steps to configure it:

1. Open the ./docker/.env file in your project directory.
2. Update the following values:

   DASHBOARD_USERNAME: The default username for the Dashboard
   DASHBOARD_PASSWORD: The default password for the Dashboard
   

3. To enable all dashboard features outside of localhost, update the following value:

   SUPABASE_PUBLIC_URL: The URL or IP used to access the dashboard
   

4. Restart the services for the changes to take effect:

# Stop and remove the containers
docker compose down

# Recreate and start the containers
docker compose up -d

Be aware that restarting services will result in downtime. Simply restarting the services does not apply configuration changes.

Conclusion

You now have a fully functional Supabase setup running on Docker. With its powerful features, you can start building and scaling your applications effortlessly. For more information, visit the official Supabase documentation.