Yes—you can build a React CRUD app without running your own application server. A managed backend service can provide the database and client-facing API that your browser calls for reads and writes. You still have backend infrastructure; you are choosing not to operate a custom API server for ordinary data operations.
This guide uses Supabase with React and Vite. Its publishable key is meant to be visible in the frontend, so security must come from server-enforced access rules—not from hiding the key or hiding buttons in the interface.
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What “without a backend” means
A React app can call a managed service directly through its client SDK. The service still runs the database and API and enforces access to the data. What you skip is a custom application server—such as an Express API—that would otherwise sit between the browser and database for routine CRUD operations. Supabase documents a React client pathway to its Postgres-backed Data API; Appwrite also documents React integration and permissions. Supabase’s React quickstart and Appwrite’s React quickstart show the respective setup approaches.
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1. Create the project and install the SDK
Start a Vite React app and add the Supabase JavaScript client:
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npm create vite@latest my-app -- --template react
cd my-app
npm install @supabase/supabase-jsThese are the commands in Supabase’s React quickstart. Follow the current quickstart for the project-specific setup steps and interface labels, which can change over time. Supabase React quickstart
2. Configure the client-facing project values
Put your Supabase project URL and publishable key in the frontend build environment, then initialize @supabase/supabase-js once in a client or helper module. Import that shared client wherever your components or data hooks need to read or write records. Use the environment-variable naming and client initialization shown in the current quickstart for your Vite setup.
The URL and publishable key identify the project and let the app make client requests; they do not authorize every action. A visitor can inspect values included in a frontend build. Supabase describes the publishable key as appropriate for frontend use when exposed tables have Row Level Security (RLS) enabled and policies grant least privilege. Supabase API key guidance
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Define the table for the records your app needs, then configure database privileges, enable RLS, and create policies for the intended roles and operations. Policies are the boundary that decides which rows a client can access. Do not rely on React to enforce access: a user can modify browser code or call the API without using your interface.
The Supabase quickstart’s sample instrument table includes a public-read policy as a demonstration. That policy is specific to its example and should not be copied for private or user-owned data. For private records, design policies around the intended identity and ownership rules, then verify that unauthorized reads and writes are rejected. Quickstart sample · Supabase RLS documentation
4. Implement create, read, update, and delete
Call the shared SDK client from React event handlers or data hooks. Keep the UI honest about the result of each request: show loading while work is in progress, an error if the service rejects it, an empty state when no records are available, and success feedback after a completed mutation.
- Create: submit validated form values and show the new record after the service accepts the insert.
- Read: fetch the rows the current user is permitted to see and render an empty state if there are none.
- Update: send changes for the intended record and handle permission or validation failures.
- Delete: request removal and update the UI only after a successful response.
Client-side validation improves usability, but it is not a security or integrity boundary. Enforce important constraints in the database and access policies as well.
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5. Add authentication when records belong to users
If the app needs accounts, add authentication and scope database policies to the authenticated user rather than treating all visitors as one public role. Supabase’s user-management tutorial combines Postgres and RLS with Auth and Storage; its authentication quickstart demonstrates validating a local JWT with getClaims before showing signed-in state. Supabase React user-management tutorial · Supabase auth quickstart
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6. Deploy and check real access behavior
Deploy the frontend and configure its environment variables in the hosting platform. Then test the deployed app with the roles and records it will actually use. A tutorial policy that works for sample data is not proof that user ownership, updates, or deletes are properly restricted in your app. Supabase recommends configuring deployment credentials as environment variables and reviewing RLS policies. Supabase React quickstart
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep privileged credentials out of React
A publishable key is designed to be exposed in a client app; it is not a password and should not be treated as one. Supabase’s security documentation says, “Never expose your service role or secret keys on the frontend”. Those privileged keys bypass RLS, so use them only in a trusted server-side environment. Supabase API key guidance
Do not put a service-role or secret key in a Vite environment variable that is bundled into browser code. A variable’s name or location in a local file does not make it secret after it is included in the build. If an operation genuinely requires a privileged secret or trusted business logic that should not run on a client, use an appropriate server-side function or backend for that operation.
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When to choose Supabase or Appwrite
There is no universal winner established by the setup documentation: choose based on the app’s data model, permissions, and required capabilities. Supabase’s documented React path is a natural fit to consider for relational data and SQL through Postgres and RLS. Appwrite’s React quickstart and security documentation describe its SDK integration and resource permissions. Supabase React quickstart · Appwrite React quickstart · Appwrite permissions
Quick Recap
- Compare how each service’s data model fits the records and relationships in your app.
- Check whether its access rules can express user ownership and roles you need.
- Account for any need for authentication, file storage, realtime updates, or server functions.
- Consider the vendor-specific SDK and deployment setup your team is prepared to maintain.
- Identify operations that require trusted server-side code for secrets or business rules.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming the public key is the security layer: it is visible by design. Secure access with RLS and appropriately scoped policies.
- Leaving exposed tables without RLS policies: configure and test the intended access before relying on the client API.
- Copying a tutorial’s public-read policy for private data: permissions must reflect your own users, records, and roles.
- Hiding controls instead of restricting records: UI changes do not prevent direct API requests.
- Bundling a privileged key: service-role and secret keys bypass RLS and belong only in a trusted server-side environment.
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