Parse provides an open source backend and SDKs for mobile and desktop applications. Tag any questions with the `parse` tag. The hosted Parse service has been discontinued in favor of the open source Parse Server self-hosted backend. Questions asking for alternative solutions are OFF-TOPIC.
Parse provides an open source backend for powering end-user applications. Parse Server is built on Node.js and uses MongoDB. In terms of clients, Parse supports a number of different platforms, including iOS (7.0+), OS X (10.9+), Android (API level 9+), Unity 5, and Windows (8+), as well as web applications. SDKs are available for a number of these platforms.
End of service
The hosted Parse backend service has been discontinued and will be available until January 28, 2017. A database migration tool and a migration guide has been provided to assist with the migration of hosted apps to the new open source Parse Server.
A comprehensive list of Parse alternatives is available here.
Features
- Data persistence
- Push notifications (iOS, OS X, Android)
- Social integration
- Cloud code execution
Getting Started
The fastest and easiest way to get started is to run MongoDB and Parse Server locally:
$ npm install -g parse-server mongodb-runner
$ mongodb-runner start
$ parse-server --appId APPLICATION_ID --masterKey MASTER_KEY
You can use any arbitrary string as your application id and master key. These will be used by your clients to authenticate with the Parse Server.
That's it! You are now running a standalone version of Parse Server on your machine.
Getting help with Parse Server
Questions about hosting your own Parse Server backend should be tagged using parse.
Questions regarding the Parse SDKs are off topic, but answerable code-level questions specific to Parse can be asked on Stack Overflow using the parse.com tag.
If you are having trouble migrating your hosted Parse app and your issue is not covered in the migration guide, please file a bug report with detailed information directly with Parse.
