rPocketBase

Overview

rPocketBase is a clean-room reimplementation of a PocketBase-style backend-as-a-service, written in Rust. It ships as a single self-hosted binary with an embedded SQLite database, a REST API, password auth with JWT, file storage, realtime updates over SSE, and an admin dashboard at /_/.

It’s an honest MVP: the goal is PocketBase-shaped HTTP so familiar patterns feel at home (/api/collections/.../records, auth-with-password, expand, filters) — not 1:1 SDK, OAuth, or batch parity. rPocketBase is independent of PocketBase, developed clean-room, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the PocketBase authors.

Why We Built It

We wanted a PocketBase-like API in a memory-safe Rust binary — no GC runtime, easy to ship as a LAN or appliance-style deployment — with a few capabilities treated as first-class from day one rather than bolted on later:

• Sealed secret fields instead of “store the API token in a text column.”
• TTL / expiry behaviors at the collection level, not just app-side filtering.
• Machine API keys that are explicitly not superusers.
• An ops-oriented admin with backups, storage inventory, and schema export/import.

The result is a smaller, readable surface that’s easy to fork, embed, or run as an internal tool.

Key Features

Collections & Rules Base, auth, and view collections with PocketBase-style rule semantics — null for superuser-only, "" for any authenticated user, or a full expression — plus @request.* macros, filters, and nested relation expand.

Secret Fields A first-class secret field type backed by AES-GCM envelopes and a reveal API, so sensitive values are never sitting in plain text.

Behavior Packs Collection-level TTL / expiry, unique-key, and ordered behaviors, alongside autodate and multi-select fields.

Machine API Keys Non-superuser keys scoped to collection allowlists and then evaluated against your normal CRUD rules — safe access for services and automations.

Files & Realtime Multipart uploads served from /api/files/..., relation expand, and realtime change events over SSE at /api/realtime, with a live badge in the admin UI.

Ops-Ready Admin A dashboard at /_/ for the schema editor, guided rules, export/import, storage inventory, a metrics checklist, and full pb_data zip backups — plus a CLI and a first-run superuser installer that keeps the API locked until setup.

Getting Started

1. Build the release binary (cargo build --release) or run the published Docker image.
2. Start the server with rpocketbase serve — the admin UI comes up at http://127.0.0.1:8090/_/.
3. Create your superuser on first run; the API stays locked until setup is complete.
4. Define collections, fields, and rules in the dashboard — or import a schema JSON.
5. Point your app at the REST API and subscribe to realtime SSE.

Open Source

rPocketBase is Rinse Repeat Labs’ first open-source project — released under the MIT license, clean-room, and independent of PocketBase. We’re finishing a security and documentation pass before opening the repository, after which the source will live at github.com/RinseRepeatLabs/rPocketBase.

Public release coming soon — it’ll be free to self-host, fork, and build on.