// the find
parse-community/parse-server
Parse Server for Node.js / Express
Parse Server is a self-hosted BaaS (Backend as a Service) that gives you a REST and GraphQL API, user auth, file storage, push notifications, and Cloud Code — all backed by MongoDB or PostgreSQL. It's the open-source continuation of Parse.com after Facebook shut it down in 2017. Aimed at teams that want Firebase-like ergonomics without the vendor lock-in.
Active maintenance with a clear LTS policy and compatibility matrix for Node.js, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL versions. The adapter pattern is genuinely useful — swapping file storage from GridFS to S3, or auth providers, is configuration not code. Cloud Code lets you run server-side logic without deploying a separate service, which eliminates a whole category of backend boilerplate. The new `routeAllowList` feature is a solid addition for locking down the REST API when all your logic lives in Cloud Code.
The master key model is a footgun: one leaked credential bypasses all ACL and CLP security across your entire backend, and there's no built-in secret rotation or scoping. PostgreSQL support has always been second-class — the Mongo storage adapter gets features first, and Postgres historically lags by at least one major version cycle. GraphQL schema generation is automatic from your data model, which sounds convenient until you need to customize it and discover the customization surface is narrow and poorly documented. The JavaScript codebase is large and aging — Flow types, no TypeScript, and a test suite that spins up real servers per spec file, making local development slow.