Userbase: Create secure and private web apps using only static JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

What is Userbase?

Userbase is the easiest way to add user accounts and user data persistence to your static site. All Userbase features are accessible through a very simple JavaScript SDK, directly from the browser. No backend necessary.

Built-in user accounts

Userbase takes care of your user accounts. The Userbase SDK lets you sign up, login, and logout users directly from your static site.

Zero-management database

Instead of sending database queries to a server, Userbase sends the user's data to the browser. Queries happen client-side, and there is nothing on the backend to manage or worry about.

End-to-end encryption

Userbase encrypts all database operations in the browser with user-controlled keys. This helps you prevent personal data misuse, and lets you offer a high level of data privacy.

Open source

Userbase is 100% open source, MIT licensed. You can host it yourself always under your control, or we can run it for you for a full serverless experience.

When would I use it?

If you're building a web app, you will likely need a database and a backend. Userbase can replace both of those things...

• If you want to build a web app without writing any backend code.
• If you want secure authentication out of the box.
• If you want to store user data securely.
• If you want to radically simplify your GDPR compliance.
• And if you want to keep things really simple.

Check out the FAQ for more details.

How do I start?

The easiest way to start using Userbase is to create a free Admin account and follow the Quickstart guide. If you have any questions, or if there's anything we can do to help you with your web app, please get in touch. Thank you!

Browser Compatibility

We have tested support for the following browsers:

• Chrome >= 78
• Safari >= 11
• Firefox >= 71
• Chrome Android >= 80
• Safari iOS >= 13

To support Internet Explorer, you will need to use a Promise polyfill such as this one.

Credits

The people who made this project a reality:

• Daniel Vassallo
• Justin Berman
• Luca Cipriani
• Tony D'Addeo

License

This project is released under the MIT License.

[2.8.0] - 2021-02-09

Added

• provide subscriptionPlanId in user result to init(), signIn() and updateUserHandler() callback.

[2.7.4] - 2021-02-06

Changed

• openDatabase() changeHandler param supports the usage of triggers and/or file reads when loading a database, rather than throw DatabaseNotOpen and require the developer wait until openDatabase() finishes executing before modifying the database or reading files.

[2.7.3] - 2021-01-18

Added

• Support for a new userbase-js compatible package that targets node.
• Cleaner error handling in bundle process.

Fixed

• Defensive try catches when validating items so that a malicious or buggy client can't make an honest client crash by inserting improperly encrypted items into a database.
• Signing in with a temporary password working smoothly, rather than throw ServiceUnavailable.

[2.7.2] - 2021-01-17

Fixed

• Bundling process (the process that gets triggered when a user has lots of items in a database to speed up database load time) now uploads correctly when concurrent connections attempt to bundle the same database. A race condition was introduced (now fixed) with the optimizations to the bundling process in v2.7.0.

[2.7.1] - 2021-01-13

Added

• Failsafe alerts when reading from a bundle fails unexpectedly.

Changed

• Increased allowed time until database operations timeout to increase reliability on slower internet connections.

[2.7.0] - 2020-12-30

Added

• insertItem() now accepts a writeAccess object as a parameter, allowing item creators to set access controls on items. The accepted properties to writeAccess are a boolean onlyCreator, and an array of users. onlyCreator set to true means only the item creator can update or delete the item. Users provided to the users array are the only users allowed to update or delete the item.
• updateItem() can be used to update the writeAccess set on an item, or remove it by providing a falsey value as the writeAccess param.
• putTransaction() accepts Insert and Update commands that set or modify an item's writeAccess value.
• database owners have root privilegs on all items created in a database, regardless of whatever writeAccess value is set on the item.
• signUp(), signIn(), updateUser() now accept a passwordHashAlgo as a parameter, allowing plugins to provide another hashing algorithm. Implemented with a Cordova plugin in mind.
• a webpack bundle that explicitly sets Userbase on the window object. Implemented with a Cordova plugin in mind.

Changed

• When a user inserts many items into a database, the database will now load much quicker the next time the user opens the database.

Fixed

• The DOM won't freeze when a user loads a database with many items.

[2.6.0] - 2020-12-16

Added

• shareDatabase() now returns a shareToken if no username is provided as a parameter. The shareToken can then be used by any user as a parameter to openDatabase(), insertItem(), updateItem(), deleteItem(), putTransaction(), uploadFile(), and getFile().

[2.5.0] - 2020-12-09

Added

• purchaseSubscription() now accepts priceId or planId as parameters in case admin wants to offer multiple plans for users to choose from.

[2.4.3] - 2020-12-03

Added

• Admin can now create a domain whitelist for an app in the admin panel. The SDK catches and throws clean DomainNotWhitelisted error when user attempts to use an app ID from a domain that is not on the whitelist.

[2.4.2] - 2020-12-02

Fixed

• init() now accepts a parameter allowServerSideEncryption in order for the SDK to create and interact with databases in the 'server-side' encryption mode. This prevents a dishonest server from maliciously changing an app's encryption mode to server-side, thereby causing clients to store new data in plaintext.

[2.4.1] - 2020-11-30

Changed

• modifyDatabasePermissions() now accepts self if user wants to revoke own access to database.

Fixed

• If developer provides changeHandler that throws when executed, SDK catches the error then passes to console.error and continues, rather than throw ServiceUnavailable.

[2.4.0] - 2020-11-24

Added

• Encryption modes 'end-to-end' or 'server-side' set by the admin in the Admin panel are respected by the client. Databases created in 'end-to-end' mode remain end-to-end encrypted same as before (the default behavior). Databases created in 'server-side' mode store the plaintext database encryption key on the server; these databases can be recovered if a user forgets their password and loses access to their device.
• getDatabases() returns a database's encryptionMode.
• signIn() returns a boolean changePassword if the user needs to change their password to access database and payments functions in the SDK.
• forgotPassword() accepts a new optional parameter deleteEndToEndEncryptedData to allow users of an app with encryption mode set to 'end-to-end' who forget their password and lose access to their device to regain access to their account.
• openDatabase(), insertItem(), updateItem(), putTransaction(), uploadFile(), and getFile() all take a new optional parameter encryptionMode to override an app's default behavior for a database.

Fixed

• signIn() signs in correctly when a user provides the correct password but their seed stored in browser storage is incorrect, rather than throw ServiceUnavailable.
• init() returns the lastUsedUsername when a user's seed stored in browser storage is incorrect, rather than throw ServiceUnavailable.

[2.3.0] - 2020-10-26

Added

• uploadFile() now accepts an optional progressHandler callback, which passes total bytesTransferred back to the caller every 512 KB uploaded.

Changed

• databaseName can now be up to 100 characters, rather than 50 characters.
• forgotPassword() gives a more user-friendly error message if the user attempts to call it from a device that does not have their key saved.
• signIn() gives a more user-friendly error message if the user attempts to sign in using a temporary password from a device that does not have their key saved.

Fixed

• typescript file's getDatabases() returns correct object type.

[2.2.2] - 2020-10-08

Added

• getDatabases() returns a databaseId for all databases, instead of only returning it for databases shared with the user.

Changed

• shareDatabase() and modifyDatabasePermissions() now accept a databaseId even if the user owns the database.

[2.2.1] - 2020-09-10

Fixed

• shareDatabase() UserNotVerified error message should recommend seting requireVerified to false rather than true.

[2.2.0] - 2020-09-08

Added

• openDatabase() changeHandler for newly created databases passes back attribution data on inserts, updates, and file uploads.

[2.1.3] - 2020-08-22

Fixed

• getFile() throws FileNotFound when user attempts to get a file that has been overwritten, rather than ServiceUnavailable.

[2.1.2] - 2020-08-21

Added

• getDatabases() now accepts databaseName or databaseId as a parameter to filter the result.

[2.1.1] - 2020-08-15

Fixed

• getFile() works after user has inserted many items into a database instead of throwing FileNotFound.

[2.1.0] - 2020-08-12

Note: Deprecated. Please use the latest version.

Added

• uploadFile() to enable file storage.
• getFile() to enable retrieving files.
• items inside the changeHandler() callback passed to openDatabase() provide file metadata if a file is stored on an item.
• sessionLength parameter to signUp(), signIn(), and init() allow developer to set custom session duration.
• updateUserHandler callback function as a parameter to init() allows developers to listen for changes to users in real-time.

Fixed

• deleteUser() removes user's seed from browser storage.
• updateUser() throws PasswordCannotBeBlank instead of PasswordMissing when currentPassword or newPassword is empty string.

[2.0.1] - 2020-07-02

Fixed

• signUp(), signIn(), and init() working in Firefox.

[2.0.0] - 2020-06-23

Note: Deprecated. Please use the latest version.

Added

• shareDatabase() to enable database sharing between users.
• modifyDatabasePermissions() for access control to databases shared between users.
• getVerificationMessage() and verifyUser() to enable users to prevent man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks when sharing databases.
• getDatabases() now returns the databaseId of databases shared with the user, database metadata, as well as the users who have access to the database.
• openDatabase(), insertItem(), updateItem(), deleteItem(), and putTransaction() accept a databaseId as a parameter in place of a databaseName for databases the user has received access to from other users.

[1.4.1] - 2020-05-20

Changed

• init() now returns immediately if the user's session has expired rather than make a request to the Userbase server to find out it has expired.

[1.4.0] - 2020-05-04

Added

• purchaseSubscription(), cancelSubscription(), resumeSubscription(), and updatePaymentMethod() functions to enable developers to accept subscription payments from their users.
• getDatabases() enables developers to get all of a user's databases.
• signUp(), signIn(), and init() return paymentsMode, the app's payments mode set by the admin, creationDate, the date the user was created, and trialExpirationDate, the date the user's trial expires.
• signIn() and init() return subscriptionStatus, the user's subscription status, and cancelSubscriptionAt, the date the user's subscription is set to be canceled.

Fixed

• Network errors throw ServiceUnavailable instead of never returning.

Changed

• openDatabase() now requires the user to pay for a subscription to an app that has payments enabled in the admin panel.

[1.3.0] - 2020-04-02

Added

• signUp(), signIn(), and init() return the user’s authToken which can be passed to a 3rd party server to verify the user is signed in to Userbase via the Admin API.
• browser compatibility list included in README along with a polyfill recommendation for Internet Explorer.

Fixed

• init() throws WebCryptoUnavailable if the Web Crypto API is not available instead of ServiceUnavailable.

Changed

• signIn() throws UserPendingDeletion if user tries to sign in while the user is pending deletion instead of UsernameOrPasswordMismatch.
• Axios dependency replaced by native XMLHttpRequest.
• Internal usage of .includes() replaced with .indexOf() !== -1 to support wider number of browsers without need for polyfill.

Removed

• Babel runtime corejs3 dependency.
• ProfileKeyMustBeString error from signUp() and updateUser() since javascript automatically converts keys object keys to strings anyway.

[1.2.0] - 2020-02-29

Added

• signIn() and init() return the user’s protectedProfile which can be set via the Admin API server-side.

[1.1.2] - 2020-02-23

Fixed

• window variable is no longer referenced in global scope so the client can be built server-side via Gatsby.

[1.1.1] - 2020-02-18

Changed

• insertItem(), updateItem(), and putTransaction() now only throw ItemMissing if an item param is not explicitly provided.
• insertItem(), updateItem(), and putTransaction() with an item set to undefined (or any other data type that cannot be serialized to JSON via JSON.stringify) now throw ItemInvalid instead of throwing ItemMissing.

Fixed

• signIn() with a username that includes a "+" character now works instead of throwing UsernameOrPasswordMismatch.
• insertItem(), updateItem(), and putTransaction() with an item set to false, null, 0, or a 0 length string now work instead of throwing ItemMissing.
• DatabaseNameTooLong and ItemIdTooLong error messages are now more accurate.
• OperationsExceedLimit now throws error status 400 (Bad Request) instead of 409 (conflict).

[1.1.0] - 2020-02-10

Added

• forgotPassword() enables users to have a temporary password sent to their email. They can use it to sign in from a device they've signed in from before with rememberMe set to 'local' and change their password.
• signIn() returns usedTempPassword boolean.
• SDK functions throw "Missing" error when a required parameter is left off the params object.

[1.0.1] - 2020-01-31

Added

• signUp(), signIn(), and init() return the user's userId.
• SDK functions throw TooManyRequests error when rate limit is reached.
• console.error() verbose output to the dev console on unknown errors.

Changed

• if session or local storage are unavailable, fallback to memory storage (same behavior as rememberMe = 'none') rather than throw ServiceUnavailable.

Fixed

• 0 length profile object values now throw ProfileValueCannotBeBlank instead of ServiceUnavailable.
• falsey profile object values (null, undefined, 0, or false) now throw ProvileValueMustBeString.