Open-Source Databases · CloudBoost

cloudboost

CloudBoost is a self-hosted Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform offering data storage, realtime capabilities, search, and user authentication. It requires manual deployment and management of MongoDB and Redis dependencies, with a Docker option for easier setup.

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Source: GitHub — github.com/CloudBoost/cloudboost

1.5k

GitHub stars

153

Forks

JavaScript

Primary language

Apache-2.0

License (OSI-approved)

Key facts

Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.

Field	Value
Repository	CloudBoost/cloudboost
Owner	CloudBoost
Primary language	JavaScript
License	Apache-2.0 — OSI-approved
Stars	1.5k
Forks	153
Open issues	448
Latest release	2.0.994 (2019-12-08)
Last updated	2026-02-16
Source	https://github.com/CloudBoost/cloudboost

What cloudboost is

Node.js-based BaaS running on MongoDB 3.4+ and Redis 3.0+, exposing REST APIs and JavaScript SDKs for CRUD operations, realtime updates, and search. Stateless server design allows horizontal scaling via Docker Compose, but operators bear full responsibility for database replication, sharding, and backups.

Quickstart

Get the cloudboost source

Clone the repository and explore it locally.

terminalbash

1git clone https://github.com/CloudBoost/cloudboost.git2cd cloudboost3# follow the project's README for install & configuration

Need it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.

Best use cases

Internal tools and prototypes with realtime features

Teams wanting rapid backend scaffolding without external SaaS dependency lock-in. Realtime capabilities suit dashboards, collaboration features, and live notifications.

Self-hosted multi-tenant SaaS backends

Organizations requiring complete data ownership and control over infrastructure. ACL and user authentication features support multi-tenant isolation on private infrastructure.

Development and staging environments

Docker-based deployment simplifies non-production environment spin-up. Developers can replicate production infrastructure locally or on test clusters.

Implementation considerations

Requires MongoDB 3.4+ and Redis 3.0+ pre-installed; Docker Compose deployment recommended to reduce setup friction.
SMTP/Mailgun integration needed for email features; requires external API key and configuration before startup.
Manual HTTPS setup via certificate files; no automatic TLS management documented.
Secure Key and Cluster Key printed to console on first run—must be captured and stored securely; no documented key rotation process.
Horizontal scaling requires container orchestration and external load balancer; no built-in consensus or distributed locking described for multi-instance deployments.

When to avoid it — and what to weigh

Production use without ops/SRE capacity — README explicitly states operators must manage MongoDB replication, sharding, backups, and monitoring. Requires DevOps expertise; not suitable if your team lacks database administration skills.
Need for vendor stability and long-term support — Last release was 2019-12-08; repo shows recent pushes but no versioned releases in 6+ years. Unclear if maintainers provide security patches or long-term support commitments.
Regulated industries (healthcare, finance, PCI-DSS) — No mention of compliance certifications, audit trails, or security assessments in README. Security posture is undocumented; self-hosting shifts all compliance burden to you.
High-scale distributed systems expecting SaaS reliability — You assume operational burden of 24/7 uptime, auto-scaling, and incident response. Managed service exists but is separate; open-source version offers no SLA.

License & commercial use

Licensed under Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0), a permissive OSI license permitting commercial use, modification, and distribution under the same terms.

Apache 2.0 explicitly allows commercial use without royalties or per-seat licensing. However, no warranty is provided by the licensor. For production commercial deployments, verify that dependencies (MongoDB, Redis) and any third-party integrations (Mailgun) comply with your commercial use model. Consider commercial indemnification insurance if compliance risk is high.

DEV.co evaluation signals

Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.

Signal	Assessment
Maintenance	Moderate
Documentation	Adequate
License clarity	Clear
Deployment complexity	High
DEV.co fit	Possible
Assessment confidence	Medium

Security considerations

No documented security audit, penetration test results, or vulnerability disclosure process. Secure Key and Cluster Key are printed to stdout—requires secure capture and rotation (mechanism not described). HTTPS is optional, not enforced. SMTP credentials stored in plaintext config file. ACLs are mentioned but validation logic not detailed. Self-hosting shifts all responsibility for secrets management, network isolation, and monitoring to operators. Authentication mechanism and session handling not detailed in README.

Alternatives to consider

Firebase / Google Cloud Platform

Managed BaaS with global replication, strong security, compliance certifications, and no operational overhead. Vendor lock-in and data residency constraints differ from self-hosted.

Parse Server (self-hosted)

Open-source BaaS similar to CloudBoost, actively maintained, used by large deployments. Requires same operational overhead but community is larger and more recent release cadence.

Supabase

Open-source Firebase alternative with PostgreSQL backend, strong TypeScript support, and active maintenance. Can be self-hosted or used as managed service; better documentation and modern dev tooling.

Software development agency

Build on cloudboost with DEV.co software developers

Review the deployment and operational requirements with your DevOps team. If you lack in-house infrastructure expertise, consider the managed service or alternative BaaS platforms. For proof-of-concept work, Docker Compose setup takes hours.

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cloudboost FAQ

Can I use CloudBoost for production?

Yes, but only if your team has DevOps/SRE capacity to manage MongoDB replication, Redis persistence, backups, monitoring, and auto-scaling. The README recommends the managed service (cloudboost.io) for production apps due to operational complexity of self-hosted deployments.

What are the database requirements?

MongoDB 3.4+ and Redis 3.0+ are required. Docker Compose simplifies setup for dev/test; production deployments typically use managed MongoDB (Atlas) and Redis (e.g., AWS ElastiCache or Redis Cloud).

Is the project still maintained?

Unclear. Repository shows recent activity but the last versioned release is from December 2019. 448 open issues remain. Check GitHub issue activity and Slack community for current status before committing to production.

How is security handled?

No formal security audit or compliance certifications documented. ACL and user authentication are provided, but implementation details are not in the README. HTTPS is optional, and secrets (Secure Key, SMTP credentials) require manual management. Self-hosting places full security responsibility on operators.

Work with a software development agency

DEV.co is a software development agency delivering custom software development services to companies building on open source. Our software developers and web developers design, integrate, and ship production systems — spanning web development, APIs, AI, data, and cloud. If cloudboost is part of your open-source databases roadmap, our team can implement, customize, migrate, and maintain it.

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