I built a self-hosted backend that works with the official Firebase SDKs

Description and use

Aruma lets you keep Firebase SDKs unchanged while hosting the backend yourself on a VPS with PostgreSQL.

Problem

Developers want to keep using Firebase SDKs but host data on their own server to avoid vendor lock‑in and unpredictable billing.

Outcome

Aruma allows existing Firebase‑SDK‑based apps to run on a self‑hosted server with PostgreSQL, preserving authentication, Realtime Database, Security Rules, Cloud Storage, and a release‑candidate Firestore implementation.

Workflow

• 1. Clone the Aruma repo and build the dashboard and dev server.
• 2. Run the server; it outputs a one‑time setup code.
• 3. Open localhost:8080, enter the code, create an account and a project.
• 4. Download the generated config file and replace the Firebase config in the client app.
• 5. The app now talks to Aruma while using the same Firebase SDKs.
• 6. Verify functionality with official Firebase test suites and real Firebase for parity.

Evidence

I didn't want emulator mode for this. Emulator mode means adding connect-to-emulator calls to your code, which is exactly the kind of change I was trying to avoid.

Source

The code in your app doesn't change: // Plain Firebase JS SDK. Nothing Aruma-specific here.

Source

Authentication, Realtime Database, Security Rules, Cloud Storage, Firestore (release candidate, more on that below)

Source

If you've thought about leaving Firebase, which service would be the one that blocks you?

Source