How to a Basic CRUD App with Alpine.js?

overview in this guide, you'll learn to construct a crud (create, read, update, delete) application using alpine js this tutorial walks you through the core operations needed to manage data dynamically, leveraging back4app as your robust backend service we’ll begin by setting up a new back4app project dubbed basic crud app alpinejs this project will serve as your backend for managing data after initializing your project, you'll design a flexible database schema by defining collections and fields—either manually or with the help of the back4app ai agent this step ensures your backend is structured for reliable crud operations next, you will use the back4app admin app, a user friendly drag and drop tool, to administer your collections effortlessly this interface streamlines data management tasks finally, you will connect your alpine js frontend to back4app using rest or graphql apis, and secure your backend with robust access controls by the conclusion of this tutorial, you'll have a production ready web app that supports basic crud operations along with user authentication and secure data updates what you will learn how to construct crud applications with an efficient backend service methods for designing a scalable data model and linking it to an alpine js frontend tips on using a drag and drop admin tool for managing collections strategies for deploying your application using containerization and web deployment techniques prerequisites before diving in, make sure you have a back4app account with a new project ready refer to getting started with back4app https //www back4app com/docs/get started/new parse app for help an alpine js development environment include alpine js via cdn or npm as per your project setup familiarity with javascript, alpine js, and rest api principles consult the alpine js documentation https //alpinejs dev/start for more details step 1 – initiating your project setting up a new back4app project log into your back4app dashboard click on the “new app” button provide the project name basic crud app alpinejs and follow the prompts create new project after creation, your project appears on the dashboard, ready for backend configuration step 2 – crafting your database schema mapping out your data model for our crud app, you’ll set up a couple of key collections below are sample collections with fields and data types to guide your schema setup these collections facilitate essential crud actions 1\ items collection this collection holds details for each item field type purpose id objectid auto generated primary identifier title string name or title of the item description string brief summary about the item created at date timestamp for item creation updated at date timestamp for last update 2\ users collection this collection stores user credentials and details field type purpose id objectid auto generated primary identifier username string unique user identifier email string user’s unique email address password hash string securely stored hashed password created at date account creation timestamp updated at date timestamp for the last account update you can manually create these collections in the back4app dashboard by adding a new class for each and defining the columns accordingly create new class you can set fields by selecting a type, naming them, adding default values, and marking them as required create column leveraging the back4app ai agent for schema creation the back4app ai agent helps automate schema generation it creates your collections based on a prompt describing your desired fields how to use the ai agent open the ai agent from your back4app dashboard input a detailed description of the collections and fields needed review the suggested schema and apply it to your project sample prompt create the following collections 1\) collection items \ fields \ id objectid (auto generated) \ title string \ description string \ created at date (auto generated) \ updated at date (auto updated) 2\) collection users \ fields \ id objectid (auto generated) \ username string (unique) \ email string (unique) \ password hash string \ created at date (auto generated) \ updated at date (auto updated) this tool saves time and ensures a consistent, optimized schema step 3 – activating the admin interface & crud features introducing the admin app the back4app admin app offers a no code interface for managing your backend data its drag and drop features make crud tasks simple and efficient how to enable the admin app go to the “more” section in your back4app dashboard select admin app and then click enable admin app set up your first admin credentials to configure roles and system collections enable admin app once activated, sign in to the admin app to manage your data admin app dashboard performing crud actions with the admin app inside the admin app, you can create records click the “add record” button in a collection like items read and update records select a record to view details or make edits delete records remove unwanted entries using the delete function this interface simplifies data management with an intuitive drag and drop design step 4 – connecting alpine js to back4app with your backend ready, it's time to link your alpine js frontend to back4app using rest/graphql apis you'll use rest or graphql to interact with your backend example fetching items via rest // sample rest api call using fetch async function loaditems() { try { const response = await fetch('https //parseapi back4app com/classes/items', { headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key' } }); const data = await response json(); console log('items loaded ', data results); } catch (error) { console error('error loading items ', error); } } loaditems(); integrate these api calls within your alpine js components to perform crud operations step 5 – protecting your backend setting up access control lists (acls) secure your data by applying acls to your records for instance, to create a private item async function addprivateitem(data, owner) { const itemdata = { title data title, description data description }; // define acl settings only the owner has read/write privileges const aclsettings = { " " { "read" false, "write" false }, \[owner] { "read" true, "write" true } }; try { const response = await fetch('https //parseapi back4app com/classes/items', { method 'post', headers { 'content type' 'application/json', 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key' }, body json stringify({ itemdata, acl aclsettings }) }); const result = await response json(); console log('private item added ', result); } catch (error) { console error('error adding private item ', error); } } configuring class level permissions (clps) within the back4app dashboard, set clps for each collection to enforce default access policies, ensuring only authorized users can access sensitive data step 6 – implementing user authentication creating user accounts back4app utilizes parse’s user class for managing authentication in your alpine js project, handle user registration and login via api calls example user signup with alpine js sign up a similar method can be implemented for user login and session handling step 7 – deploying your alpine js frontend with web deployment back4app’s web deployment feature lets you host your alpine js frontend easily in this segment, you will prepare your production build, commit your code to github, connect your repository to web deployment, and launch your app 7 1 build your production assets open your project directory in a terminal run your build command (if using a build process for alpine js) npm run build this generates a folder (typically dist or build ) with optimized static files confirm that your build folder contains an index html along with the necessary assets 7 2 organize and upload your source files your github repository should hold all the source files for your alpine js project a common structure might be basic crud app alpinejs frontend/ ├── node modules/ ├── public/ │ └── index html ├── src/ │ ├── main js │ └── components/ │ ├── itemslist js │ └── auth js ├── package json └── readme md sample file src/main js document addeventlistener('alpine\ init', () => { alpine data('itemsapp', () => ({ items \[], newitemtitle '', newitemdescription '', async loaditems() { try { const response = await fetch('https //parseapi back4app com/classes/items', { headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key' } }); const data = await response json(); this items = data results; } catch (error) { console error('failed to load items ', error); } }, async additem() { const payload = { title this newitemtitle, description this newitemdescription }; try { await fetch('https //parseapi back4app com/classes/items', { method 'post', headers { 'content type' 'application/json', 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key' }, body json stringify(payload) }); this newitemtitle = ''; this newitemdescription = ''; this loaditems(); } catch (error) { console error('error adding item ', error); } } })); }); committing your code to github initialize a git repository in your project folder git init stage your files git add commit your changes git commit m "initial commit of alpine js frontend" create a new repository on github (e g , basic crud app alpinejs frontend ) push your code git remote add origin https //github com/your username/basic crud app alpinejs frontend git git push u origin main 7 3 linking your github repository to web deployment sign in to your back4app dashboard and select your project ( basic crud app alpinejs ) open the web deployment section connect your github account and choose your repository and branch containing your alpine js code 7 4 configuring the deployment settings build command if your project lacks a pre built folder, specify a command (e g , npm run build ) output directory set it to the folder with your static files (e g , build or dist ) environment variables add any needed variables such as api keys 7 5 dockerizing your alpine js application (optional) if you wish to deploy using docker, include a dockerfile like \# use an official node image for building from node 16 alpine as build \# set working directory workdir /app \# copy dependency files and install copy package json / run npm install \# copy source and build app copy run npm run build \# use nginx to serve the static files from nginx\ stable alpine copy from=build /app/build /usr/share/nginx/html expose 80 cmd \["nginx", " g", "daemon off;"] select the docker option in your web deployment configuration if desired 7 6 launching your application click the deploy button in back4app monitor the deployment process as back4app pulls your code, builds it, and deploys it once deployed, you will receive a url where your alpine js application is hosted 7 7 testing your deployment visit the provided url in your browser verify that your app loads correctly, routes function as expected, and assets are served properly troubleshoot any issues by checking browser console logs and back4app deployment logs step 8 – final thoughts and future enhancements congratulations! you have built a complete crud application using alpine js and back4app you set up the basic crud app alpinejs project, created detailed database collections, and utilized a no code admin tool for data management additionally, you connected your alpine js frontend to your backend using rest apis and ensured secure data handling next steps enhance your ui expand your alpine js components with advanced features like detailed item views or real time updates add more functionality explore incorporating additional backend logic, third party apis, or complex access controls further learning visit the back4app documentation https //www back4app com/docs and additional resources to deepen your understanding of advanced integrations happy coding and enjoy building your next project!