How to Build a CRUD App with SvelteKit? A Comprehensive Tutorial

overview in this guide, you'll create a simple crud (create, read, update, delete) application using sveltekit we will demonstrate how to perform standard data operations and manage your web app's backend with back4app the tutorial begins with setting up a back4app project titled basic crud app sveltekit , which serves as your robust backend you'll then design an adaptable database schema by manually creating collections and fields, or by leveraging the back4app ai agent this ensures that your data model is optimized for efficient crud operations next, you will use the back4app admin app—a no code, drag and drop tool—to manage your collections, streamlining your data management process finally, you'll integrate your sveltekit frontend with back4app using rest apis advanced security measures, such as access controls, will also be configured to safeguard your backend by the conclusion of this tutorial, you'll have a production ready web application that supports crud operations along with user authentication and dynamic data updates main points master the creation of crud applications that effectively handle data with a dependable backend understand how to structure a scalable database and connect it with a sveltekit frontend learn how to utilize a visual admin tool (back4app admin app) to perform data operations seamlessly explore deployment strategies, including docker containerization, to quickly launch your application prerequisites before you start, ensure 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 guidance a sveltekit development environment install sveltekit following the official documentation https //kit svelte dev/docs a basic grasp of javascript, sveltekit, and rest apis check out the sveltekit documentation https //kit svelte dev/docs for more details step 1 – project initialization setting up a new back4app project log into your back4app dashboard click the “new app” button on your dashboard input the project name basic crud app sveltekit and follow the on screen prompts to create your project create new project after creation, your new project appears on your dashboard, providing a stable platform for backend configuration step 2 – crafting the database schema formulating your data model for our crud app, we need to create multiple collections here are examples outlining the required collections and their fields to set up your database schema for performing crud operations 1\ items collection this collection holds details about each item field data type description id objectid auto generated primary key title string item's title description string brief overview of the item created at date timestamp when the item was created updated at date timestamp for the latest update 2\ users collection this collection stores user credentials and profile details field data type description id objectid auto generated primary key username string unique identifier for the user email string unique user email address password hash string encrypted password for authentication created at date account creation timestamp updated at date timestamp for the latest profile update you can manually create these collections in the back4app dashboard by establishing a new class for each and adding the respective columns create new class define each field by selecting the appropriate data type, naming it, setting default values, and marking it as required if necessary create column automating schema creation with the back4app ai agent the back4app ai agent simplifies the schema setup process directly from your dashboard by inputting a prompt that describes your collections and fields, you can automatically generate your database structure how to use the ai agent access the ai agent open your back4app dashboard and navigate to the ai agent within your project settings describe your model paste a detailed prompt outlining the collections and fields you require review and confirm after submission, review the generated collections and field definitions, then apply them to your project sample prompt create the following collections in my back4app project 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 approach saves time and ensures your schema is both consistent and optimized step 3 – activating the admin app & executing crud operations introducing the admin app the back4app admin app offers a visual interface to manage your backend effortlessly with its drag and drop features, performing crud operations becomes straightforward activating the admin app go to the “more” section in your back4app dashboard select “admin app” then click “enable admin app ” set up admin credentials create an initial admin user to establish roles (e g , b4aadminuser ) and system collections enable admin app after activation, sign into the admin app to begin managing your data admin app dashboard managing crud operations with the admin app inside the admin app you can add records click the “add record” button in any collection (e g , items) to create new entries view and edit records select a record to see its details or modify its fields remove records use the delete option to eliminate entries that are no longer required this intuitive interface streamlines your data management process significantly step 4 – connecting sveltekit with back4app with your backend configured via the admin app, it's time to link your sveltekit frontend to back4app leveraging rest apis in sveltekit you will perform crud operations using rest api calls fetching data example create a sveltekit endpoint or component that retrieves items from back4app \<! src/routes/items svelte > \<script> import { onmount } from 'svelte'; let items = \[]; const loaditems = async () => { 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(); items = data results; } catch (error) { console error('failed to fetch items ', error); } }; onmount(loaditems); \</script> \<h2>items\</h2> \<ul> {#each items as item (item objectid)} \<li>{item title} – {item description}\</li> {/each} \</ul> integrate similar api calls within your sveltekit components for create, update, and delete operations step 5 – securing your backend configuring access control lists (acls) protect your data by setting acls for each object for instance, to create a private item async function createprivateitem(itemdata, ownerid) { const response = await fetch('https //parseapi back4app com/classes/items', { method 'post', headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key', 'content type' 'application/json' }, body json stringify({ title itemdata title, description itemdata description, acl { \[ownerid] { read true, write true }, " " { read false, write false } } }) }); const result = await response json(); console log('created private item ', result); } setting class level permissions (clps) in the back4app dashboard, configure clps for each collection so that only authorized users can access sensitive data step 6 – implementing user authentication managing user accounts back4app employs parse’s user class for authentication in your sveltekit app, set up registration and login forms that interact with back4app via rest api calls example user registration \<! src/routes/signup svelte > \<script> let username = ''; let email = ''; let password = ''; const handlesignup = async () => { try { const response = await fetch('https //parseapi back4app com/users', { method 'post', headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key', 'content type' 'application/json' }, body json stringify({ username, email, password }) }); const data = await response json(); if (data objectid) { alert('registration successful!'); } else { alert('sign up failed ' + data error); } } catch (error) { console error('error during sign up ', error); } }; \</script> \<form on\ submit|preventdefault={handlesignup}> \<input type="text" placeholder="username" bind\ value={username} /> \<input type="email" placeholder="email" bind\ value={email} /> \<input type="password" placeholder="password" bind\ value={password} /> \<button type="submit">register\</button> \</form> a similar method can be implemented for user login and session management step 7 – deploying your sveltekit frontend back4app’s web deployment feature enables you to host your sveltekit frontend by linking it to a github repository this section covers how to build your production files, push your source code, and deploy your site 7 1 creating a production build open your terminal in the project directory run the build command npm run build this generates a build (or output ) folder with optimized static assets verify the build ensure the build folder contains an index html and all necessary asset directories 7 2 structuring and uploading your code your repository should have the complete sveltekit source code a typical structure might be basic crud app sveltekit/ ├── node modules/ ├── static/ │ └── global css ├── src/ │ ├── routes/ │ │ ├── items svelte │ │ └── signup svelte │ └── lib/ │ └── api js ├── package json └── readme md sample api file src/lib/api js export const fetchitems = async () => { const res = 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 res json(); return data results; }; committing to github initialize git (if not done) git init add your files git add commit your changes git commit m "initial commit for sveltekit frontend" create a github repository name it, for example, basic crud app sveltekit push your code git remote add origin https //github com/your username/basic crud app sveltekit git git push u origin main 7 3 linking your github repo with web deployment open web deployment log into back4app, navigate to your project (basic crud app sveltekit), and select the web deployment option connect to github follow the prompts to link your github account so that back4app can access your repository choose your repository and branch select your sveltekit repo (e g , basic crud app sveltekit ) and the branch containing your code (usually main ) 7 4 setting up your deployment provide these additional settings build command if there’s no pre built folder, set the command (e g , npm run build ) output directory specify the folder (typically build or output ) that holds your static files environment variables add any necessary variables such as api keys 7 5 dockerizing your sveltekit application if docker is your deployment choice, include a dockerfile in your repository \# use a node image for building the app from node 16 alpine as build \# set working directory workdir /app \# copy package files and install dependencies copy package json / run npm install \# copy the entire source code and build the app copy run npm run build \# use nginx to serve the built files from nginx\ stable alpine copy from=build /app/build /usr/share/nginx/html expose 80 cmd \["nginx", " g", "daemon off;"] configure web deployment to use docker if preferred 7 6 deploying your application click the deploy button once configuration is complete, hit the deploy button monitor deployment back4app will retrieve your code, execute the build, and deploy your app in a container get your url upon successful deployment, back4app provides a url for your hosted sveltekit app 7 7 validating your deployment visit the url open the provided url in your browser test functionality confirm that your app loads correctly, routes work, and all assets are properly served debug if needed use browser developer tools to inspect errors, and review back4app logs for troubleshooting step 8 – wrap up and future directions kudos on building a complete crud application with sveltekit and back4app! you set up a project called basic crud app sveltekit , crafted detailed collections for items and users, and managed your backend via the admin app additionally, you integrated your sveltekit frontend through rest apis and applied stringent access controls future enhancements expand your frontend enhance your sveltekit app with detailed views, search capabilities, and real time notifications add advanced features implement server side logic (e g , cloud functions), integrate third party apis, or enable role based permissions deepen your knowledge visit the back4app documentation https //www back4app com/docs and explore more tutorials for performance improvements and custom integrations this tutorial has equipped you with the skills needed to create a scalable crud backend for your sveltekit application using back4app enjoy coding and happy building!