How to Develop a CRUD App with Vue.js?

introduction in this guide, you'll discover how to build a fully functional crud (create, read, update, delete) application using vue js we'll harness the power of back4app to handle your backend effortlessly this tutorial walks you through setting up a back4app project, crafting a dynamic data model, and implementing crud operations with vue js initially, you'll set up a back4app project named basic crud app vue , providing a robust non relational database for your app you'll design your data model by configuring collections and fields manually or by using back4app's intelligent ai agent next, you'll manage your data with the back4app admin app—a user friendly, drag and drop interface—allowing you to create, read, update, and delete records with ease finally, you'll integrate your vue js frontend with back4app via rest api calls (using axios) to execute secure and efficient crud operations by the end of this tutorial, you'll have a production ready vue js application that performs essential crud functions along with secure user authentication and data management key takeaways learn to construct a vue js based crud app backed by a scalable backend understand how to structure a flexible backend and connect it with your vue js project discover how to use back4app’s intuitive admin app for seamless crud operations explore deployment techniques, including docker containerization, for your vue js application prerequisites before you begin, make sure you have a back4app account with a new project set up need help? see getting started with back4app https //www back4app com/docs/get started/new parse app a vue js development environment use the vue cli or your favorite ide like vscode basic knowledge of vue js, modern javascript, and rest apis brush up on the vue js documentation https //vuejs org/guide/introduction html if needed step 1 – project setup creating a new back4app project log in to your back4app account click on the “new app” button from your dashboard name your project basic crud app vue and follow the prompts to complete the setup create new project after creating the project, it will appear in your dashboard, laying the foundation for your backend step 2 – designing the data model structuring your data for this crud application, you'll define multiple collections within your back4app project the examples below illustrate the core collections and their fields necessary for crud functionality 1\ items collection this collection stores details about each item field data type description id objectid automatically generated unique id title string the item's name description string a brief summary of the item createdat date timestamp of item creation updatedat date timestamp of the last update 2\ users collection this collection handles user credentials and authentication data field data type description id objectid automatically generated unique id username string unique username for the user email string unique email address passwordhash string encrypted password for login createdat date account creation timestamp updatedat date last account update timestamp you can add these collections and fields manually in the back4app dashboard create new class you can add fields by selecting the data type, providing the field name, setting a default value, and marking it as required if necessary create column utilizing the back4app ai agent for schema setup the integrated back4app ai agent can automatically generate your data schema based on your description this tool speeds up setup and ensures your model meets the crud requirements how to use the ai agent open the ai agent log in to your back4app dashboard and navigate to the ai agent in your project settings describe your data model input a detailed prompt describing the collections and fields you need review and confirm once the ai agent generates a proposed schema, review it and confirm to implement the configuration example prompt create the following collections in my back4app project 1\) collection items \ fields \ id objectid (auto generated) \ title string \ description string \ createdat date (auto generated) \ updatedat date (auto updated) 2\) collection users \ fields \ id objectid (auto generated) \ username string (unique) \ email string (unique) \ passwordhash string \ createdat date (auto generated) \ updatedat date (auto updated) this ai driven approach saves time and ensures an optimized and consistent data model step 3 – enabling the admin app & managing crud operations overview of the admin app the back4app admin app provides a no code interface for backend management with its drag and drop features, you can effortlessly perform crud operations such as creating, reading, updating, and deleting records activating the admin app go to the “more” menu in your back4app dashboard select “admin app” and click “enable admin app ” set up admin credentials by creating your first admin account this process also establishes roles (like b4aadminuser ) and system collections enable admin app after enabling, log in to the admin app to start managing your data admin app dashboard managing crud operations via the admin app inside the admin app, you can create new records click “add record” in any collection (e g , items) to insert new data edit or view records select a record to view its details or modify its fields delete records remove records that are no longer needed this interface simplifies data handling and improves the overall user experience step 4 – connecting your vue js application with back4app once your backend is ready, it's time to link your vue js app with back4app using rest api calls with axios we will use rest api calls via axios to perform crud operations install axios run the following command in your project directory npm install axios set up axios create an axios instance in a file (e g , api js ) // api js import axios from 'axios'; const apiclient = axios create({ baseurl 'https //parseapi back4app com', headers { 'x parse application id' 'your application id', 'x parse rest api key' 'your rest api key', 'content type' 'application/json' } }); export default apiclient; implement crud methods in vue components here’s an example of how to fetch and create items // itemsservice js import apiclient from ' /api'; export default { fetchitems() { return apiclient get('/classes/items') then(response => response data results) catch(error => console error('error fetching items ', error)); }, additem(title, description) { return apiclient post('/classes/items', { title, description }) then(response => response data) catch(error => console error('error adding item ', error)); }, updateitem(objectid, title, description) { return apiclient put(`/classes/items/${objectid}`, { title, description }) then(response => response data) catch(error => console error('error updating item ', error)); }, deleteitem(objectid) { return apiclient delete(`/classes/items/${objectid}`) then(response => response data) catch(error => console error('error deleting item ', error)); } }; integrate these api methods into your vue components to manage your app’s data step 5 – securing your backend configuring access control lists (acls) protect your data by setting up acls for your records for instance, to create an item that only its owner can view or modify import apiclient from ' /api'; export function createprivateitem(title, description, userid) { const acl = { " " { "read" false, "write" false }, \[userid] { "read" true, "write" true } }; return apiclient post('/classes/items', { title, description, acl acl }) then(response => response data) catch(error => console error('error creating private item ', error)); } setting class level permissions (clps) use your back4app dashboard to configure clps so that only authenticated users can access certain collections this ensures that your backend remains secure by default step 6 – implementing user authentication setting up user registration and login back4app leverages a built in users collection for authentication in your vue js app, you can manage user sign up and login using rest api calls here's how // authservice js import apiclient from ' /api'; export default { register(username, password, email) { return apiclient post('/users', { username, password, email }) then(response => response data) catch(error => console error('registration error ', error)); }, login(username, password) { return apiclient get('/login', { params { username, password } }) then(response => response data) catch(error => console error('login error ', error)); } }; this setup also allows you to handle session management, password resets, and additional authentication features step 7 – deploying your vue js application back4app simplifies the deployment process you can deploy your vue js application using various methods, including docker containerization 7 1 building your vue js application compile and bundle use the vue cli to compile your app npm run build review the build confirm that the output folder (usually dist/ ) contains all necessary files 7 2 project structure overview a common vue js project structure might look like basic crud app vue/ \| public/ \| src/ \| | components/ \| | | itemlist vue \| | | itemform vue \| | services/ \| | | api js \| | | itemsservice js \| | | authservice js \| | app vue \| | main js \| package json \| readme md 7 3 dockerizing your vue js app if you prefer containerized deployment, include a dockerfile at your project root \# use a node image for building the app from node 16 as build \# set the working directory workdir /app \# install dependencies and build the app copy package json / run npm install copy run npm run build \# use an nginx image to serve the app from nginx\ alpine copy from=build /app/dist /usr/share/nginx/html expose 80 cmd \["nginx", " g", "daemon off;"] 7 4 deploying with back4app web deployment connect your github repository ensure your vue js project is hosted on github configure deployment in the back4app dashboard, select the web deployment option, link your repository (e g , basic crud app vue ), and pick the desired branch set build commands specify your build command (e g , npm run build ) and indicate the output folder (e g , dist ) deploy click deploy and watch the logs until your app goes live step 8 – final thoughts and next steps congratulations! you've built a vue js based crud application integrated with back4app you configured a project named basic crud app vue , set up collections for items and users, and used the back4app admin app for data management additionally, you connected your vue js frontend via rest api calls and established security measures next steps expand your application incorporate features such as advanced filtering, detailed item views, or live updates enhance backend functionality explore cloud functions, integrate external apis, or implement role based access controls keep learning refer to the back4app documentation https //www back4app com/docs and additional resources to further refine your app happy coding and enjoy building your vue js crud application!