Introducing Amplication — the open-source development tool

Create server‑side applications, without coding

In many projects we find ourselves spending lots of time working on repetitive server-side tasks that don’t add any actual value to the project. Many frameworks and libraries offer huge progress in that area, but still, we find ourselves struggling with boilerplate code over and over again.

It’s been some time now that the buzzword of “low code” is floating around, in the context of tools that are designed to solve these problems of repetitive server-side tasks and boilerplate code.

There are some great tools out there, ranging from No-Code solutions such as Airtable and bubble.io to Low-Code services targeted for developers such as Firebase and Appwrite. The differences are in the trade-off between the simplicity of getting the desired result and the level of freedom and control developers have when coding.

What is Amplication?

Amplication is an open-source development tool. It helps develop quality Node.js applications without spending time on repetitive coding tasks.

With Amplication, you can develop a fully functional back-end application within minutes. You just need to define your data models, roles, and permissions, and Amplication will generate a TypeScript Node.js application with everything you need already baked in: fully functional REST API for all your data models, authentication, role-based authorization, logging, and even an admin UI.

Developers can download the generated source code and start utilizing their skill set and freely customize their application.

So how does it really work?

As a free, open-source project, Amplication offers developers immediate access to a free and full-featured account to start developing their next Node.JS application. of course, developers can also freely download the project source code and run their own local Amplication server.

With professional developers in mind, we created a beautiful UI with a straightforward flow to define your data models and permission schema. Packed with all the shortcuts we love, and the version control methodologies we know, developers need only a few clicks to get a production-ready app.

Amplication offers the following building blocks:

Data Model (Entities)

The data model is where all the information about your application is stored. You can easily add new entities to describe your application and the data it manages. Each entity has a set of fields and properties, and you set its relation to other entities.

Roles

Roles define functions in your applications like an administrator, a branch manager, or a customer support specialist. Each role has a collection of permissions that describes the data it can access and actions it can perform. Users can easily be assigned to multiple roles in your application.

When creating entities, you should specify which roles can perform actions (Create, View, Update, Delete, and Search) on the entity or any of its fields. These permissions will be automatically enforced throughout your application without further ado.

REST API

Once you created the entities and roles, a full-featured RESTful API is automatically created for you. You can easily access the API and start using your application with any standard technology and from any client application.

Admin UI

The Admin UI provides the easiest way to create a basic UI for your application. Select the entity you want to use and the properties you want to include, and everything else is automatically generated for you. All permissions defined on the entity are automatically enforced and only users with roles with appropriate privileges can access the pages. This feature is a work in progress and will be available in a few weeks.

Deploy & Publish

Amplication’s cloud service makes it easy to deploy your application on the cloud with one click.

Deploy and start working with your application immediately.

Code Generation

Your entire application is automatically generated as human-readable and human-editable code. A Docker container with Node.js code and PostgreSQL DB is available at your disposal. Use the code anyway and anywhere you like.

Version Control

Amplication provides built-in version control for everything you do. Easily make changes and publish a new version or rollback to a previous version.

Own Your Application and Data

You always own your application and data, so you can choose how to deploy them and where you want to work on them. Host your application on Amplication Cloud, or on your private cloud, or even on-premises.

No Lock-in

You can always choose to eject from the Amplication environment and keep the development of your application going with classic code skills. Our generated code is human-readable and human-editable with industry standards and best practices. You’ll love it!

Try it now

You can start using Amplication by visiting our website at https://amplication.com/

Join the community

Join us in building the next generation of development tools by visiting our community page https://amplication.com/community or our repo on GitHub https://github.com/amplication/amplication