Our main goal while redesigning the Appwrite console was to improve the user experience in line with the needs and requirements of developers looking for a BaaS (Backend as a Service) solution. While keeping our core values such as simplicity and consistency in mind, we attempted to understand the essential problems developers faced in the previous version of the console.
With the collaboration of our developer community, we gathered feedback and prioritised a few updates to the storage screens.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the changes we made.
Home screen details
Overwhelmingly, our research found that users wanted to see more information about their storage buckets at a glance — in particular, the bucket’s current status. The previous version of this screen showed a list of buckets but provided only the bucket name. Users would need to navigate to the bucket settings screen to see the information they wanted.
The revamped bucket details card, following our new design system, now displays a couple extra details: whether the bucket is currently disabled, or if encryption or antivirus features have been enabled. The bucket details card also allows users to click and copy their bucket ID.
Uploading Files
We updated the file upload functionality to enable drag-and-drop for an effortless uploading process. Files being uploaded have also been made more visible so that users can check their status in a window that persists across the console until closed by the user.
Updating file extensions
Previously, users could update the list of allowed file extensions in a bucket by manually typing them into an input field. Placeholder text within the field provided some suggested extensions, but our users found the manual process to be tedious. To alleviate some of this frustration, we inserted a set of tags with the most common extensions below the input field so users would have the option to click and add extensions.
New permissions
Permissions can be complicated, we know! That is why we designed a simpler way to manage them in the Appwrite console. Now you can switch a toggle to enable or disable File Security. If security is enabled, you can update your permissions at the file level. If security is disabled, you can update your permissions at the bucket level.
These permissions can be granted to anyone, all guests, all users, or to specific users or teams. We’ve even added a setting that enables developers to create custom permissions. Easy, right?
What’s next?
We may have overhauled our console design, but we are far from finished. Design is an iterative process, after all. We are working on further improvements to the storage screens such as enabling the sorting and filtering of files, file search by ID or URL, and the addition of more file details (for instance, the user ID of who uploaded a file outside of the console).
Thank you for being a part of our journey as we strive to create the best developer experience. We hope you enjoy these changes to the Appwrite console. As always, we’re more than happy to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment, reach out on Discord, or create a GitHub discussion.
Check out our release on 🚀 Product Hunt or our 💻 GitHub repository.
Until next time!
