Appwrite Development
Critical Rules
- Use TablesDB API — Collections API deprecated 1.8.0
- Use
ID.unique()for all IDs — Row IDs (rowId:) + entity IDs in columns. Custom gen w/ names/timestamps overflow column limits, leak data. ~20-char hex client-side. - Use Query.select() — Relationships return IDs only without
- Use cursor pagination — Offset degrades on large tables
- Use Operator for counters — Avoids race conditions
- Create indexes — Queries without scan entire tables
- Init outside handler — SDK/connections persist between warm invocations
- Group functions by domain — One per domain, not per op
- Event triggers over polling — One trigger replaces thousands of requests
- Use explicit string types —
stringdeprecated; usevarcharortext/mediumtext/longtext - Use
appwrite generate— Type-safe SDK from schema - Use Channel helpers — Type-safe realtime subs, not raw strings
- Use Realtime queries — Server-side event filtering, not client-side
Terminology (1.8.0+)
| Old | New |
|---|---|
| Collections | Tables |
| Documents | Rows |
| Attributes | Columns |
| Databases | TablesDB |
Setup
import 'package:dart_appwrite/dart_appwrite.dart';
final client = Client()
.setEndpoint('https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1')
.setProject('<PROJECT_ID>')
.setKey('<API_KEY>');
final tablesDB = TablesDB(client);from appwrite.client import Client
from appwrite.services.tables_db import TablesDB
client = Client()
client.set_endpoint('https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1')
client.set_project('<PROJECT_ID>')
client.set_key('<API_KEY>')
tables_db = TablesDB(client)import { Client, TablesDB } from 'node-appwrite';
const client = new Client()
.setEndpoint('https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1')
.setProject('<PROJECT_ID>')
.setKey('<API_KEY>');
const tablesDB = new TablesDB(client);TablesDB CRUD
// Create
await tablesDB.createRow(databaseId: 'db', tableId: 'users', rowId: ID.unique(),
data: {'name': 'Alice'});
// Read
final rows = await tablesDB.listRows(databaseId: 'db', tableId: 'users',
queries: [Query.equal('status', 'active'), Query.select(['name', 'email'])]);
// Update
await tablesDB.updateRow(databaseId: 'db', tableId: 'users', rowId: 'user_123',
data: {'status': 'inactive'});
// Upsert
await tablesDB.upsertRow(databaseId: 'db', tableId: 'settings', rowId: 'prefs',
data: {'theme': 'dark'});
// Delete
await tablesDB.deleteRow(databaseId: 'db', tableId: 'users', rowId: 'user_123');Bulk: bulk-operations.md | Chunked ID queries: chunked-queries.md
Query Reference
Comparison: equal | notEqual | lessThan | lessThanEqual | greaterThan | greaterThanEqual | between | notBetween String: startsWith | endsWith | contains | search (+ not variants) Null: isNull | isNotNull · Logical: and([...]) | or([...]) Pagination: select | limit | cursorAfter | cursorBefore | orderAsc | orderDesc | orderRandom Timestamp: createdAfter | createdBefore | updatedAfter | updatedBefore Spatial: distanceEqual | distanceLessThan | distanceGreaterThan | intersects | overlaps | touches | crosses (+ not variants)
All prefixed Query.. Details: query-optimization.md
Operators (Atomic Updates)
data: {
'likes': Operator.increment(1),
'tags': Operator.arrayAppend(['trending']),
'updatedAt': Operator.dateSetNow(),
}Numeric: increment | decrement | multiply | divide Array: arrayAppend | arrayPrepend | arrayRemove | arrayUnique | arrayIntersect | arrayDiff Other: toggle | stringConcat | stringReplace | dateAddDays | dateSetNow
Details: atomic-operators.md
Column Types
| Type | Max Chars | Indexing | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
varchar | 16,383 | Full (if size < 768) | Queryable short strings |
text | 16,383 | Prefix only | Descriptions, notes |
mediumtext | 4,194,303 | Prefix only | Articles |
longtext | 1,073,741,823 | Prefix only | Large documents |
stringdeprecated. Usevarcharfor queryable,textfor non-indexed.
Other: integer | float | boolean | datetime | email | url | ip | enum | relationship | point | line | polygon
Details: schema-management.md
Performance
| Rule | Impact |
|---|---|
| Cursor pagination | 10-100x faster than offset |
| Pagination mixin (Dart) | ~50 lines saved per datasource |
Query.select() | 12-18x faster for relationships |
total: false | Eliminates COUNT scan |
| Indexes | 100x faster on large tables |
| Operators | No race conditions |
| Bulk operations | N → 1 request |
| Delta sync | Fetches only changed rows |
Details: performance.md, pagination-performance.md
Type-Safe SDK Generation
appwrite generateGen typed helpers into generated/appwrite/ from DB schema. Autocomplete, compile-time validation, no hand-written types. Regen after schema change. CLI flow: login -> init project -> pull -> generate -> push. Details: appwrite-cli
Authentication
Email/password, OAuth (50+ providers), phone, magic link, anon, email OTP, custom token. MFA w/ TOTP, email, phone, recovery codes. SSR session handling. JWT for functions. SSR: cookie a_session_<PROJECT_ID>. Use admin client to create session, session client per request to read user context.
Details: authentication.md | auth-methods.md
Storage
Upload, download, preview w/ transforms (resize, format conversion), file tokens for shareable URLs. HEIC, AVIF, WebP supported.
Details: storage-files.md
Realtime
final sub = realtime.subscribe(['databases.db.tables.posts.rows']);
sub.stream.listen((e) => print(e.events));Channels: account | databases.<DB>.tables.<TABLE>.rows | buckets.<BUCKET>.files
Channel helpers (preferred): Channel class for type-safe subs w/ IDE autocomplete:
import { Client, Realtime, Channel, Query } from "appwrite";
const sub = await realtime.subscribe(
Channel.tablesdb('<DB>').table('<TABLE>').row(),
response => console.log(response.payload),
[Query.equal('status', ['active'])] // server-side filtering
);Details: realtime.md
Functions
Init SDK outside handler. Group by domain. Event triggers, not polling.
Details: functions.md | functions-advanced.md
Transactions
final tx = await tablesDB.createTransaction(ttl: 300);
await tablesDB.createRow(..., transactionId: tx.$id);
await tablesDB.updateTransaction(transactionId: tx.$id, commit: true);Details: transactions.md
Relationships
await tablesDB.listRows(databaseId: 'db', tableId: 'posts',
queries: [Query.equal('author.country', 'US'), Query.select(['title', 'author.name'])]);Types: oneToOne | oneToMany | manyToOne | manyToMany
Details: relationships.md
Permissions
permissions: [
Permission.read(Role.any()),
Permission.update(Role.user(userId)),
Permission.delete(Role.team('admin')),
Permission.create(Role.label('premium')),
]Default: deny all unless row/file perms set or inherited from table/bucket. Use row/file perms for per-resource ACL. If all resources share rules, set table/bucket perms and leave row/file perms empty. write = create + update + delete Avoid: missing perms = lockout; Role.any() + write/update/delete = public mutation; Permission.read(Role.any()) on sensitive data = public leak. Roles: any() | guests() | users() | user(id) | team(id) | team(id, role) | label(name) Details: permissions | teams | storage-files
Limits
Default page: 25 · Bulk: 1000 rows · Query.equal(): 100 values · Nesting: 3 levels · Queries/req: 100 · Timeout: 15s
Error Codes
400 Bad request · 401 Unauthorized · 403 Forbidden · 404 Not found · 409 Conflict · 429 Rate limited (client SDKs only) Catch AppwriteException. 429 -> exponential backoff.
Details: error-handling.md
Anti-Patterns
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| N+1 queries | Query.select(['col', 'relation.col']) | Kills extra round-trips |
| Read-modify-write | Operator.increment() | Race condition |
| Large offsets | Query.cursorAfter(id) | O(n) vs O(1) |
| Skip totals | total: false | Kills COUNT scan |
| Missing indexes | Create for queried columns | Queries scan entire table |
| SDK init inside handler | Init outside for warm reuse | Repeated setup each call |
| Hardcoded secrets | Env vars | Security risk |
| Polling | Realtime or event triggers | Wasted executions |
| Client-side filtering | Realtime queries | Server does work |
| Raw channel strings | Channel helpers | Typos, no autocomplete |
ColumnString | ColumnVarchar or ColumnText | string deprecated |
| Hand-writing types | appwrite generate | Schema drift, no autocomplete |
databases.listDocuments() | tablesDB.listRows() | Deprecated API |
| Custom ID generators | ID.unique() | Overflow risk, info leakage |
| Full re-fetch every sync | Query.updatedAfter() + per-table timestamps | Wastes bandwidth, slow |
Loop w/ createRow() | createRows() bulk | N requests vs 1 |
Cost Optimization
Query.select()— cuts bandwidth- Cursor pagination +
total: false— fastest queries - Realtime over polling — one connection vs repeated calls
- Batch ops — 1 execution vs N
- WebP quality 80 — smallest files, universal support
- Init outside handler — fewer cold starts
- Budget cap — Organization → Billing → Budget cap
Details: cost-optimization.md
Reference Files
Data: schema-management · query-optimization · atomic-operators · relationships · transactions · bulk-operations · chunked-queries Performance: performance · pagination-performance · cost-optimization Auth: authentication · auth-methods · permissions · teams Services: storage-files · functions · functions-advanced · realtime · messaging · webhooks · avatars · graphql · locale Tooling: appwrite-cli Platform: error-handling · limits · health · self-hosting · self-hosting-ops
Resources
Docs: https://appwrite.io/docs · API: https://appwrite.io/docs/references · SDKs: https://github.com/appwrite