What is Keel?

Keel is a backend for your apps that runs on a computer you own: a home server, a NAS, a mini PC or a Raspberry Pi. It gives every app a Postgres database with an instant API, user accounts, file storage, realtime updates and edge functions, plus a dashboard called Studio to manage it all.

Keel speaks the same HTTP and WebSocket APIs as Supabase. That means you build your app with the regular, open-source @supabase/supabase-js client (or the Supabase clients for Flutter, Swift and Kotlin) and point it at your own server:

import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'

const keel = createClient('http://localhost:8000/my-app', 'YOUR_ANON_KEY')

const { data, error } = await keel.from('recipes').select('title, author:profiles(display_name)')

Keel is independent software. It doesn't use Supabase's servers or code, and it never contacts Supabase unless you use the importer to move a project over.

What you get

Database	Postgres 17 with pgvector and PostGIS. One database per project, with a REST API generated from your tables (PostgREST). Row level security decides who sees what.
Auth	Email and password, magic links and one-time codes, SMS, GitHub, Google, Discord, GitLab, Microsoft and your own OpenID Connect provider, anonymous users, two-factor authentication, an admin API.
Storage	Public and private buckets, signed URLs, resumable uploads, on-the-fly image resizing, access rules in SQL.
Realtime	Database change streams, broadcast and presence over WebSockets, private channels.
Edge functions	TypeScript functions on Deno with secrets, logs and a test runner.
Jobs and webhooks	Scheduled jobs with cron.schedule, and HTTP requests and database webhooks from SQL, with the same functions as Supabase.
Studio	A web dashboard for all of the above, plus container logs, accounts with two-factor sign-in, and backups.
Backups	Nightly backups of every project, and encrypted full backups of the whole server copied to an S3-compatible bucket.
Projects	Run many apps side by side. Each has its own database, keys, users and files.

How it fits together

   your apps (web, mobile, scripts)              you, in a browser
                │                                       │
         :8000  ▼                                :3000  ▼
       ┌──────────────┐                         ┌──────────────┐
       │   gateway    │                         │    Studio    │
       └──────┬───────┘                         └──────────────┘
  /<project>/rest · auth · storage · realtime · functions
              ▼
     REST · Auth · Storage · Realtime · Functions
              ▼
       Postgres 17 (one database per project)

Every app talks to one address, the gateway on port 8000, under its project's path: http://<server>:8000/<project>. The core concepts page explains projects, keys and row level security, which are worth five minutes before you build.

When to use Keel

Keel is a good fit when you want:

• Your data at home. Family apps, side projects, internal tools, home automation, learning projects.
• No usage bills or limits beyond your own hardware.
• The Supabase developer experience without an account or an internet connection.
• A way off Supabase for a project, with the same client code.

It's not trying to be a hosting company: there's one server, no automatic scaling and no global edge network. For most personal and small-team apps, that's plenty.

Next steps

QuickstartRun Keel with Docker and make your first query in ten minutes.Choose a platformLinux, Windows, macOS, ZimaOS, Unraid, TrueNAS SCALE, Synology or a Raspberry Pi.Coming from SupabaseWhat stays the same, what's different, and how to move a project.Core conceptsProjects, API keys and row level security.