September 2022 Summaries

Nhost has introduced Nhost Logs, a new feature aimed at enhancing the debugging and observability capabilities for developers, marking the culmination of their Launch Week. This feature integrates logging into the Nhost dashboard, providing developers with a streamlined method for debugging by allowing them to extract, enrich, and store application logs using Grafana Loki and Promtail on Kubernetes. The logs explorer offers tools for fetching, filtering, and subscribing to logs in real-time, enabling developers to effectively monitor and resolve issues without relying on direct support from Nhost's engineers. The system utilizes technologies such as GraphQL and Go to create a user-friendly API for querying logs, and future enhancements are planned to provide even more granular control and observability features, including metrics and traces, to improve overall project runtime visibility.

Nhost has introduced WebAuthn as a new sign-in method, enabling users to authenticate using biometric data such as fingerprints or facial recognition, similar to how they unlock their phones. This advancement addresses the limitations of traditional password-based authentication, which is often insecure and cumbersome for users. WebAuthn, part of the FIDO2 project developed by the FIDO Alliance and W3C, offers a more secure and user-friendly alternative and is widely adopted by major tech companies like Google and Microsoft. At Nhost, users can sign up or sign in using security keys instead of passwords, enhancing both security and user experience. The implementation involves enabling security keys in project settings and using Nhost's JavaScript SDK or React hooks for integration. WebAuthn also supports multiple security keys per user, allowing flexibility in authentication. This feature was added to Nhost following community contributions, particularly by external contributor Asen Lekov, demonstrating the collaborative nature of open-source development. WebAuthn can also facilitate a "usernameless" mode, potentially eliminating the need for email input during authentication, and further enhancements for Vue3 composables are planned.

Nhost has launched an open-source Stripe GraphQL API, enabling users to query data from both their database and Stripe account in a single GraphQL query. Built using the npm package @nhost/stripe-graphql-js, this unofficial API can be hosted with a Serverless Function and integrated into a Hasura Remote Schema, simplifying the process of combining data from Postgres and Stripe. The API addresses the challenge of fetching data from multiple sources by allowing developers to create a unified data query experience, known as Data Federation, and supports GraphQL object types like Customers, Payment Methods, and Subscriptions. By using the Pothos GraphQL Schema builder and GraphQL Yoga server, the API offers a robust framework for managing permissions and integrating Stripe functionalities into SaaS applications. This innovation provides an alternative to traditional methods like webhooks or direct REST API access, reducing data redundancy and enhancing developer efficiency. The project is open-source and welcomes contributions on GitHub to further expand its capabilities.

Nhost has introduced a new Database UI within its dashboard to enhance the management of Postgres and Hasura GraphQL Engine, addressing user experience and performance issues encountered with the Hasura Console. This UI enables users to manage tables, columns, data, and foreign keys efficiently, featuring inline editing and a familiar workflow for foreign key management. The design process involved extensive user feedback and iterations, utilizing tools like Figma for collaboration. The development incorporated Base UI for accessibility and TanStack Table for customizable data grids, while TanStack Query was employed to manage SQL queries efficiently. The Database UI aims to consolidate backend management for better developer experience and is part of Nhost's ongoing efforts to build a unified design system, with future plans to integrate additional features and open-source the dashboard.

Nhost's launch week introduces a significant advancement by offering dedicated Postgres instances with root access for all new projects, marking a shift from their previous Amazon RDS setup. This change addresses issues like resource contention and performance degradation due to the noisy neighbor effect, which were prevalent in the multi-tenant RDS environment. By moving to Kubernetes, Nhost enhances flexibility and scalability, allowing projects to adapt to varying loads and ensuring high availability. The transition to Kubernetes, informed by industry insights and internal testing, enables users to connect directly to their databases, install necessary extensions, and scale resources as needed. This new setup promises improved stability and performance, with future possibilities for additional features like read replicas and multi-region deployments, while maintaining a focus on simplifying the infrastructure and operational aspects for users.

Nhost is taking a different approach this month by hosting its first Launch Week instead of the usual monthly blog post with product and community updates. This event is scheduled from Monday, September 26, 2022, to Friday, September 30, 2022, during which Nhost plans to unveil a significant update each day. While specific details of the updates remain under wraps, they promise to introduce game-changing features, some of which have been long-requested by the community and others that have been in development for months. To stay informed, interested parties are encouraged to visit the Nhost Launch Week page or follow their Twitter account for real-time updates. The text also invites the community to support Nhost's open-source efforts by starring their repository on GitHub.