1backend: Open Source Build & Deployment

What is 1backend?

What it is

1Backend is an AI-native, self-hosted microservices platform written in Go and released under AGPL-3.0. It lives in the ecosystem of Docker-based backend frameworks, PaaS-style platforms, on-premise AI tooling, and distributed applications that combine microservices with microfrontends.

It solves the problem of early infrastructure overhead for distributed applications by providing a framework, proxy, and runtime that handles authentication, user accounts, microservice routing, microfrontend routing, and email. It can run and program large language models inside containers, and it is multitenant, so one install can host multiple applications or sites.

Key capabilities

Provides built-in authentication and user-account management for services and applications, with language-agnostic Register and Login endpoints and a Go SDK boot.RegisterServiceAccount helper.
Registers service instances through the RegistrySvcAPI.RegisterInstance endpoint or the Go SDK, so each microservice can publish its URL to the 1Backend server.
Routes calls to registered microservices through the platform server under each service slug, such as http://127.0.0.1:11337/your-svc/your-endpoint.
Manages microfrontends for React, Vue, Angular, and similar applications, routing requests to deployed frontends based on saved route targets.
Supports automatic SSL through the Proxy Svc and edge proxy mode, allowing routed domains to be served over HTTPS.

Who uses it and how

Teams building on-premise or self-hosted AI applications can use 1Backend as a backend framework and runtime for services that need user accounts, credentials, and service discovery.
Developers can start with docker compose up in the repository root, then register a service account, register an instance URL, and call the service through the local 1Backend server at port 11337.
Frontend teams can deploy React, Vue, Angular, or other microfrontends and use oo route save to point a domain to a local frontend URL.

Getting started

The easiest launch method is to install Docker, enter the repository root, and run docker compose up. The oo CLI can be installed with go install github.com/1backend/1backend/cli/oo@latest, and other server launch methods are documented on the Running the server page.

When to use it — and when not to

Choose 1Backend when you want a self-hosted, multitenant Go platform that combines microservice registration, microfrontend routing, authentication, email, proxying, and container-based large language model execution. Avoid it if you do not want to operate your own server or if you require a mature v1.x platform, because the README identifies version v0.9.2 and directs you to operate the server yourself with Docker, the oo CLI, route commands, and proxy or SSL settings. The Go service-account example uses a database handle, so self-hosters should expect persistence for credentials, even though development can use its own ORM without a database.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

1Backend

AI-native microservices platform. v0.9.2.

1backend.com

"Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art."
— Claude Debussy

Overview

1Backend is a full-stack platform for the AI era. It lets you build distributed applications fast, without early infrastructure overhead. It’s a framework, proxy, and runtime that handles auth, user accounts, microservice and microfrontend routing, email, and more.

It can run and program LLMs inside containers. Zero-trust, zero-config, with its own ORM for development even without a database.

It’s multitenant—host multiple apps or sites on one install. In essence, a distributed operating system for your applications.

Launching the server

Easiest way to run 1Backend is with Docker. Install Docker if you don't have it. Step into repo root and:

docker compose up

Also see this page for other ways to launch 1Backend.

Build and use your first service in 3 steps

Check out the examples folder or the relevant documentation to learn how to easily build testable, scalable microservices on 1Backend.

Here are the conceptual steps though to illustrate how simple is a 1Backend service:

Step 1: Register the user account of your service

Each service - just like humans - must have their account and manage their own credentials. Just like humans, they must remember their passwords :)).

Language-agnostic

See the Register and Login endpoints.

Go SDK example

import (
  "github.com/1backend/1backend/sdk/go/boot"
  "github.com/1backend/1backend/sdk/go/client"
)

oneBackendClient  := client.NewApiClientFactory(service.Options.ServerUrl).Client()
token, err := boot.RegisterServiceAccount(
		oneBackendClient .UserSvcAPI,
		"your-svc", // Account slug
		"Your Service", // Display name
		credentialStore, // This is just a DB handle
	)

Step 2: Register your service instance address

Language-agnostic

Call the RegisterInstance endpoint directly from any programming language.

Go SDK example

import (
  "github.com/1backend/1backend/sdk/go/client"
)

oneBackendClient := client.NewApiClientFactory(service.Options.ServerUrl).Client()

oneBackendClient.RegistrySvcAPI.
		RegisterInstance(context.Background()).
		Body(openapi.RegistrySvcRegisterInstanceRequest{
			Url: "https://your-service-url",
		}).Execute()

Step 3: Call your service through the 1Backend server

All services registered will be available under their slug:

curl http://127.0.0.1:11337/your-svc/your-endpoint`.

Bonus step: deploy a microfrontend

1Backend doesn't just manage microservices, it also manages microfrontends. You can deploy a React/Vue/Angular/etc. apps as microfrontends and 1Backend will route requests to them based on routes:

oo route save --id=yourdomain.com --target=http://your-network-local-frontend-url

Automatic SSL is supported out of the box, see the Proxy Svc documentation and the edge proxy mode.

CLI

Install oo to get started (at the moment you need Go to install it):

go install github.com/1backend/1backend/cli/oo@latest

$ oo env ls
ENV NAME   SELECTED   URL                           DESCRIPTION   REACHABLE
local      *          http://127.0.0.1:11337                      true

$ oo login 1backend changeme

$ oo whoami
slug: 1backend
id: usr_e9WSQYiJc9
app:
  id: app_hRKWXZzK6P
  host: unnamed
roles:
- user-svc:user
- user-svc:admin

Run On Your Servers

See the Running the daemon page to help you get started.

Services

For articles about the built-in services see the Built-in services page. For comprehensive API docs see the 1Backend API page.

Run On Your Laptop/PC

We have temporarily discontinued the distribution of the desktop version. Please refer to this page for alternative methods to run the software.

License

1Backend is licensed under AGPL-3.0.

Frequently asked questions

Is 1backend free to use?

1backend is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does 1backend do?

Build AI (or any) apps with scalable microservices & microfrontends.

What is 1backend written in?

1backend is primarily written in Go. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/1backend/1backend, and it has 2,346 GitHub stars.