The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

Supabase is all in on Postgres (Interview)

Jan 25, 2022

Paul Copplestone, CEO of Supabase, dives into the exciting developments in the Postgres world. He reveals how Supabase has skyrocketed to over 80,000 databases while still in beta, positioning it as a strong open-source alternative to Firebase. The conversation touches on the balance between innovation and profitability in open-source projects, navigating challenges in serverless environments, and enhancing real-time applications with Postgres features. Copplestone emphasizes community engagement as essential for growth and adaptability in the tech landscape.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Accidental Tagline Success

Supabase's "open-source Firebase alternative" tagline, though potentially limiting, propelled them to Hacker News' top spot.
This accidental success stemmed from the open-source nature, Postgres database, and developer sentiment towards Firebase.

INSIGHT

Postgres Power, No Magic

Supabase centers around a full Postgres database, emphasizing tooling and ease of use.
It prioritizes no magic abstractions, offering a transparent, understandable platform.

ADVICE

Open Source Advantage

Make core offerings open-source to foster community growth and engagement.
Leverage the open-source nature of Postgres to enhance the attractiveness of the platform.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

This week Paul Copplestone, CEO of Supabase joined us to catch us up on the next big thing happening in the world of Postgres. Supabase might be best known as “the open source Firebase alternative,” a tagline they might be reluctant to maintain. But from Adam’s perspective, he’s never been more excited about what they’re bringing to market for Postgres fans. In the last year, Supabase has gone from 0 to more than 80,000 databases on their platform — and they’re still in beta…and it’s open source. Hopefully today’s show sheds some light on why everyone is talking about Supabase.

Join the discussion

Changelog++ members save 5 minutes on this episode because they made the ads disappear. Join today!

Sponsors:

Sentry – Working code means happy customers. That’s exactly why teams choose Sentry. From error tracking to performance monitoring, Sentry helps teams see what actually matters, resolve problems quicker, and learn continuously about their applications - from the frontend to the backend. Use the code CHANGELOG and get the team plan free for three months.
FireHydrant – The reliability platform for every developer. Incidents impact everyone, not just SREs. FireHydrant gives teams the tools to maintain service catalogs, respond to incidents, communicate through status pages, and learn with retrospectives. Try FireHydrant free for 14 days at firehydrant.io
Subspace – Network-as-a-Service that helps developers accelerate real-time applications for hundreds of millions of users worldwide. When every millisecond counts, Subspace gives you the fastest, most reliable network to route your traffic through. And it all works via a global IP proxy that sets up using a simple API. Learn more and get started for free at subspace.com/changelog
MongoDB – An integrated suite of cloud database and services — They have a FREE forever tier, so you can prove to yourself and to your team that they have everything you need. Check it out today at mongodb.com/changelog

Featuring:

Paul Copplestone – Website, GitHub, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!