What is Hook used for?

Hook is a RESTful, extendable Backend as a Service written in PHP, with multitenancy, user authentication, data collections and real-time messaging. It is a good fit for backend for mobile and web prototypes, and game backends with Unity3D.

Yes. Hook is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at doubleleft/hook and is written mainly in PHP.

Yes. Hook is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Hook?

Yes. Hook can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Hook an alternative to?

Hook is an open-source alternative to Firebase, Back4App and Backendless. Other open-source alternatives to Firebase include Supabase, PocketBase and Appwrite.

Is Hook actively maintained?

The most recent commit to Hook was on 19 March 2017, and the latest release is v0.4.0, published on 19 July 2015. The project has 771 stars on GitHub.

Hook: open-source alternative to Firebase, Back4App

About Hook

Hook is a Backend as a Service built in PHP that provides a ready-made backend so sites and apps can be developed faster. It exposes a REST API and comes with client libraries so front-end developers can integrate without writing server code.

Features include multitenancy so one instance can serve many apps, user authentication with registration, login and password reset, data persistence through collections, data storage through multiple providers, real-time communication through the WAMP subprotocol over WebSockets, and package management through Composer. A command-line tool creates applications and prints the access keys used by front ends.

Client SDKs are listed for JavaScript, C and Unity3D, Corona SDK, iOS and OS X, Java and Android, C++, PHP, Ruby and Flash ActionScript 3. Hook requires PHP 5.5 or newer, or PHP 5.3 in some setups, and is MIT licensed. The latest release listed is v0.4.0.

Key features

Multitenant backend for many apps
User registration, login and password reset
Data collections via REST API
Real-time messaging over WebSockets
Client SDKs for web, mobile and game engines
Command-line app creation

Good fit for

→Backend for mobile and web prototypes
→Game backends with Unity3D

Built with: PHP
Tags: baas; backend-as-a-service; php; rest-api; websockets; multitenancy; authentication; composer

Hook: questions and answers

What is Hook used for?: Hook is a RESTful, extendable Backend as a Service written in PHP, with multitenancy, user authentication, data collections and real-time messaging. It is a good fit for backend for mobile and web prototypes, and game backends with Unity3D.
Is Hook open source?: Yes. Hook is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at doubleleft/hook and is written mainly in PHP.
Is Hook free?: Yes. Hook is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Hook?: Yes. Hook can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Hook an alternative to?: Hook is an open-source alternative to Firebase, Back4App and Backendless. Other open-source alternatives to Firebase include Supabase, PocketBase and Appwrite.
Is Hook actively maintained?: The most recent commit to Hook was on 19 March 2017, and the latest release is v0.4.0, published on 19 July 2015. The project has 771 stars on GitHub.