Parse Server is an [open source version of the Parse backend](http://blog.parse.com/announcements/introducing-parse-server-and-the-database-migration-tool/) that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js.
April 2016 - We created a series of video screencasts, please check them out here: [http://blog.parse.com/learn/parse-server-video-series-april-2016/](http://blog.parse.com/learn/parse-server-video-series-april-2016/)
**Using a remote MongoDB?** Pass the `--databaseURI DATABASE_URI` parameter when starting `parse-server`. Learn more about configuring Parse Server [here](#configuration). For a full list of available options, run `parse-server --help`.
Now that you're running Parse Server, it is time to save your first object. We'll use the [REST API](https://parse.com/docs/rest/guide), but you can easily do the same using any of the [Parse SDKs](https://parseplatform.github.io/#sdks). Run the following:
Keeping tracks of individual object ids is not ideal, however. In most cases you will want to run a query over the collection, like so:
```
$ curl -X GET \
-H "X-Parse-Application-Id: APPLICATION_ID" \
http://localhost:1337/parse/classes/GameScore
```
```json
// The response will provide all the matching objects within the `results` array:
{
"results": [
{
"objectId": "2ntvSpRGIK",
"score": 1337,
"playerName": "Sean Plott",
"cheatMode": false,
"updatedAt": "2016-03-11T23:51:48.050Z",
"createdAt": "2016-03-11T23:51:48.050Z"
}
]
}
```
To learn more about using saving and querying objects on Parse Server, check out the [Parse documentation](https://parse.com/docs).
### Connect your app to Parse Server
Parse provides SDKs for all the major platforms. Refer to the Parse Server guide to [learn how to connect your app to Parse Server](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki/Parse-Server-Guide#using-parse-sdks-with-parse-server).
## Running Parse Server elsewhere
Once you have a better understanding of how the project works, please refer to the [Parse Server wiki](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki) for in-depth guides to deploy Parse Server to major infrastructure providers. Read on to learn more about additional ways of running Parse Server.
We have provided a basic [Node.js application](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server-example) that uses the Parse Server module on Express and can be easily deployed to various infrastructure providers:
The full documentation for Parse Server is available in the [wiki](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki). The [Parse Server guide](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki/Parse-Server-Guide) is a good place to get started. If you're interested in developing for Parse Server, the [Development guide](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki/Development-Guide) will help you get set up.
The hosted version of Parse will be fully retired on January 28th, 2017. If you are planning to migrate an app, you need to begin work as soon as possible. There are a few areas where Parse Server does not provide compatibility with the hosted version of Parse. Learn more in the [Migration guide](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki/Migrating-an-Existing-Parse-App).
Parse Server can be configured using the following options. You may pass these as parameters when running a standalone `parse-server`, or by loading a configuration file in JSON format using `parse-server path/to/configuration.json`. If you're using Parse Server on Express, you may also pass these to the `ParseServer` object as options.
*`appId`**(required)** - The application id to host with this server instance. You can use any arbitrary string. For migrated apps, this should match your hosted Parse app.
*`masterKey`**(required)** - The master key to use for overriding ACL security. You can use any arbitrary string. Keep it secret! For migrated apps, this should match your hosted Parse app.
*`databaseURI`**(required)** - The connection string for your database, i.e. `mongodb://user:pass@host.com/dbname`. Be sure to [URL encode your password](https://app.zencoder.com/docs/guides/getting-started/special-characters-in-usernames-and-passwords) if your password has special charachters.
*`port` - The default port is 1337, specify this parameter to use a different port.
*`serverURL` - URL to your Parse Server (don't forget to specify http:// or https://). This URL will be used when making requests to Parse Server from Cloud Code.
*`push` - Configuration options for APNS and GCM push. See the [Push Notifications wiki entry](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki/Push).
The client keys used with Parse are no longer necessary with Parse Server. If you wish to still require them, perhaps to be able to refuse access to older clients, you can set the keys at initialization time. Setting any of these keys will require all requests to provide one of the configured keys.
*`facebookAppIds` - An array of valid Facebook application IDs that users may authenticate with.
*`mountPath` - Mount path for the server. Defaults to `/parse`.
*`filesAdapter` - The default behavior (GridStore) can be changed by creating an adapter class (see [`FilesAdapter.js`](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/blob/master/src/Adapters/Files/FilesAdapter.js)).
*`maxUploadSize` - Max file size for uploads. Defaults to 20 MB.
*`loggerAdapter` - The default behavior/transport (File) can be changed by creating an adapter class (see [`LoggerAdapter.js`](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/blob/master/src/Adapters/Logger/LoggerAdapter.js)).
*`revokeSessionOnPasswordReset` - When a user changes their password, either through the reset password email or while logged in, all sessions are revoked if this is true. Set to false if you don't want to revoke sessions.
Verifying user email addresses and enabling password reset via email requries an email adapter. As part of the `parse-server` package we provide an adapter for sending email through Mailgun. To use it, sign up for Mailgun, and add this to your initialization code:
```js
var server = ParseServer({
...otherOptions,
// Enable email verification
verifyUserEmails: true,
// The public URL of your app.
// This will appear in the link that is used to verify email addresses and reset passwords.
You can also use other email adapters contributed by the community such as [parse-server-sendgrid-adapter](https://www.npmjs.com/package/parse-server-sendgrid-adapter) or [parse-server-mandrill-adapter](https://github.com/back4app/parse-server-mandrill-adapter).
Parse Server allows developers to choose from several options when hosting files:
*`GridStoreAdapter`, which is backed by MongoDB;
*`S3Adapter`, which is backed by [Amazon S3](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/); or
*`GCSAdapter`, which is backed by [Google Cloud Storage](https://cloud.google.com/storage/)
`GridStoreAdapter` is used by default and requires no setup, but if you're interested in using S3 or Google Cloud Storage, additional configuration information is available in the [Parse Server wiki](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki/Configuring-File-Adapters).
# Support
For implementation related questions or technical support, please refer to the [Stack Overflow](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/parse.com) and [Server Fault](https://serverfault.com/tags/parse) communities.
If you believe you've found an issue with Parse Server, make sure these boxes are checked before [reporting an issue](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/issues):
- [ ] You've met the [prerequisites](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki/Parse-Server-Guide#prerequisites).
- [ ] You're running the [latest version](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/releases) of Parse Server.
- [ ] You've searched through [existing issues](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/issues?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=). Chances are that your issue has been reported or resolved before.
We really want Parse to be yours, to see it grow and thrive in the open source community. Please see the [Contributing to Parse Server guide](CONTRIBUTING.md).
