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.
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 using any of the following buttons:
<a title="Deploy to AWS" href="https://console.aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk/home?region=us-west-2#/newApplication?applicationName=ParseServer&solutionStackName=Node.js&tierName=WebServer&sourceBundleUrl=https://s3.amazonaws.com/elasticbeanstalk-samples-us-east-1/eb-parse-server-sample/parse-server-example.zip" target="_blank"><img src="http://d0.awsstatic.com/product-marketing/Elastic%20Beanstalk/deploy-to-aws.png" height="40"></a> <a title="Deploy to Heroku" href="https://heroku.com/deploy?template=https://github.com/parseplatform/parse-server-example" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.herokucdn.com/deploy/button.png"></a> <a title="Deploy to Azure" href="https://azuredeploy.net/?repository=https://github.com/parseplatform/parse-server-example" target="_blank"><img src="http://azuredeploy.net/deploybutton.png"></a>
Parse Server can also run as a standalone API server. The standalone Parse Server can be configured using [environment variables](#configuration). To start the server, just run `npm start`.
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).
The following options can be passed to the `ParseServer` object during initialization. Alternatively, you can use the `PARSE_SERVER_OPTIONS` environment variable set to the JSON of your configuration.
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.
*`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))
*`databaseAdapter` (unfinished) - The backing store can be changed by creating an adapter class (see `DatabaseAdapter.js`)
*`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))
*`enableAnonymousUsers` - Defaults to true. Set to false to disable anonymous users.
*`oauth` - Used to configure support for [3rd party authentication](https://github.com/ParsePlatform/parse-server/wiki/Parse-Server-Guide#oauth).
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).