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[](https://community.parseplatform.org/c/parse-server)
Parse Server is an [open source version of the Parse backend](http://blog.parseplatform.org/announcements/introducing-parse-server-and-the-database-migration-tool/) that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js.
The full documentation for Parse Server is available in the [wiki](https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/wiki). The [Parse Server guide](http://docs.parseplatform.org/parse-server/guide/) is a good place to get started. An [API reference](http://parseplatform.org/parse-server/api/) is also available. If you're interested in developing for Parse Server, the [Development guide](http://docs.parseplatform.org/parse-server/guide/#development-guide) will help you get set up.
**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](http://docs.parseplatform.org/rest/guide), but you can easily do the same using any of the [Parse SDKs](http://parseplatform.org/#sdks). Run the following:
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://docs.parseplatform.org/parse-server/guide/#using-parse-sdks-with-parse-server).
Once you have a better understanding of how the project works, please refer to the [Parse Server wiki](https://github.com/parse-community/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/parse-community/parse-server-example) that uses the Parse Server module on Express and can be easily deployed to various infrastructure providers:
For a full list of available options, run `parse-server --help` or take a look at [Parse Server Configurations](http://parseplatform.org/parse-server/api/master/ParseServerOptions.html).
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.
For the full list of available options, run `parse-server --help` or take a look at [Parse Server Configurations](http://parseplatform.org/parse-server/api/master/ParseServerOptions.html).
*`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 characters.
*`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 quick start](http://docs.parseplatform.org/parse-server/guide/#push-notifications_push-notifications-quick-start).
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.
Verifying user email addresses and enabling password reset via email requires 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:
// account lockout policy setting (OPTIONAL) - defaults to undefined
// if the account lockout policy is set and there are more than `threshold` number of failed login attempts then the `login` api call returns error code `Parse.Error.OBJECT_NOT_FOUND` with error message `Your account is locked due to multiple failed login attempts. Please try again after <duration> minute(s)`. After `duration` minutes of no login attempts, the application will allow the user to try login again.
accountLockout: {
duration: 5, // duration policy setting determines the number of minutes that a locked-out account remains locked out before automatically becoming unlocked. Set it to a value greater than 0 and less than 100000.
threshold: 3, // threshold policy setting determines the number of failed sign-in attempts that will cause a user account to be locked. Set it to an integer value greater than 0 and less than 1000.
validatorPattern: /^(?=.*[a-z])(?=.*[A-Z])(?=.*[0-9])(?=.{8,})/, // enforce password with at least 8 char with at least 1 lower case, 1 upper case and 1 digit
validationError: 'Password must contain at least 1 digit.' // optional error message to be sent instead of the default "Password does not meet the Password Policy requirements." message.
maxPasswordAge: 90, // optional setting in days for password expiry. Login fails if user does not reset the password within this period after signup/last reset.
maxPasswordHistory: 5, // optional setting to prevent reuse of previous n passwords. Maximum value that can be specified is 20. Not specifying it or specifying 0 will not enforce history.
For the full list of configurable environment variables, run `parse-server --help` or take a look at [Parse Server Configuration](https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/blob/master/src/Options/Definitions.js).
All official adapters are distributed as scoped pacakges on [npm (@parse)](https://www.npmjs.com/search?q=scope%3Aparse).
Some well maintained adapters are also available on the [Parse Server Modules](https://github.com/parse-server-modules) organization.
You can also find more adapters maintained by the community by searching on [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/search?q=parse-server%20adapter&page=1&ranking=optimal).
`GridFSBucketAdapter` 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 guide](http://docs.parseplatform.org/parse-server/guide/#configuring-file-adapters).
**Want to log each request and response?** Set the `VERBOSE` environment variable when starting `parse-server`. Usage :- `VERBOSE='1' parse-server --appId APPLICATION_ID --masterKey MASTER_KEY`
**Want logs to be in placed in a different folder?** Pass the `PARSE_SERVER_LOGS_FOLDER` environment variable when starting `parse-server`. Usage :- `PARSE_SERVER_LOGS_FOLDER='<path-to-logs-folder>' parse-server --appId APPLICATION_ID --masterKey MASTER_KEY`
**Want to log specific levels?** Pass the `logLevel` parameter when starting `parse-server`. Usage :- `parse-server --appId APPLICATION_ID --masterKey MASTER_KEY --logLevel LOG_LEVEL`
**Want new line delimited JSON error logs (for consumption by CloudWatch, Google Cloud Logging, etc)?** Pass the `JSON_LOGS` environment variable when starting `parse-server`. Usage :- `JSON_LOGS='1' parse-server --appId APPLICATION_ID --masterKey MASTER_KEY`
# Live Queries
Live queries are meant to be used in real-time reactive applications, where just using the traditional query paradigm could cause several problems, like increased response time and high network and server usage. Live queries should be used in cases where you need to continuously update a page with fresh data coming from the database, which often happens in (but is not limited to) online games, messaging clients and shared to-do lists.
Take a look at [Live Query Guide](https://docs.parseplatform.org/parse-server/guide/#live-queries), [Live Query Server Setup Guide](https://docs.parseplatform.org/parse-server/guide/#scalability) and [Live Query Protocol Specification](https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/wiki/Parse-LiveQuery-Protocol-Specification). You can setup a standalone server or multiple instances for scalability (recommended).
In short, parse SDK v2.0 removes the backbone style callbacks as well as the Parse.Promise object in favor of native promises.
All the Cloud Code interfaces also have been updated to reflect those changes, and all backbone style response objects are removed and replaced by Promise style resolution.
We have written up a [migration guide](3.0.0.md), hoping this will help you transition to the next major release.
For implementation related questions or any other questions please refer to [Parse Community's Discourse forum](https://community.parseplatform.org/c/parse-server).
If you believe you've found an issue with Parse Server, make sure these boxes are checked before [reporting an issue](https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/issues):
- [ ] You've searched through [existing issues](https://github.com/parse-community/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).
Become a sponsor and get your logo on our README on Github with a link to your site. [[Become a sponsor](https://opencollective.com/parse-server#sponsor)]
As of April 5, 2017, Parse, LLC has transferred this code to the parse-community organization, and will no longer be contributing to or distributing this code.
