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Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. Parse Server works with the Express web application framework. It can be added to existing web applications, or run by itself.
The full documentation for Parse Server is available in the wiki. The Parse Server guide is a good place to get started. An API reference and Cloud Code guide are also available. If you're interested in developing for Parse Server, the Development guide will help you get set up.
A big thank you 🙏 to our sponsors and backers who support the development of Parse Platform!
Flavors & Branches
Parse Server is available in different flavors on different branches:
- The main branches are [release][log_release] and [alpha][log_alpha]. See the changelog overview for details.
- The long-term-support (LTS) branches are named
release-<version>.x.x, for example release-5.x.x. LTS branches do not have pre-release branches.
Long Term Support
Long-Term-Support (LTS) is provided for the previous Parse Server major version. For example, Parse Server 5.x will receive security updates until Parse Server 6.x is superseded by Parse Server 7.x and becomes the new LTS version. While the current major version is published on branch release, a LTS version is published on branch release-#.x.x, for example release-5.x.x for the Parse Server 5.x LTS branch.
⚠️ LTS versions are provided to help you transition as soon as possible to the current major version. While we aim to fix security vulnerabilities in the LTS version, our main focus is on developing the current major version and preparing the next major release. Therefore we may leave certain vulnerabilities up to the community to fix. Search for pull requests with the specific LTS base branch to see the current open vulnerabilities for that LTS branch.
Getting Started
The fastest and easiest way to get started is to run MongoDB and Parse Server locally.
Running Parse Server
Before you start make sure you have installed:
Compatibility
Node.js
Parse Server is continuously tested with the most recent releases of Node.js to ensure compatibility. We follow the Node.js Long Term Support plan and only test against versions that are officially supported and have not reached their end-of-life date.
| Version |
Minimum Version |
End-of-Life |
Parse Server Support |
| Node.js 18 |
18.20.4 |
April 2025 |
<= 8.x (2025) |
| Node.js 20 |
20.19.0 |
April 2026 |
<= 9.x (2026) |
| Node.js 22 |
22.12.0 |
April 2027 |
<= 10.x (2027) |
| Node.js 24 |
24.11.0 |
April 2028 |
<= 11.x (2028) |
MongoDB
Parse Server is continuously tested with the most recent releases of MongoDB to ensure compatibility. We follow the MongoDB support schedule and MongoDB lifecycle schedule and only test against versions that are officially supported and have not reached their end-of-life date. MongoDB "rapid releases" are ignored as these are considered pre-releases of the next major version.
| Version |
Minimum Version |
End-of-Life |
Parse Server Support |
| MongoDB 6 |
6.0.19 |
July 2025 |
<= 8.x (2025) |
| MongoDB 7 |
7.0.16 |
August 2026 |
<= 9.x (2026) |
| MongoDB 8 |
8.0.4 |
TDB |
<= 10.x (2027) |
PostgreSQL
Parse Server is continuously tested with the most recent releases of PostgreSQL and PostGIS to ensure compatibility, using PostGIS docker images. We follow the PostgreSQL support schedule and PostGIS support schedule and only test against versions that are officially supported and have not reached their end-of-life date. Due to the extensive PostgreSQL support duration of 5 years, Parse Server drops support about 2 years before the official end-of-life date.
| Version |
PostGIS Version |
End-of-Life |
Parse Server Support |
| Postgres 13 |
3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 |
November 2025 |
<= 6.x (2023) |
| Postgres 14 |
3.5 |
November 2026 |
<= 7.x (2024) |
| Postgres 15 |
3.3, 3.4, 3.5 |
November 2027 |
<= 8.x (2025) |
| Postgres 16 |
3.5 |
November 2028 |
<= 9.x (2026) |
| Postgres 17 |
3.5 |
November 2029 |
<= 10.x (2027) |
| Postgres 18 |
3.6 |
November 2030 |
<= 11.x (2028) |
Locally
$ npm install -g parse-server mongodb-runner
$ mongodb-runner start
$ parse-server --appId APPLICATION_ID --masterKey MASTER_KEY --databaseURI mongodb://localhost/test
Note: If installation with -g fails due to permission problems (npm ERR! code 'EACCES'), please refer to this link.
Docker Container
$ git clone https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server
$ cd parse-server
$ docker build --tag parse-server .
$ docker run --name my-mongo -d mongo
Running the Parse Server Image
$ docker run --name my-parse-server -v config-vol:/parse-server/config -p 1337:1337 --link my-mongo:mongo -d parse-server --appId APPLICATION_ID --masterKey MASTER_KEY --databaseURI mongodb://mongo/test
Note: If you want to use Cloud Code, add -v cloud-code-vol:/parse-server/cloud --cloud /parse-server/cloud/main.js to the command above. Make sure main.js is in the cloud-code-vol directory before starting Parse Server.
You can use any arbitrary string as your application id and master key. These will be used by your clients to authenticate with the Parse Server.
That's it! You are now running a standalone version of Parse Server on your machine.
Using a remote MongoDB? Pass the --databaseURI DATABASE_URI parameter when starting parse-server. Learn more about configuring Parse Server here. For a full list of available options, run parse-server --help.
Saving and Querying Objects
Now that you're running Parse Server, it is time to save your first object. The easiest way is to use the REST API, but you can easily do the same using any of the Parse SDKs. To learn more check out the documentation.
Connect an SDK
Parse provides SDKs for all the major platforms. Refer to the Parse Server guide to learn how to connect your app to Parse Server.
Running Parse Server elsewhere
Once you have a better understanding of how the project works, please refer to the 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.
Sample Application
We have provided a basic Node.js application that uses the Parse Server module on Express and can be easily deployed to various infrastructure providers:
Parse Server + Express
You can also create an instance of Parse Server, and mount it on a new or existing Express website:
const express = require('express');
const ParseServer = require('parse-server').ParseServer;
const app = express();
const server = new ParseServer({
databaseURI: 'mongodb://localhost:27017/dev', // Connection string for your MongoDB database
cloud: './cloud/main.js', // Path to your Cloud Code
appId: 'myAppId',
masterKey: 'myMasterKey', // Keep this key secret!
fileKey: 'optionalFileKey',
serverURL: 'http://localhost:1337/parse', // Don't forget to change to https if needed
});
// Start server
await server.start();
// Serve the Parse API on the /parse URL prefix
app.use('/parse', server.app);
app.listen(1337, function () {
console.log('parse-server-example running on port 1337.');
});
For a full list of available options, run parse-server --help or take a look at [Parse Server Configurations][server-options].
Parse Server Health
Check the Parse Server health by sending a request to the /parse/health endpoint.
The response looks like this:
{
"status": "ok"
}
Status Values
| Value |
Description |
initialized |
The server has been created but the start method has not been called yet. |
starting |
The server is starting up. |
ok |
The server started and is running. |
error |
There was a startup error, see the logs for details. |
Configuration
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][server-options].
Basic 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:[email protected]/dbname. Be sure to URL encode your password 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.cloud - The absolute path to your cloud code main.js file.push - Configuration options for APNS and FCM push. See the Push Notifications quick start.
Client Key Options
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.
clientKeyjavascriptKeyrestAPIKeydotNetKey
Access Scopes
| Scope |
Internal data |
Read-only data (1) |
Custom data |
Restricted by CLP, ACL |
Key |
| Internal |
r/w |
r/w |
r/w |
no |
maintenanceKey |
| Master |
-/- |
r/- |
r/w |
no |
masterKey |
| ReadOnlyMaster |
-/- |
r/- |
r/- |
no |
readOnlyMasterKey |
| Session |
-/- |
r/- |
r/w |
yes |
sessionToken |
(1) Parse.Object.createdAt, Parse.Object.updatedAt.
[!NOTE]
In Cloud Code, both masterKey and readOnlyMasterKey set request.master to true. To distinguish between them, check request.isReadOnly. For example, use request.master && !request.isReadOnly to ensure full master key access.
Route Allow List
The routeAllowList option restricts which REST API routes are accessible to external clients. When set, all external REST API requests are denied by default unless the route matches one of the configured regex patterns. This is useful for apps where a
Parse Server 是一个开源的后端,可以自己部署:你能把它部署到任何能跑 Node.js 的基础设施上,既可以独立运行,也可以嵌入 Express 应用。它为你的应用提供一套现成的 API 层,直接对接数据库,省得你自己搭建这些底层工作。