In our inaugural post of our How We Built series, we dive into how we engineered a scalable, real‑time backend infrastructure for a food-business client using Supabase, the open-source Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) built on PostgreSQL.

Why Supabase Was Our Top Choice

With its fully managed PostgreSQL database, supplementary REST & GraphQL APIs, real-time subscriptions, integrated file storage, native authentication, and serverless capabilities, Supabase gives us Firebase-like speed with SQL-level flexibility. This mix was ideal for our mission-critical food-ordering platform—requiring real-time menu updates, user logins, media storage, and secure all-in-one architecture.

Bootstraping the Supabase Backend

We began in the Supabase dashboard:

1. Created a new project.
2. Defined tables: users, menus, orders, order_items.
3. Enabled Row-Level Security (RLS) for secure and granular data access.
4. Configured storage buckets for menu and dish images.
5. Activated real-time sync on critical tables for live updates

Structuring for Clarity & Performance

We structured our tables as follows:

• users: Stores user metadata linked to Supabase’s auth system.
• menus: Catalog of dish entries with fields like dish name, price, and image_url referencing storage.
• orders: Tracks user_id, status, timestamps.
• order_items: Lists dishes included in each order with quantities and prices.

This relational model enabled normalized queries, strong referential integrity, and optimized live updates.

Auto-Generated APIs: Out‑of‑the‑Box CRUD

Supabase auto-generates REST endpoints via PostgREST and GraphQL via pg_graphql based on table schemas. With these tools, we could:

• Fetch menu items directly: jsCopyEditsupabase.from('menus').select('*');
• Create and fetch orders.
• Manage user sessions—no custom endpoints needed.

Authentication & Security

User identity and access control were vital:

• We enabled email/password signup via Supabase Auth.
• Integrated auth.uid() into RLS policies—for example, orders visible only to their owners.
• Enforced secure file access via bucket-level policies.
• Valid sessions ensured with JWTs—no manual token handling.

Real-Time Subscriptions: Live Updates Everywhere

Live ordering was key: kitchen UI had always-updated order feeds and customers could track status in real time:

supabase
 .from('orders')
 .on('INSERT', payload => updateKitchenUI(payload.new))
 .subscribe();

Powered by Postgres’ LISTEN/NOTIFY, this broadcast system scales efficiently and is more flexible than polling.

File Storage: Serving Media at Scale

Dish photos were stored with Supabase storage. Workflow:

1. Upload image.
2. Store resulting publicURL in the menus table.
3. Display dish images on the frontend using that URL.

Supabase automatically handles CDN delivery and secure public/private access.

Serverless Edge Functions: Business Logic at the Edge

We implemented key actions via Edge Functions:

• Order confirmation emails.
• Webhooks to POS systems upon order placement.
• Business logic triggers outside API polling.

Supabase edge functions (powered by Deno) execute with low latency and minimal infra overhead.

Deployment & Best Practices

To ensure a successful rollout:

• We scoped real-time tables carefully to reduce unnecessary events.
• Employed TypeScript for API safety.
• Cleanly unsubscribed from real-time streams in the UI.
• Stored sensitive keys in environment variables.

These steps improved performance, retained strong security, and ensured maintainability.

What we learned:

• Supabase’s cohesive ecosystem dramatically speeds up backend development.
• Built-in real-time support and RLS enable fully secure interactive applications.
• Serverless functions streamline integrations and backend logic effortlessly.