Microapps Series

Learn how to design, create, and scale microapps in Buildpad using practical domain boundaries and shared platform services.

Audience: Teams building multi-domain applications with more than one microapp.

Time: ~20-30 minutes per guide.

Microapp Concept

A microapp is a standalone frontend application that owns a specific business domain (for example, Billing, Users, or Analytics) while still operating as part of one product experience.

In Buildpad, microapps are not separate data silos. They share a single backend foundation and collaborate through clear domain ownership:

• Each microapp has its own codebase, release cycle, and deployment
• All microapps connect to the same DaaS backend URL
• All microapps use the same Supabase auth foundation
• Domain boundaries are defined by collection ownership, not separate databases
• The Main App remains a full application, not only a thin shell

This model gives teams autonomy in delivery without fragmenting auth, data access, or platform standards.

Microapp Architecture in Buildpad

Buildpad microapps follow a shared-backend architecture with client-side composition:

1. Main App: Handles global navigation, auth entry, and microapp orchestration.
2. Microapps: Independent Next.js apps focused on one domain each.
3. Shared DaaS Backend: One backend instance serves collections across all domains.
4. Supabase: Shared identity and database foundation used across the platform.

Typical runtime flow:

• A user signs in through the Main App
• The Main App loads a target microapp in context (commonly via iframe composition)
• The microapp performs DaaS calls directly with the user session token
• DaaS permissions and scope rules enforce access across shared collections

Architecture principles to keep in mind:

• Shared backend, independent frontend deployment
• Collection-level ownership with cross-domain contracts when needed
• Backend-first business rules (extensions, permissions, workflows) in DaaS
• Centralized RBAC and scope-aware access instead of custom per-app auth logic
• Cross-domain auth synchronization for hosted multi-origin deployments

Architecture Diagram

What You’ll Learn

• How to split features into microapp domains without creating data silos
• How microapps share one DaaS backend and one auth foundation
• How to configure and build each microapp with AI IDE starters
• How to keep deployments independent while preserving shared platform context

The Tutorial Path

Recommended Next Steps

• Follow Developer Series to implement production-grade capabilities inside a microapp.
• Follow AI Series to add AI-powered features backed by your shared DaaS data.