Parse Server Example on Clever Cloud

This is an example application that demonstrates how to run Parse Server on Clever Cloud with PostgreSQL, Redis and S3 (Cellar).

About the Application

Parse Server is an open-source Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) framework. This example deploys it on Clever Cloud using:

• PostgreSQL for data persistence
• Redis for caching
• Cellar (S3-compatible) for file storage

Endpoints

• /parse - Parse Server API endpoint

Technology Stack

• Parse Server 9 - Open-source BaaS framework
• Express.js 5 - Web framework for Node.js
• Parse JS SDK 8 - JavaScript SDK for Parse
• @parse/s3-files-adapter - S3 file storage adapter
• Node.js 24+
• PostgreSQL
• Redis

Prerequisites

• Node.js 24+
• npm

Running the Application Locally

npm install
npm start

The application will be accessible at http://localhost:1337/parse.

The application requires running PostgreSQL and Redis instances. Set the following environment variables:

• POSTGRESQL_ADDON_URI - PostgreSQL connection string
• REDIS_URL - Redis connection string
• CELLAR_BUCKET, CELLAR_ADDON_KEY_ID, CELLAR_ADDON_KEY_SECRET, CELLAR_ADDON_HOST - S3/Cellar configuration
• PARSE_APP_ID, MASTER_KEY, JAVASCRIPT_KEY, SERVER_URL, APP_NAME - Parse Server configuration

Example Request

Once the server is running, you can create an object using the Parse REST API:

curl -X POST \
  -H "X-Parse-Application-Id: YOUR_APP_ID" \
  -H "X-Parse-JavaScript-Key: YOUR_JS_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"room":101,"guests":2,"nights":4}' \
  https://yourdomain.cleverapps.io/parse/classes/Booking

Use X-Parse-JavaScript-Key for client requests. The master key is restricted to localhost (server-side cloud code only).

Deploying on Clever Cloud

You have two options to deploy your application on Clever Cloud: using the Web Console or using the Clever Tools CLI.

Option 1: Deploy using the Web Console

1. Create an account on Clever Cloud

If you don't already have an account, go to the Clever Cloud console and follow the registration instructions.

2. Set up your application on Clever Cloud

1. Log in to the Clever Cloud console
2. Click on "Create" and select "An application"
3. Choose "Node.js" as the runtime environment
4. Configure your application settings (name, region, etc.)

3. Add Add-ons

1. In your application's dashboard, go to "Service dependencies"
2. Click "Link add-ons" and add:
   • PostgreSQL - Choose the plan that fits your needs
   • Redis - Choose the plan that fits your needs
   • Cellar - S3-compatible object storage for file uploads
3. Link all add-ons to your application

The POSTGRESQL_ADDON_URI, REDIS_URL, and Cellar environment variables will be automatically set.

4. Configure Environment Variables

In your application's environment variables, set:

• PARSE_APP_ID - Your Parse application ID
• MASTER_KEY - Your Parse master key
• JAVASCRIPT_KEY - Your Parse JavaScript key
• SERVER_URL - Your Parse server URL (e.g., https://yourdomain.cleverapps.io/parse)
• APP_NAME - Your application name

5. Deploy Your Application

You can deploy your application using Git:

# Add Clever Cloud as a remote repository
git remote add clever git+ssh://git@push-par-clevercloud-customers.services.clever-cloud.com/app_<your-app-id>.git

# Push your code to deploy
git push clever master

Option 2: Deploy using Clever Tools CLI

1. Install Clever Tools

Install the Clever Tools CLI following the official documentation:

# Using npm
npm install -g clever-tools

# Or using Homebrew (macOS)
brew install clever-tools

2. Log in to your Clever Cloud account

clever login

3. Create a new application with add-ons

# Initialize the current directory as a Clever Cloud application
clever create --type node <YOUR_APP_NAME>

# Add a PostgreSQL add-on
clever addon create postgresql-addon <YOUR_PG_ADDON_NAME> --link <YOUR_APP_NAME> --plan xs_sml

# Add a Redis add-on
clever addon create redis-addon <YOUR_REDIS_ADDON_NAME> --link <YOUR_APP_NAME>

# Add a Cellar add-on for file storage
clever addon create cellar-addon <YOUR_CELLAR_ADDON_NAME> --link <YOUR_APP_NAME>

4. Configure environment variables

# Get the application domain (strip surrounding whitespace from clever domain output)

clever env set CELLAR_BUCKET yourBucket
clever env set PARSE_APP_ID yourParseAppId
clever env set SERVER_URL "https://$(clever domain | xargs)/parse"
clever env set MASTER_KEY yourMasterKey
clever env set JAVASCRIPT_KEY yourJSKey
clever env set APP_NAME yourAppName

5. Deploy your application

clever deploy

6. Open your application in a browser

Once deployed, you can access your application at the URL provided by Clever Cloud.

clever open

Monitoring Your Application

Once deployed, you can monitor your application through:

• Web Console: The Clever Cloud console provides logs, metrics, and other tools to help you manage your application.
• CLI: Use clever logs to view application logs and clever status to check the status of your application.

Additional Resources

• Parse Server Documentation
• Parse Server GitHub
• Clever Cloud Node.js Documentation
• Clever Cloud Documentation