After figuring out how to wrestle with native date pickers in my last post, this week I tackled something bigger: the backend.
I’m building Itty Bitty Bites, a baby food recipe app using React Native + Expo + TypeScript + NativeWind, and I finally made a call on my backend stack.
I chose Supabase — and if you’re working on your first mobile app, here’s why it might work for you too.
🧠 What I Was Looking For
This is my first mobile app, and I wanted something that felt modern, powerful, and not too overwhelming. I considered:
- Firebase
- PocketBase
- A custom Django backend
But Supabase stood out because it gave me structure without too much setup, and let me stay in one lane while learning mobile dev.
✅ Why Supabase Felt Right
- PostgreSQL: Structured, relational data makes sense for recipes, baby profiles, etc.
- Auth included: Magic link and social login support
- Built-in storage: Helpful for profile photos and recipe images later
- Typed APIs: Really nice when you’re working in TypeScript
- Good docs and community: Super helpful when you hit snags
- Expo-friendly (especially if you use a custom dev client — more on that below)
⚠️ What Tripped Me Up
No backend is perfect, and here’s what I ran into:
- 🔐 Row-Level Security (RLS) is powerful, but there’s a learning curve. You’ll need to write policies carefully.
- 🧱 Auth UI is DIY: Supabase gives you auth functionality, not components — so you build the login flow yourself.
- 📷 File uploads in Expo need extra setup: You’ll need a custom dev client to handle native modules (e.g.,
expo-image-picker+ Supabase storage). Not hard, but not plug-and-play either.
🆚 Why Not Firebase?
Firebase is great — especially for quick onboarding. It has ready-to-use SDKs, nice analytics, and built-in auth UI.
But the NoSQL data model felt like it might get messy as the app grows.
Supabase’s Postgres setup felt more natural for how I think about relationships between babies, ingredients, and saved recipes.
Also, I liked that Supabase gave me a better foundation to learn backend principles — not just rely on magic.
🛠️ What’s Next
I’m wiring up the recipe generation flow which includes shaping requests, validating inputs, and making sure only real ingredients go through (no "glitter" or "hot cheetos" lol).
If you're a web dev getting into mobile for the first time, I’d honestly recommend giving Supabase a shot. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great way to grow beyond just frontend.
Thanks for reading 🧡
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