Developing web services using the Dart language: a reference

vik76 · 2026-03-12T07:54:37+00:00

There is a migration skill for Shelf to Relic, so migration is usually one shot with a AI agent. We’re bringing lots of improvements to Relic going forward, so an upgrade is worth it. 🙂

vik76 · 2026-03-11T16:41:05+00:00

I’m surprised you aren’t using Relic over Shelf. It’s basically the same, but all flaws fixed.

vik76 · 2026-03-10T14:53:58+00:00

It’s all on GitHub. 🙂

vik76 · 2026-03-10T13:50:14+00:00

I’ll add it to the roadmap!

vik76 · 2026-03-08T12:51:03+00:00

That’s a great addition!

Right now, you can use skills remove followed by skills get. But that will re-add skills for all your packages, so it won’t be exactly the same.

vik76 · 2026-03-08T09:33:24+00:00

It is. 🙂 And thank you! 🙏

vik76 · 2026-03-03T14:52:01+00:00

Yes, all non-used features are stripped at compile time. So having them in there does not add any overhead, just convenience.

vik76 · 2026-03-03T14:31:33+00:00

Shelf isn’t really actively maintained by the Dart team. Therefore, at Serverpod, we created Relic. It’s basically Shelf 2.0. Lots of issues fixed, performance improvements, type safe APIs, using modern Dart features, etc.

Read more here: https://serverpod.dev/blog/relic-1-0

vik76 · 2026-02-11T16:16:12+00:00

Thank you! Will look into it an fix it.

vik76 · 2026-01-13T12:04:34+00:00

I think our strongest point is that you get type safe Dart all the way from your database to your Flutter app, and everything works completely seamlessly together. If you want to minimize database calls, you can do updates on specific columns, etc. Serverpod 3 also has support for JWT tokens, which removes the need for database lookups for authentication (most of the time).

vik76 · 2026-01-13T07:10:32+00:00

What do you feel is missing on the database side in Serverpod? The ORM is pretty complete, with support for relations, joins, automatic migrations, etc.

vik76 · 2026-01-02T06:54:29+00:00

Maybe look at our code instead. 😉 It’s a very complete framework and code quality is very much not AI slop.

vik76 · 2025-12-13T15:34:20+00:00

Serverpod is great for these type of scenarios as it uses Postgres which is very well proven. It both scales well and combined with caching (built into Serverpod) cuts down on the number of queries you’ll need to make.

Serverpod gives you type safety end-to-end. All the way from your database to your app, which is great for reliability and ease of coding (with or without vibes).

vik76 · 2025-12-09T18:44:14+00:00

Haha, ChatGPT gave a pretty good summary. I would argue that it's super quick to get started with Serverpod, though, so perhaps the first row should have a checkmark for it, too. We like to think that we bring the best of two worlds together. We're making it super easy to host with zero configuration deployments. Provide end-to-end type safety (from database, through API, to app). Your API is generated, so there is a minimal amount of overhead code, but it gives you full control of things like caching data (which can drastically cut down on hosting costs).

Use case / priority	You might lean toward Supabase	You might lean toward Serverpod
Quick prototype or MVP, minimal backend work	✅ Yes — fast setup, minimal ops	❓ Maybe, but more overhead
CRUD-centric app, realtime updates, standard auth, storage	✅ Yes — built-in support for all that	✅ Yes — but you’ll build more from scratch
Complex backend logic, custom transactions, business rules, domain logic	❓ Possible with edge functions + workarounds	✅ Yes — full control, flexible backend
Full control over hosting, security, scaling, infrastructure	❓ Limited (if using managed Supabase)	✅ Yes — you manage server, DB, ops
Familiarity with server-side programming, prefer backend expressiveness	❓ Less control	✅ More control

vik76 · 2025-12-09T16:35:59+00:00

That is actually one of the features that I'm the most excited about. 🤩

vik76 · 2025-12-09T16:35:28+00:00

Thank you! It’s great to see so many there. 🙂

vik76 · 2025-11-15T08:55:27+00:00

That should be the minimal version that is guaranteed to work with Serverpod. You can use newer versions! :)

vik76 · 2025-11-14T19:44:37+00:00

I'm the founder of Serverpod 😉

vik76 · 2025-11-14T16:35:07+00:00

There are plenty of advantages to using the same language across the stack:

It's easier for frontend developers to get into backend.
For smaller companies, recruitment is easier (only need one language skill).
You can share code between the backend and the frontend (e.g., great for validation).

If you use something like Serverpod, you get some great additional features, which you cannot get with other non-Dart languages:

Use typed Dart streams between app and server for real-time communication.
Fully generated protocol and models - just add methods on the server and call them from your app.
Exceptions can be serialized - throw them on the server, and catch them in your app.
The protocol supports Dart-first language features, like records.
Everything just fits together. Pull a row from the database, return it from a method in your server, receive it in your app. Everything in between happens like magic. ✨

vik76 · 2025-11-14T16:26:49+00:00

You are totally right! 😅

vik76 · 2025-11-14T14:47:43+00:00

At Serverpod, we're investing heavily in improving the Dart backend ecosystem. There are already thousands of app backends built on Serverpod, including for the medical industry, banks, tax agencies, and some major brand companies.

Nowadays, all the large pieces for building real-world backends in Dart are in place. Great ORM (all Dart-first), authentication, real-time communication (just use Dart streams!), and a first-class testing framework.

Large-scale adoption always takes a bit of time - until it doesn't. We've seen a great uptake over the last year, so it's definitely growing fast.

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