Hasura: Building Scalable and Real-Time Applications - An Extensive Guide
Tags: hasura, cloud, graphql, api
Published: 2023-03-03 13:11:00

Building robust and scalable APIs is a critical aspect of modern web application development. However, designing and implementing an API can be a time-consuming and complex process. Enter Hasura, a platform that simplifies the development and deployment of GraphQL APIs. In this article, we'll explore the features and benefits of Hasura, how it simplifies API development, and how it can help businesses and developers to build scalable and secure APIs.

## Introduction to Hasura

### What is Hasura?
[Hasura](https://hasura.io/) is an open-source platform for building, deploying, and managing GraphQL APIs. It provides a range of tools and features that simplify the process of building APIs, including data modeling, real-time subscriptions, automated scaling and security, and team collaboration tools.

At its core, Hasura provides a unified interface for querying and manipulating data across multiple data sources. This allows developers to create APIs that can be used by a wide range of clients, including mobile applications, web applications, and IoT devices.

### Why use Hasura for API development?
There are several reasons why Hasura is an excellent choice for building APIs:

- **Ease of use:** Hasura's user-friendly interface and intuitive workflows make it easy for developers to get started with building APIs.
- **Real-time subscriptions:** Hasura provides real-time subscriptions, which enable developers to build real-time applications that can respond to events as they happen.
- **Automated scaling and security:** Hasura automates the process of scaling and securing APIs, which reduces the need for manual intervention and ensures that APIs are secure and scalable.
- **Collaboration and team management:** Hasura provides a range of tools and features that enable multiple developers to work on a project simultaneously, including version control, team management, and collaboration tools.
- **Flexible deployment options:** Hasura can be deployed using a range of options, including Docker containers, Kubernetes, and Heroku.

Overall, Hasura simplifies the process of building and managing APIs, which can save businesses and developers a significant amount of time and effort.

## Getting Started with Hasura

### Setting up a Hasura account
To get started with Hasura, you'll first need to create an account here. You can sign up for a free account on the Hasura website, which provides access to a range of features and tools.

Once you've signed up, you'll be taken to the Hasura dashboard, which provides an overview of your projects and allows you to create new projects.

### Creating a new project
To create a new project in Hasura, click the "Create a new project" button on the dashboard. You'll be prompted to provide a name for your project and choose a database type.

Hasura supports a range of databases, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQL Server. If you already have a database, you can connect it to Hasura by providing the connection details.

### Overview of the Hasura console
Once you've created a project, you'll be taken to the Hasura console, which provides an interface for managing your project. The console is divided into several sections, including:

Data: Allows you to define data models and relationships, and manage your data sources.

GraphQL: Provides an interface for querying your data using GraphQL.

Events: Allows you to create and manage real-time subscriptions and triggers.

Actions: Provides an interface for defining custom API actions.

Remote Schemas: Allows you to integrate with external APIs using remote schemas.

Settings: Provides a range of settings and configuration options for your project.

## Building GraphQL APIs with Hasura

### Defining data models and relationships
One of the key features of Hasura is its ability to define data models and relationships using a user-friendly interface. To define a new data model, navigate to the "Data" section of the Hasura console and click the "Create" button.

You can then define the fields for your data model, set data types, and add constraints. Hasura supports a range of data types, including text, integers, booleans, and timestamps.

Once you've defined your data models, you can define relationships between them. For example, if you have a "Users" data model and a "Posts" data model, you can define a relationship between them so that each user can have many posts.

### Querying data with GraphQL
Hasura provides a GraphQL API that allows you to query your data using GraphQL. To use the GraphQL API, navigate to the "GraphQL" section of the Hasura console and use the GraphiQL interface to run queries.

Hasura automatically generates GraphQL types and queries based on your data models, making it easy to get started with querying your data. For example, if you have a "Users" data model, you can query all users using the following GraphQL query:

```
query {
  users {
    id
    name
    email
  }
}
```
### Real-time subscriptions
Hasura also provides [real-time subscriptions](https://hasura.io/learn/graphql/intro-graphql/graphql-subscriptions/), which allow you to build real-time applications that can respond to events as they happen. To create a real-time subscription, navigate to the "Events" section of the Hasura console and create a new subscription.

You can then define the criteria for your subscription, such as when a new record is added to a data model. Hasura will automatically send updates to the subscription whenever the criteria are met.

### Custom API actions
Hasura also provides the ability to define custom API actions using its "Actions" feature. This allows you to define custom business logic and integrate with external APIs.

To define a new action, navigate to the "Actions" section of the Hasura console and create a new action. You can then define the input and output types for your action, and write custom code to implement the action.

Overall, Hasura provides a powerful and user-friendly platform for building GraphQL APIs. Its range of features and tools, including data modeling, real-time subscriptions, and custom API actions, make it an excellent choice for businesses and developers looking to build scalable and secure APIs.

## Deploying and Scaling Hasura
Deploying Hasura to production involves creating an environment that can support the application's needs. It is essential to have a scalable, secure, and stable environment that can handle the application's traffic.

Hasura supports multiple deployment options that provide a streamlined way to deploy, manage, and scale your Hasura application.

### Hasura Cloud
[Hasura Cloud](https://hasura.io/cloud/) is the easiest and most streamlined way to deploy your Hasura application. With Hasura Cloud, you can easily deploy, manage, and scale your Hasura application without worrying about infrastructure or DevOps tasks.

Hasura Cloud provides a range of features, including automatic scaling, real-time monitoring, and seamless integration with other cloud providers. It also provides a user-friendly interface for managing your Hasura application and simplifies the process of deploying your application to production.

If you want to learn more about Hasura Cloud you can do it [here](https://hashnode.com/post/clepe6qzw001109jq0ip62j2k).

### Kubernetes
If you're comfortable with [Kubernetes](https://kubernetes.io/), you can also deploy Hasura to a Kubernetes cluster. Hasura provides official Helm charts and Kubernetes manifests for deploying your application to Kubernetes.

Deploying your application to Kubernetes provides more control over your infrastructure and allows you to scale your application based on demand. However, it requires more DevOps expertise and may be more time-consuming to set up than using Hasura Cloud.

### Docker Compose
For smaller deployments or local development, you can deploy Hasura using Docker Compose. Hasura provides official Docker images that can be used with Docker Compose to deploy your application.

Using Docker Compose allows you to easily spin up a local instance of your Hasura application for testing and development. However, it's not recommended for production deployments due to its limited scalability and lack of production-grade features.

### Self-Hosted
If you prefer to manage your own infrastructure, you can self-host Hasura. Hasura can be deployed to a wide range of platforms, including virtual machines, containers, and bare-metal servers. Self-hosting gives you complete control over your infrastructure, but it also requires more effort and resources to set up and manage. You can find more information on how to self-host Hasura in the official documentation [here](https://hasura.io/docs/latest/getting-started/docker-simple/).

If you're looking for a suitable hosting provider check out my cloud hosting series [here](https://sebiweise.dev/series/cloud-hosting).

### Scaling Hasura
Hasura can handle a significant amount of traffic, and it's easy to scale up or down depending on your application's needs.

With Hasura Cloud, scaling is automatic, and you don't have to worry about managing servers or infrastructure. Hasura Cloud will scale your application based on the traffic and load it's receiving.

With Kubernetes or self-hosting, you have to configure your environment to handle scaling. Kubernetes provides automatic scaling, but you need to configure it correctly. Self-hosting requires manual scaling, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.

## Collaborating and Managing Teams with Hasura
Collaboration and teamwork are essential to building and managing a successful application. Hasura provides several tools that make it easy to collaborate and manage teams.

### Hasura Console
Hasura Console is a web-based interface that allows you to manage your Hasura application's data and metadata. The console provides a range of features, including real-time data editing, metadata management, and version control.

With the console, multiple team members can collaborate on the same Hasura application, and changes can be tracked and managed.

### Hasura Migrations
Hasura Migrations allow you to manage changes to your database schema in a collaborative and version-controlled way. Migrations are a set of SQL statements that can be executed to modify your database schema.

With Hasura Migrations, you can track changes to your schema and easily share them with your team members. Migrations can be version controlled, making it easy to collaborate and manage changes to your database schema.

### Hasura Actions
Hasura Actions provide a way to extend Hasura's GraphQL API with custom business logic. With Hasura Actions, you can execute arbitrary code and integrate with external services.

Hasura Actions can be used to implement complex business workflows and integrate with external systems. Actions can be version controlled and managed, making it easy to collaborate and manage your application's functionality.

### Hasura Permissions
Hasura Permissions provide a way to manage access control to your Hasura application's data. With Hasura Permissions, you can define fine-grained access control rules that restrict or grant access to your application's data.

Permissions can be defined on tables, columns, and rows, making it easy to manage access to your application's data. Permissions can also be version controlled, making it easy to collaborate and manage access control rules.

## Monitoring and Analytics with Hasura
Monitoring and analytics are essential to ensuring the smooth operation and optimal performance of your Hasura application. Hasura provides several tools that make it easy to monitor and analyze your application's performance.

### Hasura Metrics
[Hasura Metrics](https://hasura.io/docs/latest/observability/usage/) is a built-in monitoring solution that provides real-time metrics for your Hasura application. With Hasura Metrics, you can monitor the performance of your application and quickly identify any performance bottlenecks.

Hasura Metrics provides a range of metrics, including query latency, query count, and error rates. You can use these metrics to identify areas where your application can be optimized and improved.

### Hasura Tracing
[Hasura Tracing](https://hasura.io/docs/latest/observability/index/) is a tool that allows you to trace the execution of your Hasura GraphQL API. With Hasura Tracing, you can identify performance bottlenecks and optimize your application's performance.

Hasura Tracing provides a detailed view of each GraphQL query and its execution time. You can use this information to optimize your database queries and improve your application's performance.

### Hasura Logs
[Hasura Logs](https://hasura.io/docs/latest/observability/errors/) provide a detailed view of your application's activity and performance. With Hasura Logs, you can track errors, monitor performance, and identify potential issues.

Hasura Logs provide a range of logs, including server logs, query logs, and error logs. You can use these logs to troubleshoot issues and optimize your application's performance.

## Use Cases for Hasura
Hasura is a versatile tool that can be used in a wide range of use cases. Here are some examples of how you can use Hasura in your projects:

### Building Real-time Applications
Hasura makes it easy to build real-time applications that require data to be updated in real-time. You can use Hasura to build chat applications, real-time dashboards, or multiplayer games that require real-time updates.

Hasura provides real-time subscriptions, which allow clients to subscribe to changes in the database. With Hasura subscriptions, you can build real-time applications that are scalable, reliable, and efficient.

### Building Microservices
Hasura can be used to build microservices that communicate with each other using GraphQL APIs. Hasura provides a centralized GraphQL API that can be used to access data from multiple microservices.

With Hasura, you can build microservices that are scalable, decoupled, and easy to maintain. Hasura's GraphQL API provides a unified interface that makes it easy to access data from multiple microservices.

### Building Serverless Applications
Hasura can be used to build serverless applications that can be deployed on platforms like AWS Lambda or Google Cloud Functions. Hasura provides a GraphQL engine that can be used to build serverless applications that require access to data.

With Hasura, you can build serverless applications that are scalable, cost-effective, and easy to maintain. Hasura's GraphQL API provides a unified interface that makes it easy to access data from serverless functions.

### Building Progressive Web Applications
Hasura can be used to build progressive web applications (PWAs) that are fast, reliable, and responsive. Hasura provides a GraphQL API that can be used to access data from the backend.

With Hasura, you can build PWAs that are optimized for performance, offline usage, and mobile devices. Hasura's GraphQL API provides a unified interface that makes it easy to access data from the backend.

## Conclusion
Hasura is a powerful tool that simplifies the process of building scalable and efficient applications. With its real-time subscriptions, centralized GraphQL API, and easy-to-use interface, Hasura makes it easy to build real-time applications, microservices, serverless applications, and progressive web applications.

The features provided by Hasura make it an excellent choice for developers who want to build modern applications with real-time capabilities. Whether you're building a chat application, a real-time dashboard, or a multiplayer game, Hasura's real-time subscriptions and GraphQL API make it easy to build scalable and reliable applications.

Moreover, Hasura's support for microservices and serverless functions makes it an excellent choice for developers who want to build scalable and efficient applications. With Hasura, you can easily build microservices that are decoupled, scalable, and easy to maintain. Similarly, Hasura's GraphQL API makes it easy to access data from serverless functions and build serverless applications that are scalable and cost-effective.

In conclusion, Hasura is a powerful tool that simplifies the process of building modern applications. Its features make it easy to build real-time applications, microservices, serverless applications, and progressive web applications. Whether you're building a new application or migrating an existing one, Hasura can help you build scalable and efficient applications with ease.