FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This document answers common questions about the Flatlogic Platform.
General Information
1. What is the Flatlogic Platform?
The Flatlogic Platform is a toolkit for quickly building CRUD web applications. It generates frontend and backend code, a data model, and role-based access control.
2. How does the platform simplify CRUD application development?
It automates CRUD operations and provides a customizable data model to reduce repetitive coding tasks.
3. What is an entity?
An entity is any object in the system that we want to model and store information about. Entities are usually recognizable concepts, either concrete or abstract, such as a person, places, things, or events which usually maps to a table when you are implementing the database.
Technical Stack
4. What technologies are used?
Tailwind CSS, React, Node.js, and PostgreSQL.
Getting Started
5. How do I start building an app?
Sign up, select a template, gather requirements with AI Engineer, define your data model, and the platform generates your application. You can then customize and deploy it to our environment.
6. Can I preview the created code?. Yes, you can. You should select a project on the project list page and select the Code Preview tab. The basic project structure consists of the:
- Backend folder;
- Frontend folder;
- Docker file;
- Readme file;
- Package.json.
7. What if I need to change the DB schema?
You should select a project on the project list page and select the Schema tab, where you can change the project, add and remove entities, and rebuild the project.
AI Engineer
8. What is the AI Engineer?
The AI Engineer automates the generation and modification of your application's schema, components, and functionality based on natural language requests.
9. How do I interact with the AI Engineer?
You could interact with it trough the chat view during the Requirement Gathering session and in the Editor mode after your first deployment.
10. Any tips or trick for productive conversation with the AI Engineer?
Yes, you could read our instructions and suggestiong in these articles: Tools and Commands and Prompt Best Practice.
Features and Customization
11. What features are included in generated apps?
Generated apps include multitenancy, role-based authentication, permissions, RESTful APIs, and responsive design.
12. How are roles and permissions managed?
Roles and permissions are managed through an admin interface that allows role assignments and permission adjustments.
13. How do I update the data model and schema?
Use the provided interface to modify the data model, with changes automatically applied to frontend and backend.
14. How can I customize the components or pages?
Customize directly in the generated code or use the provided visual editor.
15. How flexible is the data model?
The data model is fully customizable. Changes are automatically propagated throughout the app.
16. How can tables relate to each other?
Tables can relate to each other by columns with types: Relation (one) and Relation(many).
Relation to one column – to make a relation to one column you have to select it in the list of columns in the table, go to the ‘Type’ property and choose the ‘Relation (one)’ option. After that, you will have a new property Entity - the link to the table this column will be connected to.
Relation to multiple columns – to make a relation to many columns you have to select it in the list of columns in the table, go to the ‘Type’ property and choose ‘Relation (many)’ options. After that, you will have a new property Ref - the link to the table this column will be connected to.
Deployment and Scaling
17. How is deployment handled?
Apps are deployed using Docker containers to Google Cloud Run.
18. Can I deploy to other cloud providers?
Yes, Docker containers can be deployed to other platforms like AWS ECS, Azure Container Instances, or Kubernetes.
19. How does Flatlogic support scaling?
Apps can scale using container replicas and cloud infrastructure.
Environments
20. What is the difference between Development and Stable environments?
The Development environment is used for testing and reviewing changes, while the Stable environment hosts your preferable final version of your application.
21. How do I move changes from Development to Stable?
Changes can be promoted from the Development to the Stable environment using the "Sync to Stable" option in the Editor mode.
Credits
22. What are credits?
Credits are used to access various platform functionalities like hosting, deploying, and using AI-driven modifications.
23. How are credits consumed?
Credits are consumed for hosting, deployment actions, downloading source code, pushing code to GitHub, and AI-driven modifications.
24. What is the refund policy for credits?
Up to 50% of credits spent on unsatisfactory AI implementations can be refunded monthly, available only on paid plans.
You might find more information regarding credits in our article: Pricing Model
Integrations
25. How do I integrate third-party libraries or services?
Install dependencies via npm and import them into your code as documented.
26. Does the platform generate API?
Flatlogic platform generates a Rest API according to the created database schema. Using API you can manage apps with CRUD operations. As long as it speaks HTTP you can connect your services, frontend, apps, scripts.
27. Can I integrate the created app with Github?
Yes, you can connect the GitHub repository to your app and push all generated code there. Thus you will be able to work directly in the Github repository with the code and make changes there.
In case you modify the schema (add entities, modify them) Flatlogic platform is going to initiate a push to the connected repository.
28. How can I connect my existing database to the app created by Flatlogic Platform?
You can connect your existing database to the app by dropping us a line on [email protected].
Also you could connect an external database using Supabase.
Security and Data Management
29. What security measures are in place?
The platform includes authentication, role-based access control, and encrypted data transmission.
30. How is data managed and backed up?
Data is stored in PostgreSQL. Use cloud-provider backup solutions or automated backups.
Troubleshooting and Support
31. What troubleshooting resources are available?
Detailed logs, documentation, troubleshooting guides, and community support via Discord.
32. Where can I access documentation and community support?
Documentation is available on the Flatlogic website, and community support is provided on Discord.
33. What is included in support?
We provide support for the following questions:
- Answering questions about how to use the item;
- Answering technical questions about the item;
- Item updates;
- License questions;
- License updates requests;
- Help with product issues.
Testing and Updates
34. How should I test the generated application?
Use the provided Development environment and integrated testing tools, unit tests, and end-to-end testing.
35. How are updates managed?
Updates and patches are managed via continuous integration.
36. Can I host the created app?
Yes, you can host the app instantly with Flatlogic Platform with configured CI/CD, logs and deployment history. Moreover, Flatlogic provides you with version control Git integration.
Feedback and Contributions
37. How can I provide feedback or suggest features?
Submit feedback through the Discord community, GitHub repository, or website support section.
Most common errors:
connection refused
There could be many reasons, but the most common are:
The port is not open on the destination machine.
The port is open on the destination machine, but its backlog of pending connections is full.
A firewall between the client and server is blocking access (also check local firewalls).
After checking for firewalls and that the port is open, use telnet to connect to the IP/port to test connectivity. This removes any potential issues from your application.
MacOS:
If you suspect that your SSH service might be down, you can run this command to find out:
sudo service ssh status
If the command line returns a status of down, then you’ve likely found the reason behind your connectivity error.
Ubuntu:
Sometimes a connection refused error can also indicate that there is an IP address conflict on your network. You can search for possible IP conflicts by running:
arp-scan -I eth0 -l | grep <ipaddress>
arp-scan -I eth0 -l | grep <ipaddress>
and
arping <ipaddress>
yarn db:create
creates the database with the assembled tables (on macOS with Postgres database)
The workaround - put the following commands into your Postgres database terminal:
DROP SCHEMA public CASCADE;
CREATE SCHEMA public;
GRANT ALL ON SCHEMA public TO postgres;
GRANT ALL ON SCHEMA public TO public;
Afterwards, continue to start your project in the backend directory by running:
yarn start
If you face any difficulties, please message us on our Discord, Forum, Twitter, or Facebook. We will respond to your inquiry as quickly as possible!