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Create Your First Service

Amplication accelerates your app development by helping you build production-ready backend services. These automatically-generated backends, known as services, provide modern, secure, and scalable foundations for your apps.

Each service includes REST and GraphQL API support and an optional admin interface. Your service comes fully equipped with authentication, authorization, logging, git synchronization, and other critical backend management functionalities.

This guide will help you create your first service using our creation wizard.

Generated Service Example

Want to see an example of what a generated service looks like? Check out the Generated Service Sample App on GitHub.

Prerequisites​

First, sign up for an Amplication account with GitHub or your business email address.

If this is your first time using Amplication, the Service Creation Wizard will automatically guide you through the process.

Step 1: Name Your Service​

When naming your service, consider its primary function. What will it do? What problem is it solving? An appropriately named service will be easier to identify and maintain.

Available Technology Stacks

Amplication supports two technology stacks for your backend services:

Node.js

  • NestJS framework
  • Prisma ORM
  • GraphQL and REST APIs
  • React Admin UI

.NET

  • ASP.NET Core
  • Entity Framework Core
  • REST APIs

Choose the stack that best fits your team's expertise and project requirements during service creation.

Step 2: Connect Your GitHub Repository​

Amplication will keep your generated service synced with a GitHub repository that you choose.

First, install the Amplication GitHub App into your account or organization.

Next, select the repository to store your generated code. You can also create a new repository by clicking on the Create repository button.

Other Supported Git Providers

In addition to GitHub, Amplication also supports Bitbucket and AWS CodeCommit for Enterprise users.

Step 3: Customize Your Service​

Amplication can generate GraphQL APIs, REST APIs, and an Admin UI for each of your services. Select the components you need for your service.

Step 4: Select Your Repo Style​

Choose how your service will be stored in your repository: Monorepo or Polyrepo.

Monorepo generates a folder at the root and stores services in specified sub-folders. 

./apps
  - apps/my-new-service 
  - apps/my-new-service-admin
tip

Monorepo is recommended if you plan on having multiple services in a single GitHub repository

Polyrepo stores each service in individual folders at the root of your repository.

- ./my-new-service
- ./my-new-service-admin

Step 5: Choose Your Database​

Amplication supports PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and MySQL out of the box. Choose the one that suits your needs.

tip

You're not locked into your choice - you can always change your database type later in your project's plugin page.

Step 6: Define Your Data Model​

Define entities and fields for your database. You can manually define your own or use a set of pre-defined entities provided by Amplication.

What Are Entities?

Entities are the objects you want to keep track of in your app, like a User or a Product. They become tables in your database. Each row represents an instance of the entity.

A field is a column in that table that represents an attribute of that entity.

Step 7: Include Authentication (Optional)​

You can optionally choose to include all the necessary code for authentication in your service. If your service does not require authentication, select the Skip Authentication option.

You're Done!​

Congratulations! You've successfully set up your first service on Amplication. You will now be taken to a screen where Amplication will start generating all the necessary code for your service. You can watch this happen in real time.

Clicking on the View my code button will take you to the GitHub repository you chose in Step 2. Specifically, you'll see Amplication's first commit to that repository.

Next Steps​

After successfully creating your first service, the next steps are to create entities for your new service: Set Up Entities, Roles, and Permissions On Your Service

You can also learn more about the specific details, structure, and technologies that a service consists of.