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After building your app in Rork, use this documentation to decide if your app needs a backend or can stay local only.

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Summary

Rork builds the frontend of your app: the screens people see and touch, on iPhone, on Android, and on the web. A backend is the part they never see. It stores data, keeps accounts, and enforces rules. Not every app needs one. By the end of this page you will know which category your idea falls into, and what to do next. You need:
  • A Rork project
  • A general idea of what your app does

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1. What Counts as “No Backend.”

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Local-Only Apps (Everything Stays on the Device)

These are apps that store all their data on the user’s phone.
No sync needed. No logins required. No sharing implemented. Examples:
  • Todo lists
  • Notes apps
  • Journals
  • Habit trackers
  • Mood logs
  • Calculators
  • Timers
  • Unit converters
  • Offline flashcards
  • Photo filters/AI Gen
  • Utility widgets
Rork can build and store the data for all of these with no backend at all, using the device’s own storage: the local store on the phone, and a secure store for anything sensitive. As long as the data never leaves the device, local storage is enough. If your app is not saving data yet, ask in chat:

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Tools With Temporary / Non-Persistent Data

These apps don’t care about storing long-term state at all. Examples:
  • Playground apps (drawing, sandbox)
  • Local mini-games
  • One-off AI generators that do not keep the result
  • Fun tools that make something but do not need to remember it
If nothing needs to persist after the app closes, then no backend is needed to store or manipulate anything. Most simple applications built on Rork will behave like this by default.

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AI Apps That Only Call an External API

If your app just sends a prompt to GPT and returns the response: You do not need a backend. You’re just making requests to OpenAI or another AI provider. Backend becomes optional only when:
  • You want the user history
  • You want personalization
  • You want usage tracking
This extends to any external API. As long as you do not need to store this data, then feel free to use any API without a backend.

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2. Apps That Always Need a Backend

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Apps With Accounts or Login

If the user “has an account,” you need:
  • Authentication
  • Restoring user data
  • Sync across devices
Examples:
  • Social apps
  • Productivity apps with cloud sync
  • Finance apps
  • Any multi-device workflow

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Apps That Sync Across Devices

A user writes a note on their phone and expects it on their laptop.
That requires:
  • Database
  • Cloud sync
  • Persistent storage
A backend is required.

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Apps With Sharing, Collaboration, or Multiplayer

If more than one person can see, edit, or comment on the same thing:
  • Messaging
  • Friends lists
  • Comments
  • Posts
  • Social Feeds
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Matchmaking like Dating apps
All of this needs a backend.

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Apps That Store Files

If your app handles:
  • Images
  • Videos
  • PDFs
  • Audio recordings
…and these files need to persist across different devices, you need to use a backend. Local storage will not cut it for cross-device or sharable content.

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Apps With Security or Access Rules

If the app enforces any rule between users:
  • Blocking
  • Moderation
  • Rate limiting
  • Anti-spam
Client-only apps can’t enforce rules. A backend would be required.

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3. Gray-Zone Apps (Optional Backend)

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Local-First Apps With Optional Sync Later

Some apps work great without a backend, then add cloud features later. Examples:
  • Journal → adds cloud backup
  • Notes app → adds multi-device sync
  • Offline photo editor → adds “share to cloud.”
You can ship v1 with no backend and add sync when you grow.

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AI Apps With Memory or Personalization

You can choose:
  • Local-only memory → no backend
  • Cloud memory across devices → backend
  • Personalized models → backend
Your v1 can be simple with local storage; once you have users, you can move to a more secure and advanced system, such as cloud or Personalized.

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Decided that you need one?

You have three routes. Rork Cloud is the shortest, because it lives inside Rork and there is no second account to manage.

Rork Cloud

A managed backend inside Rork: Postgres, server functions, and AI models. No separate account.

Supabase

⏱️ 1 hourYour own Postgres project, with auth and storage. Good if you want to own the database.

Firebase

⏱️ 1 hourGoogle’s NoSQL option, with Firestore, auth, and storage.