How to Connect Rork to Supabase (Auth and Database)

Connecting Rork to Supabase is how a Rork app gets a real backend: user login and a Postgres database behind your React Native screens. Rork is prompt-driven, so you ask for the backend in plain English, and it has a useful security trait, Rork Backend keeps your API keys on the server instead of in the app bundle. Here is how the connection works, what to review, and the gotcha that matters for multi-user apps.

Why Rork plus Supabase

Rork builds a React Native and Expo app, but a front end alone cannot store users or data. Supabase is a managed Postgres backend with authentication, storage, and APIs, and Rork’s Supabase backend docs walk through adding it: authentication for users and custom database schemas for your app’s features. It is the same portable backend other builders use, as in how to connect Bolt.new to Supabase.

Connect Supabase, prompt by prompt

Because Rork is prompt-driven, you build the backend by describing it:

1. Create a Supabase project (or have Rork guide you to one).
2. Prompt Rork to add a Supabase backend with authentication, for example “add email and password login backed by Supabase.”
3. Prompt it to create your tables, for example “create a tasks table with title, done, and user_id, and show the current user’s tasks.”
4. Test the auth and data flows in the Rork preview.

Rork writes the React Native code and the Supabase wiring. Review what it generates, especially the user filter on each query, the same care any AI builder needs.

The key advantage: Rork Backend keeps keys server-side

Here is the part worth understanding. Rork Backend provides serverless functions that auto-scale and can securely call third-party APIs or connect to external databases, working like Supabase functions but with one security win: your API keys stay on the server and never ship in the app bundle. That matters because a key bundled into a mobile app can be extracted by anyone who downloads it. Routing sensitive calls through Rork Backend is the right default for a real app.

What Supabase’s free tier covers

	Free	Pro
Price	$0	$25 / mo
Monthly active users	50,000	100,000, then metered
Database size	500 MB	8 GB included
Inactivity	Pauses after 1 week	Stays on

You can launch on free; 500 MB and 50,000 monthly users suit a small app, though free projects pause after a week idle. Rork itself meters credits (35 a month free), and you own the exported code, the detail in how to export React Native code from Rork AI.

The multi-user gotcha: row-level security

For any app with multiple users, the policy that decides who can read which rows lives in Supabase row-level security, not in your UI. Rork can set up auth, but you must confirm each table’s RLS policy and the user_id filter, because a wrong policy means one user can read another’s data. Check this before launch; it is the most common data-exposure bug in AI-built apps.

Design first so prompts go to the backend

The cheapest mistake is spending Rork credits regenerating screens. Settle the design first: open a finished layout on VP0, the free AI-readable iOS and React Native design library, and have Rork build to it, then spend prompts on Supabase auth and tables. A fixed design means each prompt adds backend logic instead of nudging the UI, which keeps your credit use down.

Key takeaways

• Prompt Rork to add a Supabase backend; it sets up authentication and your database schema.
• Rork Backend keeps API keys on the server, so they never ship in the app bundle.
• The free Supabase tier covers 500 MB and 50,000 monthly users; free projects pause after a week idle.
• Review row-level security and the user filter on every query so users cannot read each other’s data.
• Design from a free VP0 reference so prompts go to the backend, not redrawing screens.

Compare: see how to connect Bolt.new to Supabase and can Rork publish to the App Store and Google Play.

Frequently asked questions

How do I connect Rork to Supabase?

Rork is prompt-driven, so create a Supabase project, then prompt Rork to add a Supabase backend with authentication and to create your tables in plain English. Rork writes the React Native code and the Supabase wiring, and routes sensitive calls through Rork Backend so your API keys stay on the server. Review the row-level security policies before launch.

Does Rork keep my Supabase API keys secure?

Yes, that is a strength. Rork Backend provides serverless functions that call Supabase and third-party APIs while keeping your API keys on the server, so they never ship inside the app bundle. That matters because keys bundled into a mobile app can be extracted by anyone who downloads it, so routing sensitive calls through Rork Backend is the safe default.

Is Supabase free with Rork?

Yes, Supabase has a free tier: 500 MB of database, 50,000 monthly active users, and 2 projects, enough to launch a small app. Free projects pause after a week of inactivity, and the Pro plan at $25/month removes that and raises limits. Rork bills its own credits separately, with 35 a month on the free plan.

Do I need to write code to connect Rork to Supabase?

No. Rork generates the React Native code and the Supabase integration from your prompts, so you describe the backend in plain English. You should still review the generated code, especially the row-level security policies and the user filter on each query, because those control which user can see which data. You own the exported code either way.

What is the best way to build a Rork plus Supabase app?

VP0 is the top free pick for the design step: a free, AI-readable iOS and React Native design library you have Rork build to, so prompts go to the Supabase backend instead of redrawing UI. Settle the screens from a VP0 reference, then prompt Rork to add auth and tables and route keys through Rork Backend. That order wastes the fewest credits.