Lowdefy
Dev tools
low-code app builder
SHOW HN2021
How HN took it
13 positive, 9 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 1 critical, out of 23 comments about the project. Thread score +0.43.
Idea: 6 for, 0 againstDesign: 3 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Open source avoids vendor lock-in common in low-code tools
From 1 comment
This looks fantastic! In particular, 1. You provide UI widgets (generated from your JSON schema, I presume) to generate the YAML and preview the result so the user can start…
jstogin on HN
YAML config is easy to version control and manipulate with code
From 2 comments
Why build in YAML? - All Lowdefy apps use the same structured config schema, which makes it easier to debug large apps or pick up where others left off. - Nothing is hidden in a…
gervwyk on HNThis looks fantastic! In particular, 1. You provide UI widgets (generated from your JSON schema, I presume) to generate the YAML and preview the result so the user can start…
jstogin on HN
Reusable config references keep apps consistent
From 2 comments
Looks promising. Lately I have been using Retool to build my internal app and I must say this is very interesting alternative. In Retool, to edit many components, I have to click…
exdeve on HNWe definitely find a lot of value in being able to make references to pieces of configuration that can then be used throughout the app. Then you can change something in one…
SamTolmay on HN
Objections
No built-in authentication or authorization yet
From 2 comments
Thanks, we hope it can be useful for you. Currently we don’t have any authentication or authorization built in, but it is the next feature we are adding. We will be adding…
SamTolmay on HNHi pchal. We've often been surprised with how flexible Lowdefy is. One can easily build everything from simple websites, public webforms, to complex multi-tenant web apps - which…
gervwyk on HN
YAML whitespace errors are hard to debug
From 1 comment
Are all features available when writing the files in JSON format? YAML is a catastrophe. I have spent hours trying to fix a whitespace error in a YAML file that silently changed…
smt88 on HN
Requests
Authentication (OAuth/OpenID Connect) support
From 3 comments
Very much looking forward to this. An auth mechanism is a must have for my team to adopt new tools.
gigatexal on HN+1 keep it OSS
la6471 on HNThis seems super powerful. Nice to see a new approach in lowering the technical bar for building web apps over flow programming. I'd be really interested to see what culture this…
thatthing on HN
Documentation for writing connectors
From 1 comment
This is very useful! I was going through the code and it seems quite simple to add new connections. But I didn't find any documentation around it. Are you not planning on…
dreamer7 on HN
Documentation of JSON support
From 1 comment
Can completely understand. We support both YAML and JSON. This isn’t documented that well, so we can add a section in the docs on that.
SamTolmay on HN
GUI editor for generating config
From 1 comment
Very nice tool. Especially keen on the YAML format and rendering for form purposes. Is it possible to abstract that part out on my own? Does it also come with a GUI editor? I’d…
tixocloud on HN
Questions
Can it be used for public SaaS apps, not only internal tools?
From 1 comment
What are the limitations that make it suitable for internal use only? Would it be a good tool for external facing SAAS apps, with auth etc?
pchal on HN
Can forms be embedded in a production platform?
From 2 comments
Very nice tool. Especially keen on the YAML format and rendering for form purposes. Is it possible to abstract that part out on my own? Does it also come with a GUI editor? I’d…
tixocloud on HNThanks! I'll go through some things that are possible, and hopefully that answers your questions. Please let me know if I missed/misunderstood anything. Firstly, we don't have an…
SamTolmay on HN
Are all features available in JSON?
From 1 comment
Are all features available when writing the files in JSON format? YAML is a catastrophe. I have spent hours trying to fix a whitespace error in a YAML file that silently changed…
smt88 on HN
Alternatives named
Retool
From 1 comment
Looks promising. Lately I have been using Retool to build my internal app and I must say this is very interesting alternative. In Retool, to edit many components, I have to click…
exdeve on HN
Flow programming tools
From 1 comment
This seems super powerful. Nice to see a new approach in lowering the technical bar for building web apps over flow programming. I'd be really interested to see what culture this…
thatthing on HN