Create secure and private mobile apps using only static JavaScript, HTML, and CSS — and Cordova

What is Userbase?

Userbase is the easiest way to add user accounts and user data persistence to your ~~static site~~ Cordova mobile app. All Userbase features are accessible through a very simple JavaScript SDK. No backend necessary.

What is Cordova?

Cordova is a tool to create mobile apps with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. You can use it to turn your web app into a mobile app.

Installation

If you're experienced with Cordova already, feel free to follow the quickstart instructions below. If you're new to Cordova, we recommend checking out this more detailed guide that shows you how to create an ugly Cordova to-do app from scratch using Userbase.

Create an admin account

First, you need to create a free Userbase admin account. No credit card required.

Install the plugin

The plugin can be installed via the Cordova command line interface:

cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-userbase

The Userbase SDK will then be available globally at window.userbase.

Set the App ID

In your admin account, you will find a Trial app. Get its App ID, and initialize the Userbase SDK with it.

userbase.init({ appId: 'YOUR_APP_ID' })

And you're all set. You can now proceed to the SDK section of the docs.

Why do I need a Cordova plugin to use Userbase with Cordova?

If you try to use Userbase in a Cordova app without the plugin, you'll notice that signing up and signing in are extraordinarily slow. This is because Userbase uses scrypt to hash passwords, and pure JS Scrypt implementations happen to be extraordinarily slow in Cordova apps. This plugin forked the cordova-plugin-scrypt, which uses native C to run Scrypt, thus enabling a more normal sign up/sign in time in Cordova apps.

License

This project is released under the MIT License.