![Mittelgroßer Stern ⭐](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/2b50.png)
last year I built stuff that doesn’t sound like frontend work:
- custom APIs and DBs (both GraphQL & REST)
- user dashboards
- video manipulation
but it all *felt* comfortable & within my skillset
how? a thread:
![Thread 🧵](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f9f5.png)
I do all sorts of demos and "hello world" projects, but I want to focus on real-world apps only in this thread. specifically, I'll talk about this production project:
Jamstack Explorers ![Woman astronaut 👩🚀](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f469-200d-1f680.png)
this is a load-bearing app that a lot of people depend on
![Funken ✨](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/2728.png)
![Woman astronaut 👩🚀](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f469-200d-1f680.png)
this is a load-bearing app that a lot of people depend on
to build Jamstack Explorers, we needed:
a custom database to track mission progress
a content management system
user authentication
video manipulation
we were a small team of frontend devs and we needed to ship quickly — this was a daunting todo list
![Aktenschrank 🗄](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f5c4.png)
![Memo 📝](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f4dd.png)
![Geschlossenes Schloss mit Schlüssel 🔐](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f510.png)
![Filmklappe 🎬](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f3ac.png)
we were a small team of frontend devs and we needed to ship quickly — this was a daunting todo list
![Lächelndes Gesicht mit offenem Mund und Angstschweiß 😅](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f605.png)
![Aktenschrank 🗄](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f5c4.png)
using @HasuraHQ Cloud, we were able to create a new DB, configure it, and test the API all from a web interface — no config files or server setup required
we got it running in a day & I never felt like I was in over my head, even though DBs make me nervous!
![Memo 📝](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f4dd.png)
we chose @sanity_io as a CMS. we used their CLI + JSON schema to set it up for Markdown + @mdx_js, exposed through a GraphQL API
the docs were great — it still felt like I was well within my frontend wheelhouse while we set this up
![Geschlossenes Schloss mit Schlüssel 🔐](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f510.png)
OAuth2 is a challenge to set up, *BUT* by using @Netlify Functions, we only had to figure out how to handle auth — not how to set up/deploy a server, listen for requests, AND handle auth. it was head-bendy, but it's still written in JS, so it felt familiar
![Filmklappe 🎬](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f3ac.png)
this scared me — like, where do we even start?
fortunately, @cloudinary made it super approachable! we upload videos through Cloudinary's UI, then use the URL-based API to handle transformations like auto-generated title cards & auto-inserted bumper videos
![Rückhand Zeigefinger nach rechts 👉](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f449.png)
it felt GREAT to be able to build all of that functionality without having to step very far outside my primary skillset. I got to be a frontend developer, and when we needed more, we stitched in third-party services and relied on serverless to keep things approachable
![Feuer 🔥](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f525.png)
this approach also made us SO MUCH FASTER. we built all of that functionality as a team of frontend devs in a couple months while *also* working on a pile of other projects *and* making all the video content for it ![Explodierender Kopf 🤯](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f92f.png)
what we *didn't* do is go into crunch mode to ship
![Explodierender Kopf 🤯](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f92f.png)
what we *didn't* do is go into crunch mode to ship
![Augen 👀](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f440.png)
while I'd love to say it's because my team is incredible (they are), the truth is that the Jamstack architecture with SaaS powering backend needs will make teams faster no matter who they are. there's less context switching, fewer layers to navigate, and clearer system boundaries
![Pfeil nach rechts ➡️](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/27a1.png)
I'm even *more* stoked to see what the devs in this incredible community can do with all these capabilities!
![Violettes Herz 💜](https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f49c.png)
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