Release Notes
We’ve been hard at work refining every aspect of our platform, from onboarding to backend administration. Here are some of the key improvements we’ve made:
- Streamlined Onboarding Flow: We’ve simplified the initial setup process to help you get started faster and make your first interactions with the platform more intuitive.
- Strengthened Platform Control and Security:
- Implemented tighter controls on the number of times requests can be called, ensuring more predictable and stable application performance.
- Introduced the ability to block deployments based on their creation time, adding another layer of security and operational clarity.
- More Comprehensive Documentation: Our documentation now reflects the latest platform updates, making it easier to find the information you need and stay aligned with best practices.
- Backend Dashboard Enhancements:
- Added a dedicated admin screen to facilitate refined access management, giving you more control over who does what within your environments.
- Enhanced the user interface for file-type fields, offering clearer visuals and interactions.
- Published adjustments to the menu for better, more intuitive navigation.
- Addressed usability concerns in the JavaScript console, making debugging and troubleshooting simpler.
- Bug Fixing and Platform Stability:
- Resolved issues with handling invalid pointers and arrays, ensuring smoother data management.
- Resolved issues with handling invalid pointers and arrays, ensuring smoother data management.
- Blocked the use of reserved class names to prevent conflicts and errors.
- Resolved dashboard bugs to deal with large data volumes to ensure greater overall stability.
- Fixed import/export data functionality so you can transfer resources seamlessly.
These improvements are just part of our ongoing commitment to deliver a smooth, secure, and efficient backend development experience. Your feedback continues to guide us as we refine and evolve the platform.
File upload restrictions: Back4App users benefit from enhanced security as potential phishing attacks through HTML file uploads are now blocked by default. Users who rely on HTML uploads will need to customize settings, but most users will see this as a protective measure against vulnerabilities.
Custom Rate limiting: With this new feature, Back4App users can now limit the number of requests to their apps by adjusting the rateLimit parameter, adding an extra layer of protection against DDoS attacks. This helps ensure app availability and protects against malicious traffic.
Fixes for LiveQuery, Cloud Code triggers, nested object encoding, and client IP issues: Back4App users will experience more stable and predictable app behavior, particularly for real-time applications using LiveQuery and Cloud Code. These fixes resolve issues with date formatting and object handling, improving data integrity and accuracy.
Nested objects stored properly: Back4App users who store complex data structures with nested objects will now see them properly serialized and saved. This improves data consistency but may require review of previous implementations to ensure no unexpected issues arise with data storage.
Removal of Parse.Cloud.httpRequest: Back4App users who relied on the httpRequest convenience method will need to switch to alternative third-party libraries for making HTTP requests. This change could require code adjustments for some users, but more flexibility is available through popular libraries like Axios or Fetch.
Cloud code using Parse SDK JS 4.0: With this update, Back4App users gain access to more powerful and feature-rich SDK capabilities, improving how they handle data and perform operations within cloud code. This update is crucial for users wanting more robust cloud functions.
New Custom Parse Options: Users can now leverage more customizable options for configuring their Parse Server setups (e.g. allowExpiredAuthDataToken, defaultLimit, rateLimit). This opens new possibilities for app-specific optimizations, offering greater control and customization.
Node 18 support: Back4App Backend now supports Node.js 18, enabling users to install and use more recent versions of Node packages in their Cloud Code. This allows for improved performance, access to the latest features, and better security for server-side code execution.