Frequently Asked Questions

How is Phaset different from Backstage?

Backstage is powerful but requires significant operational and organizational overhead—infrastructure, plugins, maintenance. Phaset delivers the core value (catalog, documentation, metrics) as a self-contained application you install once. No Kubernetes required, no plugin ecosystem to manage. We focus on knowledge consolidation rather than infrastructure provisioning.

What are the technical requirements to run Phaset?

Phaset requires running two components: A static web app and a compiled Node.js API. Phaset itself includes all moving parts, including databases, authentication, and more.

After that, the only thing you need to do is write a configuration file and point it to an email provider that supports SMTP usage with a password, for sending out sign-in emails from the Phaset installation.

What are "organizations" in Phaset?

Organizations let you create separate, isolated workspaces within a single Phaset instance. Each organization has its own users, catalog entries, and data—completely independent from others. Since users can belong to multiple organizations, you can flexibly structure Phaset to match your company's needs—whether that's separating departments, business units, or client projects.

Does Phaset support distributed setups?

No, Phaset does not natively support distributed setups. It is single-node only.

How do integrations work?

Phaset integrates via GitHub Actions and similar automation-first approaches. Or over a plain, documented API supporting any use case you might need! If you're a Large Organization user I am happy to hear about any other integration needs you might have and look at having Phaset support them.

How is data stored?

Phaset uses MikroDB for authentication data and PikoDB for operational persisted data, such as the catalog and metamodel entities. PikoDB-persisted data is plaintext, while MikroDB data is converted to binary. Because both databases are file-based, backups are very easy to perform in whatever way suits you.

What does "perpetual license" actually mean?

You pay once for a major version (e.g., Phaset 1.x) and use it forever. All updates within that version (1.0, 1.1, and so on) are free forever. When a future Phaset 2.0 launches, you can upgrade at the then-current price, but your 1.x license keeps working. No recurring fees, no expiration. You own it.

Do you collect or store my data?

No. Phaset is self-hosted—all your operational data stays in your infrastructure. We never see it. We only collect payment information (via Polar) and perform boot-time license checks to prevent abuse. There is no other telemetry, analytics, or external data processors.

What's included in "email support"?

Paying customers get email support within 48 hours. Security issues and large organizations get priority attention. Reality check: Phaset is currently a focused side project, so there is no 24/7 enterprise SLA.

Can I try it before buying?

Yes. The free license includes the full feature set for personal, non-commercial use. Organizations can evaluate it for 30 days under the free license. After that, purchase a license to continue. This isn't honor-system forever—it's to let you validate fit before committing.

What if I outgrow the Small Organization tier?

Contact us and we'll help you upgrade to the Large Organization license. You'll pay the difference between tiers ($250) and get the priority support and roadmap influence that comes with it.

Can I buy the Large Organization license even if I'm not that size?

Yes.