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Show HN: Encore – Type-safe back end framework that generates infra from code

(github.com)
76 points andout_ | 1 comments | 14 Nov 25 11:41 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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phpnode ◴[14 Nov 25 13:03 UTC] No.45926332[source]▶
Curious about how this compares to alchemy - https://alchemy.run/
replies(1): >>45926540 #
andout_ ◴[14 Nov 25 13:31 UTC] No.45926540[source]▶
I haven't heard about Alchemy before, but from skimming their docs it looks like Terraform/Pulumi in code form where you explicitly configure infrastructure. Whereas with Encore, you define what you need directly in your application code (databases, pub/sub topics, cron jobs as type-safe objects), and Encore handles provisioning across all environments. Plus you get local development tools, distributed tracing, and automatic API documentation out of the box. The key difference is the toolbox you get + the fact that you're writing application logic, not infrastructure config.
replies(1): >>45927391 #
mcintyre1994 ◴[14 Nov 25 14:59 UTC] No.45927391[source]▶
I've only really used AWS at a startup, but this sounds kinda scary based on that experience just because it's so easy to configure services in AWS to cost you lots more. How does something like Encore figure out what to use for the nitty-gritty AWS config details without exposing the user to those decisions? I can't remember any really specific examples because it's been a while since I used AWS, but a smaller example would be something like configuring logging/time to keep logs.
replies(1): >>45927479 #
1. andout_ ◴[14 Nov 25 15:07 UTC] No.45927479[source]▶
Encore uses sensible defaults optimized for cost and performance (eg. reasonable instance sizes, log retention periods, backup schedules), but you have full control to modify anything. You can adjust configs per environment through the Encore Cloud dashboard or directly in your AWS console - it's all standard AWS resources (RDS, Fargate, etc.) in your account.

The goal is to start with good defaults so you don't have to think about every config detail upfront, but nothing is locked down. You can also set up approval workflows for any infrastructure changes that have cost implications before they're applied.