Everything you need to know about Phaset.
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. Take a moment to check out the comparison page for more information.
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.
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 Plus user I am happy to hear about any other integration needs you might have and look at having Phaset support them.
No, Phaset does not natively support distributed setups. It is single-node only.
One plan (license) covers one production instance. You can run additional instances for development, staging, or testing without extra licenses. If you need multiple production instances (e.g., separate instances for different business units), contact us about multi-instance licensing.
Phaset requires running two components: A static web app and a packaged 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.
Minimal: The web app is a set of static files (~1 MB) and the API is ultra-lightweight (less than 0.5 MB). Storage depends on your catalog size—but even for bigger needs will be measured in megabytes. Network usage is, beyond license checks, equivalent to what occurs between the API and web application. A basic VM with 1 GB RAM and 10 GB storage is more than sufficient to start.
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.
Yes. Your license isn't tied to specific hardware. You can migrate your Phaset installation to different servers, cloud providers, or infrastructure as needed. Just move your data files and configuration—your license key works anywhere.
Updates are manual—you download the new version and restart the service. Typical update time of the API is a few seconds. Since Phaset is self-hosted, you control the maintenance window. For zero-downtime updates, you'd need to set up your own load balancer or blue-green deployment, as Phaset itself is single-node. For the web application, many providers offer zero-downtime deployments for static pages.
Yes. Phaset supports Single Sign-On (SSO) via OIDC, with verified support for Google Workspace and Microsoft Azure AD. This allows your teams to authenticate using your existing identity provider. Additionally, Phaset supports SCIM 2.0 for automated user provisioning and deprovisioning, tested with Azure Entra ID but compatible with any SCIM-compliant identity provider. Available in Phaset 1.3.0 and later.
Phaset offers two authentication methods: email-based authentication (magic links) for simple deployments, and Single Sign-On (SSO) via OIDC for enterprise environments. You can configure SSO to work with Google Workspace, Microsoft Azure AD, or other OIDC-compatible identity providers. For automated user lifecycle management, Phaset also supports SCIM 2.0 provisioning.
Yes. During your integration stage, simply run the integration toward Phaset for each manifest (i.e. record).
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.
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.
Yes. If Phaset doesn't work for you within 30 days of purchase, contact us for a full refund. We want you to be confident in your purchase, and the 30-day evaluation period with the free license should help you make an informed decision.
Contact us and we'll help you upgrade to the Plus plan. You'll pay the difference between plans ($250) and get the priority support and roadmap influence that comes with it.
Yes.
Contact us at [email protected] with your purchase details. We can issue a replacement key for verified purchases. Since licenses are perpetual and tied to your purchase record, you won't lose access to your software.
Your perpetual license means the software keeps working regardless. There's no phone-home requirement for day-to-day operation (only periodic license verification). If development stops, you continue using your version indefinitely. Your data is in standard formats (plaintext and binary files), making migration straightforward if ever needed.
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.
No, Phaset is distributed in production-ready compiled form. However, each download includes an open source license file that documents all third-party dependencies and their licenses, ensuring full transparency about what's included in the software.
Every Phaset download includes a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) file that lists all dependencies, their versions, and security information. This allows you to audit what's in the software and track any potential vulnerabilities in the supply chain.
Since Phaset is self-hosted and all data remains in your infrastructure, you are the data controller. Phaset itself doesn't transmit user data to external services (except for the optional SMTP provider you configure for authentication emails). This architecture makes GDPR compliance much simpler—you control where data lives, how it's processed, and who has access. You should still perform your own compliance assessment based on how you deploy and use Phaset.
Because Phaset is self-hosted with no external data transmission (beyond your chosen SMTP provider for emails), it simplifies compliance with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and similar privacy laws. Your data never crosses borders unless you choose to deploy it that way. However, Phaset is not certified for specific compliance frameworks—you should evaluate your deployment against your specific regulatory requirements.
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.
All updates within your major version (e.g., 1.x) are free forever and delivered through our release channels. Security patches are prioritized and released as soon as possible. You control when to apply updates—there are no forced upgrades. We recommend subscribing to release notifications to stay informed about updates.
We're here to help. Reach out and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Install Phaset now or view pricing options for your organization.