Trestle
A practical self-hosted backend with collections, authentication, files, jobs, functions, webhooks and an HTTP API.
Open Trestle at my.trestle.cv.
No configured instances: my.trestle.cv immediately opens localhost:7333, so a normal single local installation needs no launcher setup.
One configured instance: it opens that named instance directly. Two or more: it shows the instance catalog, with each entry storing a name, domain/IP and optional port.
The configuration remains browser-local and can be opened directly even when normal launcher navigation redirects. The planned my.gantry.cv app drawer links into these per-project launchers rather than copying their instance registries.
The backend pieces web applications repeatedly need, in one service you control.
Trestle is Gantry’s self-hosted backend platform. It gives an application structured collections and records, authentication, users, files, jobs, functions, webhooks and an HTTP API without requiring the frontend to adopt a proprietary runtime or SDK.
The smallest deployment is intentionally uncomplicated: SQLite makes a single executable and local data store practical for personal projects and small services. PostgreSQL is available when the deployment needs a different concurrency, operational or data-management profile. The beginner does not have to choose an “enterprise” topology on day one.
The dashboard is a management surface over the backend rather than the only way to use it. Applications remain ordinary HTTP clients, which is why Trestle can sit behind a Nift site, JavaScript app, Python service or something built outside Gantry entirely.
Useful capability without mandatory complexity.
The project stays focused on its own job; the surrounding Gantry tools remain optional.
Define application data with common field types and manage records through the dashboard or HTTP API.
Keep user identity and application data in the same self-hosted backend instead of adding a separate hosted auth dependency.
Handle common backend work beyond CRUD, including uploads, queued/background work and programmable functions.
Integrate external systems through webhooks while keeping the application-facing interface a straightforward HTTP API.
Start with the shortest path.
Advanced deployment or integration features appear only when the workflow actually needs them.
- 01
Start with SQLite and a local Trestle instance while developing the application.
- 02
Use
my.trestle.cvas the stable entry point: no configuration goes tolocalhost:7333, one configured deployment opens directly, and several become a chooser. - 03
Build against the HTTP API from whatever frontend or service language suits the project.
- 04
Move to PostgreSQL, a reverse proxy, monitoring or clustering only when the production deployment genuinely needs those layers.
Connections that remove real hand-off friction.
Each product already owns one side of these workflows. The integration exists to remove duplicate navigation, setup or context.
Nift
Nift can build the frontend while Trestle provides persistent backend state. The connection is deliberately HTTP-based, so a generated Nift site stays ordinary web output rather than becoming a special Trestle client.
Explore Nift →Watchpost
Watchpost observes the machine and service underneath Trestle: resource pressure, process failure and host health. That gives operators infrastructure evidence without putting monitoring responsibilities into the backend itself.
Explore Watchpost →Webfleet
Webfleet tests the public side of a Trestle-backed application or API. Together with Watchpost it separates “the process is healthy” from “the endpoint users depend on is actually reachable and behaving correctly.”
Explore Webfleet →Cortex
When a backend or application fails, Cortex can work on the project code, inspect logs and run the same build/test commands a developer would use. The connection is workflow-oriented rather than a hidden privileged control channel.
Explore Cortex →Where Trestle earns its place.
Use SQLite and a single process for a compact application with very little operational ceremony.
Run behind TLS/reverse proxy, use PostgreSQL where appropriate and monitor the host with Watchpost.
Provide auth, data, files and jobs for dashboards and operational apps without creating a custom backend from scratch.
Explore Trestle.
Project-specific installation, commands and release details live on the project site.