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Introduction to RESTHeart RESTHeart Cloud

What is RESTHeart?

RESTHeart is a framework for building cloud-native HTTP microservices. It’s designed for the JVM and optimized for GraalVM, using Java Virtual Threads for high-performance concurrent processing.

The key insight: RESTHeart has two faces, and understanding this distinction is crucial:

RESTHeart as a Ready-to-Use Platform

Out of the box, RESTHeart provides complete MongoDB APIs that work immediately:

  • REST API - Full CRUD operations, queries, aggregations, transactions

  • GraphQL API - Flexible queries with automatic MongoDB integration

  • WebSocket API - Real-time data with change streams

  • Security - Built-in authentication and authorization

No coding required. You can build complete applications using just HTTP requests and configuration.

RESTHeart as an HTTP Framework

RESTHeart is also a powerful framework for building custom services:

  • Develop plugins in Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, or TypeScript

  • Four simple building blocks: Services, Interceptors, Providers, Initializers

  • Starts in ~100 milliseconds for fast development cycles

  • Each request runs in a dedicated virtual thread (simple, scalable code)

  • Powerful dependency injection

Write custom code when you need functionality beyond the standard MongoDB APIs.

RESTHeart features set

How RESTHeart Works

Architecture

RESTHeart consists of:

  1. restheart-core - The runtime process that:

    • Parses configuration

    • Registers plugins

    • Enforces security policies

    • Routes requests to services

    • Executes interceptors

  2. Standard Plugins - Pre-built functionality in the plugins directory:

plugins
├── lib/                         # Plugin dependencies
├── restheart-graphql.jar       # GraphQL API
├── restheart-metrics.jar       # Metrics and monitoring
├── restheart-mongoclient-provider.jar  # MongoDB connection
├── restheart-mongodb.jar        # REST API for MongoDB
├── restheart-polyglot.jar       # JavaScript/TypeScript support
└── restheart-security.jar       # Authentication & Authorization

  1. Your Custom Plugins (optional) - Add JAR files or JavaScript directories

RESTHeart modular architecture

Who Should Use RESTHeart?

You Need a MongoDB API (No Coding)

Use case: Build mobile apps, web apps, or integrations that need to access MongoDB.

What you’ll use: - Part 2: MongoDB REST API - Part 3: GraphQL & WebSocket APIs - Part 4: Security - Part 5: Configuration & Deployment

Example: A mobile app that needs CRUD operations, user authentication, and real-time updates.

You’re Building Custom HTTP Services

Use case: Build microservices with custom business logic.

What you’ll use: - Part 6: Framework (Plugin Development) - Part 7: Security Plugins (if needed)

Example: An HTTP API that processes payments, sends emails, or integrates with third-party services.

You Need Both

Use case: Use the MongoDB API for data operations, plus custom services for business logic.

What you’ll use: Everything!

Example: An e-commerce platform using the MongoDB API for products/orders, plus custom services for payment processing and inventory management.

Why RESTHeart?

Speed and Ease

RESTHeart prioritizes speed and simplicity. It’s built with high-quality libraries to provide a seamless developer experience.

Virtual Threads for Superior Performance

RESTHeart fully embraces virtual threads, the groundbreaking feature introduced in Java 21. Virtual threads deliver remarkable performance and efficiency improvements:

  • Faster execution

  • Lower memory footprint

  • Simpler concurrent code

  • Better resource utilization

This keeps RESTHeart at the forefront of high-performance, scalable frameworks.

Instant APIs Out of the Box

For many applications, you just need: - Data access - REST/GraphQL/WebSocket APIs for MongoDB - Security - Authentication and authorization - Configuration - Connect to your database

Most applications require exactly this. Run a stock RESTHeart instance with zero code!

Tip
 Check the demo Web Chat application. It requires zero lines of backend code.

Built for Developers

When you need custom functionality, RESTHeart makes plugin development simple:

Hello World in Java:

@RegisterPlugin(name = "greetings", description = "just another Hello World")
public class GreeterService implements JsonService {
    @Override
    public void handle(JsonRequest request, JsonResponse response) {
        response.setContent(object().put("message", "Hello World!"));
    }
}

Hello World in JavaScript:

export const options = { name: "greetings", description: "just another Hello World" }

export function handle(request, response) {
    response.setContent(JSON.stringify({ msg: 'Hello World' }));
    response.setContentTypeAsJson();
}
Note
 JavaScript runs in a thread-safe, multi-threading environment. No async/await, promises, or callbacks required. Just clean, simple code.

Key Features

  • Declarative Security - Configure authentication and authorization without code

  • Instant MongoDB APIs - REST, GraphQL, and WebSocket

  • Polyglot - Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, TypeScript

  • High Performance - Hundreds of thousands of requests per second

  • Cloud-Ready - Docker, Kubernetes, GraalVM native images

  • Fully Extensible - Simple plugin system

What Makes RESTHeart Different?

RESTHeart is similar to frameworks like Undertow (which RESTHeart uses internally), Vert.x, Quarkus, Spring Boot, and Node.js.

The difference: RESTHeart includes application-level features, not just framework primitives.

  • Other frameworks require you to implement authentication, database access, API design, security

  • RESTHeart provides these features ready to use, and lets you customize when needed

Deployment Options

RESTHeart runs anywhere Java runs:

  • Standalone JAR - java -jar restheart.jar

  • Docker - docker run softinstigate/restheart

  • Kubernetes - Deploy with standard manifests

  • GraalVM Native - ~40MB native binary, instant startup

  • Cloud Platforms - AWS, GCP, Azure

Licensing

RESTHeart is dual-licensed:

  • AGPL - Free and open source (no feature restrictions)

  • Enterprise License - Business-friendly license for closed-source products

Learn more about Enterprise License

What’s Next?

Ready to get started?

Quick Start →

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