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Backend & Data

Guide to Backend Agents, Data Insights, and Data Connectors for building powerful server-side features.

Backend Agents require a Business plan. Data Insights requires Pro. Data Connectors are available on all plans.

Backend Agents

Backend Agents are AI-powered server-side processes that run autonomously. Describe what the agent should do, and GenMB generates the code, deploys it, and runs it on a schedule or on-demand.

Business plan required

Backend Agents are a Business plan feature. Teams can share agents across workspaces and assign monitoring responsibilities.

Backend Agents support stateful operations. They can read and write to your app's database, call external APIs, and maintain state between runs. Monitor every run in the Agent History panel with detailed logs, outputs, execution time, and status.

Execution limits

Each agent run has a 5-minute timeout (300 seconds). Design your agents to complete within this window. For longer tasks, break them into smaller agents that chain together or use webhook triggers to coordinate multi-step processes.

Setting Up a Backend Agent

Creating a Backend Agent is a straightforward process. Describe what the agent should do, configure its schedule, and GenMB handles the rest.

Describe your agent's behavior

Use natural language to describe what the agent should do. For example: "Check inventory levels every hour and send an email alert when any product drops below 10 units."

Choose a schedule

Select when the agent should run — every minute, hour, day, or week. Alternatively, set up a webhook trigger to run on-demand when called from your app or an external service.

Review and deploy

GenMB generates the agent code, deploys it to Cloud Run, and activates the schedule. The agent begins running automatically at the configured interval.

Monitor execution

Open the Agent History panel to view logs, outputs, execution time, and status (success, failure, running) for each execution. Set up alerts for failures.

Data Insights

Data Insights lets you query your app's data using natural language. Ask questions in plain English and get answers with visualization suggestions — no SQL or database knowledge required.

Pro plan required

Data Insights is a Pro feature. Free-tier users have access to the basic database browser for manual data exploration.

Ask questions like "What were our top 5 products last month?" or "Show me daily signups for the past 30 days." GenMB translates your question into a database query automatically.

After each query, GenMB suggests the best visualization — bar chart, line graph, pie chart, or table. Click to add the visualization to your app. Data Insights works with your app's database (Firestore or PostgreSQL) and understands your schema to generate appropriate queries.

Use Data Insights for ad-hoc exploration first, then add the most useful visualizations permanently to your app's dashboard.

Data Connectors

Data Connectors provide a secure backend proxy for connecting your app to external data sources. REST APIs, databases, and third-party services are accessed through an authenticated proxy so your credentials are never exposed.

All requests flow through GenMB's backend proxy with HMAC token authentication. Your API keys and credentials are never exposed in client-side code. Schema caching improves performance by storing API response schemas, reducing latency for repeated queries.

Use connectors to pull data from CRMs, payment processors, analytics platforms, or any REST API into your GenMB app.

Rate limits

Each app is limited to 60 requests per minute per connector. Design your app to cache connector responses when possible and avoid unnecessary repeated calls.

Configuring a Connector

Setting up a Data Connector is straightforward. Specify the external API, authentication, and GenMB handles the secure proxying.

Specify the external API endpoint

Enter the base URL for the external API you want to connect to, along with the authentication method (API key, OAuth, or custom headers).

Configure authentication and headers

Add any required headers or credentials. These are stored securely on the server and never exposed in browser code.

Test with a sample request

Send a test request to verify authentication and response format before deploying to production.

Use in your app

Reference the connector in your app code. GenMB generates the correct client-side calls that route through the secure backend proxy.

Best Practices

Follow these guidelines to get the most out of GenMB's backend features.

Start simple

Start with simple agent tasks before building complex multi-step automations. Verify each capability works independently before chaining them together.

Set up alerts for Backend Agent failures so you can respond quickly when something goes wrong. Test connector configurations with sample requests before deploying to production — verify authentication and response formats.

Combine features for powerful workflows

Backend Agents can use Data Connectors to pull external data, process it with AI, and store results in your database for Data Insights queries. This combination creates a powerful end-to-end data pipeline.

FAQs

What are Backend Agents?▾

Backend Agents are AI-powered server-side processes. Describe what the agent should do, and GenMB generates the code, deploys it, and runs it on a schedule or webhook trigger. Available on the Business plan.

How does Data Insights work?▾

Type a question in plain English about your app's data. GenMB translates it into a database query, executes it, and returns results with visualization suggestions. Pro feature.

What are Data Connectors?▾

Data Connectors provide a secure backend proxy for connecting to external APIs and data sources. Your credentials are protected with HMAC authentication and never exposed in client code.

Can Backend Agents access external APIs?▾

Yes. Backend Agents can make HTTP requests to any external API, read and write to your database, and process data with AI — all on a configurable schedule.

Is my external data secure with Connectors?▾

Yes. All external requests flow through GenMB's backend proxy with HMAC authentication, schema caching, and rate limiting. API keys are stored securely and never exposed in browser code.

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