Help

How BackendGen.dev works, from your first download to updating a live server. Prefer pictures? See the walkthrough with screenshots.

Download the full user manual (PDF, 36 pages) · everything on this page and more: every setting, Unity, Godot and Unreal, Omni Cluster on Windows and Linux, going live, the business portal, troubleshooting.

Getting started

1. Create your free account and confirm your email address (we send you a link).
2. Open the Game generator (multiplayer games, apps and community backends) or the Business generator (staff portal, online shop and bookings) from the menu. You can try both free: every setting and check works.
3. Fill in the tabs. The panel on the right checks your settings as you go and shows what your download will contain.
4. Get a licence to download: buy one on your account page, or claim your free one if you bought Universal Backend Generator on the Unity Asset Store. Your settings are kept while you do.
5. Click Download backend (.zip). You get a zip with your backend's full source code, ready to run.

You can generate as many projects as you like. The code is yours to keep, change and ship, and it doesn't depend on BackendGen.dev to run.

Running your backend

Every download starts with a START-HERE.txt file that walks you through it. In short:

1. Install Node.js 22 or newer (the LTS version).
2. Unzip the download, open your backend's folder and double-click start-local.cmd (Windows) or start-local.command (Mac). On Linux, run npm install and then node server.js in that folder.
3. Open the address it shows to check it's running.

start-local is for trying it on your computer: the server stops when you close that window.

Keeping it running on a server

On a server that stays online, run your backend with PM2 instead. It keeps the backend running in the background, restarts it if it crashes, and can start it again after the server reboots. In your backend's folder on the server (after npm install):

npm install -g pm2
pm2 start server.js --name mygame
pm2 save

• Start after a reboot: on Linux run pm2 startup (and the command it prints), then pm2 save again. On Windows, add a scheduled task that runs pm2 resurrect at startup: it starts before anyone signs in and keeps running after you sign out of Remote Desktop. The deploy guide has the commands. Keep PM2 rather than a Windows service, because update packages restart your backend through PM2.
• Everyday commands: pm2 status, pm2 logs mygame, pm2 restart mygame (after changing .env or settings).
• Updates: update packages find the PM2 process by themselves and restart it for you.

Putting it on a server for the first time? The deploy guide goes from the zip to a live HTTPS server step by step, on Ubuntu or Windows Server.

README-SETUP.txt in the backend folder covers everything else: putting it online, HTTPS, backups and admin access. The Advanced licence also includes ready-made hosting set-ups (VPS with Caddy, Render, Fly.io, Railway, Docker and more).

Who can change what (access rules)

Your backend decides, path by path, who may read and write each player's data: for example, only Alice can change users/Alice/profile. In the game generator, open Players & Security to see every rule in a table. You can edit a rule, add your own or remove one. Write routes no rule covers get an automatic owner-only rule, so nothing is left open by accident.

Under the table, Would this be allowed? tests a request (for example "Bob writes users/Alice/profile") and shows each check the backend makes and which rule decides. The rules go into access-rules.json in your download. For a backend that's already live, use Download access-rules.json, put the file in the backend folder and restart: updates never change that file. You can also load a live server's access-rules.json into the table with Load backend-config.json….

Unity games

Game downloads also include the Unity client scripts. Copy the Assets folder from the Unity part of the zip into your Unity project's folder (it merges into Assets/Scripts/Network), then follow the Unity step in README-SETUP.txt. The client works in WebGL and IL2CPP builds.

Not using Unity, Godot or Unreal? The download also has a JavaScript client and an OpenAPI description, so any front end can use it.

Does it do the multiplayer networking?

No, and it doesn't need to. Keep using Mirror, Netcode for GameObjects or Fish-Net for the gameplay itself (moving players, syncing the match). Your backend runs everything around it: accounts, player data, rankings and chat, plus matchmaking and a list of your game servers with the Advanced licence. Your game servers check a player's session and report match results with a server key, so they never need the admin password. The guides for Mirror, Fish-Net, Netcode for GameObjects and Godot 4 multiplayer show the code, step by step.

Godot games

Game downloads include a Godot 4 client (Godot 4.2 or newer) in the Godot part of the zip. Copy its addons folder into your Godot project, then tick the plugin in Project > Project Settings > Plugins. That adds the autoload Backend, which any script can use, for example Backend.sign_in("Ann").

With your server running, open the example scene in the plugin's example folder and press F6 to try sign-in, saving data and chat. README.txt in the Godot part lists everything else. It works in every export, the web included. With the Advanced licence it also has live updates, the realtime connection and the Add-on's game services.

Making a multiplayer game with Godot's own networking? The Godot 4 multiplayer guide shows how your server checks who each player is before they join.

Unreal games

Game downloads include an Unreal Engine 5 plugin in the Unreal part of the zip. Close the editor, copy its Plugins folder into your project's folder (next to the .uproject file), open the project and click Yes when Unreal offers to build it. It needs Visual Studio with the "Game development with C++" workload; Blueprint-only projects work too.

Set your server's address in Project Settings > Plugins, then right-click in any Blueprint and type your game's name: Sign In, Read Data, Write Data and the rest, each with On Success and On Failure. C++ works too. With the Advanced licence there are nodes for leaderboards, cloud saves, the economy and matchmaking, and game-server nodes for your dedicated servers. The Unreal guide walks through it.

Business backends

The Business generator makes a backend for a shop, salon, clinic, trade or office: a staff portal your team signs in to (owner, manager and staff roles) and the records you choose. With the Advanced licence you can add an online shop (cards through Stripe and/or PayPal) and online bookings.

Run it the same way (double-click start-local). README-SETUP.txt explains setting up your team, payments, emails and going live. Payments go straight to your own Stripe or PayPal account: we never see them.

Saving projects & updates

Signed in, click Save in either generator to keep your settings. Saved projects are listed under My projects. Passwords and keys are never saved: you keep those in your own .env.

When a new version comes out, open your saved project and click Download update package (in either generator). It updates the program files on your server without touching your database or keys: it backs up, updates, restarts and checks the server, and rolls back if it doesn't come up. HOW-TO-UPDATE.txt inside explains each step.

Every update in the current major version (1.x) is free.

Licences

• One-time payment, no subscription. Unlimited projects, and every 1.x update is free. When a new major version comes out, owners get a discounted upgrade.
• Base: single-server backends with SQLite, player sign-in, match results and ranking, the Unity, Godot, Unreal and JavaScript clients, and business staff portals.
• Advanced: Base plus the Advanced Add-on: PostgreSQL and multiple servers, matchmaking, parties and guilds, live updates, an admin dashboard, economy, hosting templates, and the business shop and bookings. Already have Base? You can add the Add-on on your account page.
• Teams and studios: a licence is for one person, and the code it generates is for your whole team to use and change. Each person who uses the generator needs their own licence. For several people, a studio licence (5 or 10 Advanced seats) costs less per person: buy it on your account page, then give each seat to someone by email in Your team there. Removing someone frees their seat (what they downloaded stays theirs); a team can move as many seats as it has in any 30 days. Bigger team? Email hello@backendgen.dev.
• Discount codes: on your account page, click Have a discount code? under the licences, enter your code, then click Buy. The checkout shows the discounted price before you pay.
• See pricing, our terms and the refund policy (a full refund within 14 days if you haven't downloaded a backend since buying).

Asset Store customers

Bought Universal Backend Generator on the Unity Asset Store? You get a free web licence (and the Add-on too, if you bought it there). It's also the quickest way to get updates: new versions reach the web generator first, while Asset Store updates wait a few days for Unity's review.

It only works that way round: a BackendGen.dev licence doesn't include the Unity Asset Store package (the version that runs inside the Unity Editor), which is sold by Unity. You don't need it to make Unity games: every download includes the Unity C# client to add to your project.

1. Create your account (or sign in).
2. On your account page, under "Bought it on the Unity Asset Store?", enter your invoice number (and the Add-on's, if you have one). You'll find them in Unity's order confirmation email or your order history on the Asset Store.
3. We check every invoice by hand. Once it's approved, the licence appears on your account and we email you.

Not the same as BackendGen on GitHub

No. BackendGen.dev has nothing to do with other projects, packages or repositories with a similar name, such as the backendgen projects on GitHub. It's made and sold only here, by Michael Rowley in the UK, and it's the web version of Universal Backend Generator on the Unity Asset Store. Licences, downloads, updates and support only ever come from backendgen.dev and hello@backendgen.dev, so code, issues or support from those other projects aren't ours.

Your account

Forgotten your password?

On the sign-in page, click Forgot your password? and we'll email you a link to set a new one.

Changing your details or password

On your account page, under Your details, you can change your name and company, and change your password (you'll need your current one).

Locked out of your email?

If you can't get into the email address your account uses, we can move your account to a new one. Email hello@backendgen.dev from your new address with your name, the old email address, and your Paddle order number (it's on your receipt), or your Unity Asset Store invoice number if you claimed a free licence. Once we've checked it's you, we'll move your account and licence and send a link to set a new password.

Deleting your account

On your account page, scroll to Delete your account. This deletes your sign-in, saved projects and any Asset Store claim straight away. We keep a record of your licence and purchases because UK accounting rules require it; see our privacy policy.