Launching FetchDB: A Drop-In Alternative to MongoDB Atlas' Soon-to-be Deprecated Data API

With MongoDB's recent announcement deprecating their Data API, many businesses (including ours) are facing the challenge of migrating their existing solutions. Today, we're introducing a solution that not only fills this gap but also simplifies the entire process.

The Setback

MongoDB's Data API deprecation has left many organizations in a precarious position. The existing alternatives often require:

• Significant refactoring of existing code

• Complex authentication setup

• Additional infrastructure management

• New deployment configurations

• Learning curve for development teams

These hurdles can lead to extended development cycles and increased operational overhead, especially for teams already running production workloads.

Our Solution: FetchDB - A Drop-in MongoDB Atlas Data API Alternative

We've developed an alternative that prioritizes developer experience and operational simplicity. Here's what makes our solution stand out:

1. True Drop-in Replacement

Unlike other solutions that require extensive modifications, our platform works with your existing API logic. There's no need to:

• Rewrite your API calls

• Modify your authentication flow

• Change your existing data models

• Update your client-side code

// Your existing MongoDB Data API code
const response = await fetch('https://data.mongodb-api.com/...', {
  headers: { 'api-key': process.env.MONGODB_API_KEY },
  body: JSON.stringify({ 
    collection: 'users',
    database: 'production',
    dataSource: 'Cluster0' 
  })
});

// With our solution - spot the difference
const response = await fetch('https://api.ourservice.com/...', {
  headers: { 'api-key': process.env.MONGODB_API_KEY },
  body: JSON.stringify({ 
    collection: 'users',
    database: 'production',
    dataSource: 'Cluster0' 
  })
});

2. Minimal Configuration

Getting started is as simple as:

1. Add your MongoDB credentials

2. Point your existing requests to our endpoint

3. Continue operating as usual

3. Zero Maintenance Overhead

We handle:

• Security patches

• Performance optimizations

• Scaling infrastructure

• Monitoring and alerting

• High availability setup

4. Source-Available: Peace of Mind

Our commitment to being source-available means:

• Complete transparency in implementation

• No vendor lock-in concerns

• Ability to audit security practices

• Option to self-host if needed

What's the Catch?

We're not pretending this is magic - it's just good engineering with a focus on backwards compatibility. Yes, we charge for it. Yes, there are enterprise features that cost more. But the base service is probably cheaper than what you're spending on infrastructure maintenance right now.

Why we built this?

At Truto, we run our systems on MongoDB, Cloudflare Workers, and Digital Ocean. Cloudflare Workers are central to our architecture, and like many others using this stack, MongoDB's Data API was our go-to solution. It pairs naturally with Cloudflare Workers. When MongoDB announced the Data API deprecation, we had a choice: migrate to a different setup or find a way to make things work. We chose the latter.

Instead of a quick fix, we decided to build something robust. During development, we realized this wasn't just our problem. Thousands of businesses running similar architectures face the same situation:

• Moving away from MongoDB isn't practical

• Existing alternatives require major code rewrites

• Migration would mean weeks of development time

• Business operations need continuity

This insight changed everything. What started as our solution could help the entire community using this stack. So we transformed it into a service that's:

• Production-ready (we run our own systems on it)

• Affordable (we price it for businesses of all sizes)

• Maintainable (we handle the infrastructure headaches)

• Transparent (we made it source-available)Getting Started

Getting Started

To begin using our solution:

1. Set up a meeting with us to get an account setup

2. Add your MongoDB credentials

3. Update your API endpoint

If it works (and it will), you've just saved yourself weeks of migration or maintenance work. If it doesn't, tell us why and we'll fix it.