The Space Runtime

The Runtime

Deta Space has its own runtime, the Space Runtime, that can run almost any type of app. For example, the Space Runtime supports:

  • frontend sites built with frameworks like React, Vue, and Svelte
  • full-stack frameworks like Next, Nuxt, or SvelteKit
  • backend apps built with Node.js, Python and even Go, Rust or something more custom

An individual Space app can be built by combining these different technologies, for example, a SvelteKit app with a Go API or a Next.js app with a Python API — really any combination of up to 5 different languages and frameworks.

Learn more about building your first app in the New Space App Guide.

Micros

We call these individual parts of an app Micros. A Micro is a lightweight serverless compute service running inside your app that can be exposed to the world using HTTP.

Micros can run tasks in response to triggers, like schedules, via Actions.

The Space Runtime combines all your Micros into a single app that you can install and use via a single domain. The Runtime handles most of the work for you, you only need to worry about your app or the infrastructure itself.

Authentication

A core part of the Space Runtime is a unique and fully managed approach to Authentication. As a developer, you don’t have to think about user management, auth or data separation. Just build something for yourself. Read more here.

The Spacefile

The Space Runtime uses a configuration file, called a Spacefile, to understand what Micros your app contains and how to run each one individually and in concert. The Spacefile must be named exactly Spacefile (capitalized and without an extension) and needs to be in the root directory of your project and uses a syntax similar to YAML.

If you’re new to YAML and want to learn more, see Learn YAML in Y minutes.

Here is an example Spacefile for an app with a Python Micro and a Go Micro:

Spacefile
v: 0
icon: ./icon.png
app_name: "My App"
micros:
  - name: python-app
    src: ./src/python
    engine: python3.9
    primary: true


  - name: custom-app
    src: ./src/custom
    engine: custom
    commands:
      - go get
      - go build main.go
    run: ./main
    include:
      - main

The Space CLI will automatically generate a Spacefile for you when you create a new project using space new. It will try to auto detect your Micros and use the right configuration.

Take a look at our Quick Starters for instructions about specific languages and the Spacefile Reference for a comprehensive list of available configuration options.

Ignoring files and directories

To exclude certain files and directories from being uploaded during space push, use the .spaceignore file. It acts similar to a .gitignore file, where each line in the file specifies a pattern. All files and directories matching the patterns will be excluded from push.

For example, using space push with the following .spaceignore file will ignore the test and docs paths:

.spaceignore
test
docs

The patterns from the .spaceignore file are combined with a list of default ignore patterns, see more below.

Default ignore patterns

Certain directories and files are ignored by the Space CLI automatically. They do not need to be specified in the .spaceignore file.

List of files and directories that are ignored by default:

# space
.space
.spaceignore


# version control
.hg
.git
.gitmodules
.gitignore
.svn


# build
build
dist


# js frameworks
.next
.nuxt
.svelte-kit
.astro


# node
node_modules
.npmignore
.cache
.yarn
npm-debug.log*
yarn-debug.log*
yarn-error.log*
lerna-debug.log*
.pnpm-debug.log*


# python
.venv
venv
virtualenv
__pycache__


# rust
target


# coverage
*.lcov
.nyc_output
.coverage
.coverage.*


# docker
.dockerignore


# env
.env.local
.env.*.local
.env
.envrc


# ide
.*.swp
.vscode
.history


# system
.DS_Store


# other
.lock-wscript
config.gypi
CVS

These patterns are always ignored, unless overwriten by a negate pattern in the .spaceignore file.

Negating a pattern

You can use an optional prefix ! to negate a pattern; any matching file excluded by a previous pattern will become included again. For example, this is useful if you want to overwrite the default ignore list.

For a .spaceignore file with the following content, space push will not ignore the node_modules directory:

.spaceignore
!node_modules/