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EXTRA LESSONAfter Apple enrolment

Check backups and free-plan limits

An online app needs looking after. Before family rely on it, know how you would get lost information back, and what happens when you reach the free limits.

On your Mac8 min read & do
By the end of this lesson

Make and test a recovery plan, and decide whether the free service fits real use.

Exports and a restore rehearsal take additional time. Keep them separate from your live project.

Let’s do this

  1. 1
    On your Mac

    See what you are actually using

    Open Supabase’s usage and billing pages. Compare your database size, files, outgoing data and number of users against the free allowance. The free plan allows two active projects, and a quiet project can pause after a week, which stops people signing in and saving. Look at the spending controls before you choose a paid plan.

    Supabase pricing (opens a new tab)
  2. 2
    On your Mac

    Decide how you would get information back

    On the free plan, save your own copies of the database regularly; do not assume daily backups are included. Ask Codex to walk you through a safe export. Uploaded files need a separate copy, because a database backup does not contain them. Look after those copies as carefully as the information inside them.

  3. 3
    On your Mac

    Practise getting it back

    Use a separate test project and made-up information to try your own written steps. Check that the tables, the access rules, the files and the sign-in setup all come back, not just that an export file exists. Keep your connection details private and never practise on the live project.

  4. 4
    On your Mac

    Decide before people rely on it

    Write down who will watch the usage, answer support messages, test recovery and keep the service running. If pausing or the free backup limits are not good enough, move to a paid plan before you release. Supabase Pro starts at US$25 a month, and heavy use can cost more. Check your privacy wording again, then go back to the family-testing lessons.

Supabase’s pricing comparison showing free allowances, a pause after one week of inactivity, a two-project limit, and daily backups on paid plans.View larger
Supabase’s pricing page, captured 7 September 2026. The free-plan pause rule is at the bottom of the left column. Paid plans list daily backups; free users need their own backup routine.Screenshot source (opens a new tab)

A message for Codex

Prepare an operating checklist for my first iPhone app on Supabase. Check the current free allowances and pause rules. Explain a safe database export plus separate file backup, protection and retention of backups, and a restore rehearsal in a test project including RLS and auth configuration. Estimate usage from my expected users, identify possible charges and available spending controls, and flag what must be resolved before people rely on the app.

Make this message fit your idea.

What you should see

You have practised getting information back using sample data, and you have decided on free or paid with your eyes open.

If you get stuck

Go at your own pace. There is no test to pass.

Checked 7 September 2026. Screens can change; the official guides below have the latest steps.

Supabase database backupsSupabase pricingControl access to Supabase records