Fullstack in the true sense

In this post, I’d like to focus on some specifics why RedwoodSDK is truly a fullstack framework, and why that matters.

The "Problem" with "Fullstack" Frontends

Classical front-end frameworks are often disjointed. There’s considerable overhead just to get started:

• Setting up a database
• Spinning up a server or backend
• Writing and exposing APIs (REST or GraphQL)
• Wiring it all together

This fragmented approach slows things down and introduces complexity.

RedwoodSDK: The Fullstack Reimagined

RedwoodSDK uses React Server Components (when you need them), eliminating much of that overhead.

It places the database, queues, storage and more right inside the runtime—powered by Cloudflare Workers. No extra server setup. No need to expose APIs just to access your own data.

And the exciting part?
What runs locally mirrors production.
No more “but it works on my machine” headaches. Your local dev environment mirrors production so that you can be more at ease with deployments.

Classic vs RedwoodSDK

Let’s compare a typical setup in a classic React frontend vs. a RedwoodSDK app.

Classic React Frontend: Fetching via API

// React component
export default function UsersPage() {
    const [users, setUsers] = useState([])
    useEffect(() => {
    fetch('/api/users')
        .then((res) => res.json())
        .then((data) => setUsers(data));
    }, []);

    return ...
}

// Node / Python etc server, on a seperate server somewhere
app.get('/api/users', async (req, res) => {
  const users = await db.query('SELECT * FROM users');
  res.json(users);
});

RedwoodSDK Server Component: Direct DB Access

    // users.ts (server function)
    "use server"
    import { db } from "@/db";

    export async function getUsers() {
        const users = await db.users.findAll();
        return users;
    }

    // UserList.tsx (server component)
    import { getUsers } from "./users";

    export default async function UsersPage() {
        const users = await getUsers();
        return (
            <div>
                <ul>
                    {users.map((user) => (
                    <li key={user.id}>{user.name}</li>
                    ))}
                </ul>
            </div>
        )
    }

📘 Read more here on how to setup your Database with RedwoodSDK

Request/Response: You’re in Control

Don’t think you’re limited to React Server Components.

RedwoodSDK operates on a Request/Response cycle, which means you can write routes that return any valid Response:
• JSON
• HTML
• XML
• Plain text
• Anything you need

Example: Custom API Route

// worker.tsx
export default defineApp([
  setCommonHeaders(),
  render(Document, [
    index([UsersPage]),
    route("/docs", async () => {
      return new Response(null, {
        status: 301,
        headers: {
          "Location": "https://docs.rwsdk.com",
        },
      });
    }),
    route("/sitemap.xml", async () => {
      return new Response(sitemap, {
        status: 200,
        headers: {
          "Content-Type": "application/xml",
        },
      });
    }),
    route("/robots.txt", async () => {
      const robotsTxt = `User-agent: *
        Allow: /
        Disallow: /search
        Sitemap: https://rwsdk.com/sitemap.xml`;

      return new Response(robotsTxt, {
        status: 200,
        headers: {
          "Content-Type": "text/plain",
        },
      });
    }),
    route("*", async () => {
      return notFound();
    }),
  ]),
]);

📘 Read more in our Request/Response docs.

RedwoodSDK Gives You Freedom

With RedwoodSDK, you can:
• Use Server Components or traditional APIs
• Fetch data directly from the DB
• Write fullstack features without gluing together disparate tools

It’s flexible and It’s fullstack.

To have this full setup running won't cost you a penny, even in production! Cloudflare has generous free tier offerings.