Notes from the build
Announcements, engineering notes, and migration guides as we build simple managed services in the App Engine tradition.
A JSON Document Store That Doesn't Fight Your Schema
altengine's Datastore API takes any JSON object, with no declared property types and no index file to maintain — and still keeps every query index-served, joined by key, and strongly consistent. Here is how it works and what it costs.
Faceted Search, Explained (with a Working Example)
Facets are the counts next to a filter — 'Jackets (42)'. Here is what separates a facet from a filter, a real faceted query and response over the Search API, and what facets actually cost.
How to Add Full-Text Search to Your App with a REST API
A hands-on walkthrough: create an index with one write, push structured documents, then run fielded queries with facets, sorting, snippets, and cursor pagination — all over plain HTTP.
Managed WebSocket Pub/Sub Without Running a Server
Self-hosting realtime means owning connection state, a fan-out backplane, and every reconnect. Here is the managed shape instead: HTTP publish, one client WebSocket carrying many channels, channel-scoped tokens, and a bill that goes to zero when nobody is connected.
The Cheapest Managed Full-Text Search for Small Apps
Most hosted search is priced for scale a small catalog doesn't have — either a rented cluster with a monthly floor or per-record fees that climb. Here's how the two models differ, and how to keep managed search at or near zero while you're small.
Migrating App Engine Search to a REST API Without Rewriting Your Queries
Moving off App Engine's Search API touches less than you think. Your query strings, field types, facets and document schemas carry over as-is — what you actually rewrite is the call layer that sends them.
Replacing App Engine's Channel API for Realtime in 2026
App Engine's Channel API is gone. Here are the three real ways to get realtime pub/sub in 2026 — a self-hosted socket server, a large realtime platform, or altengine's Channel revival — with honest trade-offs and accurate request shapes.
The App Engine Search API Is Gone: Your Real Options in 2026
App Engine's Search API is retired. Here are the three honest replacement paths in 2026 — run your own cluster, adopt a big hosted search service, or use altengine's semantics-preserving revival — with the real trade-offs on cost, ops, and migration effort.