FAQ

Is Amba production-ready?

Amba is in alpha. The SDK surface is stable; the control plane and workflows are battle-tested in the App Machina internal portfolio; the public auth + billing story is still being hardened. See the changelog for current status.

Where is my data hosted?

Every Amba project gets its own dedicated Postgres database. Today, all project databases live in us-east. Regional hosting options (EU, APAC) are on the roadmap.

How is tenant isolation enforced?

Physical — each project has its own database. No shared tables, no project_id column, no row-level security. Connection-level isolation is the trust boundary.

Is Amba GDPR-compliant?

The architecture supports GDPR workflows — per-tenant data isolation makes data export, deletion, and access requests straightforward. There is no formal GDPR compliance certification yet. Teams with EU users should reach out before going to production.

Can I export my data?

Yes. Each project's data lives in a standard Postgres database. Amba will add a one-click export in the admin UI; today, contact support to get a dump of your project's data or direct connection access.

How does pricing work?

Alpha is free. Pricing will be per-project with a free tier that covers small apps. Usage-based billing for storage + workflow executions + push deliveries will kick in on paid tiers. Final pricing has not shipped.

What's the difference between @amba/client and @amba/expo?

@amba/client is the runtime-agnostic TypeScript SDK — works in Node, browsers, React Native. @amba/expo wraps it with Expo-specific helpers: AsyncStorage adapter, expo-notifications push registration, and expo-apple-authentication / expo-auth-session sign-in one-liners. For Expo apps, use @amba/expo. For other runtimes, use @amba/client directly.

Do I need to run the MCP server separately?

No. Your AI coding agent (Cursor, Claude Code, Zed) launches @amba/mcp as a stdio subprocess when it starts. You only configure it once in your agent's MCP config — see MCP.

Can I use Amba without AI agents?

Yes. The CLI + HTTP Admin API expose everything MCP tools do. MCP is the intended agent-first surface, but nothing in Amba requires you to use an agent. Developers who prefer dashboards and CLIs are fully supported.

How does Amba compare to Firebase / Supabase?

Different scope. Firebase and Supabase are generic backends — any app, any data model. Amba is opinionated for utility mobile apps: streaks, content libraries, segments, push campaigns, XP, entitlements, social. If your app needs those primitives, Amba ships them. If you just need auth + a database, Supabase is simpler.

Can I self-host Amba?

Not today. Amba is a managed platform. The repo is public, so technically you could fork and run it on your own infra, but there's no supported self-hosted distribution.

What happens when my subscription lapses?

Projects move through three states:

• active — everything works.
• suspended — API keys return an error, no data is deleted. Reactivate anytime.
• archived — your project's database is torn down after a grace period. Data is gone.

Do I need to write SQL?

No. The HTTP + MCP surface covers every domain feature (auth, push, segments, content, streaks, etc.) without SQL. For custom queries against your own project's data, contact support for a direct connection string.

Is there an Android / Kotlin / Swift SDK?

Today only TypeScript. Native iOS and Android SDKs are on the roadmap but not yet shipped. If you need them sooner, the HTTP API is fully documented in API reference.

How do I report bugs?

Open an issue on the Amba GitHub repo. Include your projectId, the MCP tool or HTTP endpoint involved, and the full error response (error.code + error.message).