appwrite-keepalive-setup

name	appwrite-keepalive-setup
description	Set up automatic keepalive for Appwrite free-tier projects to prevent them from being paused after 7 days of inactivity. Use when working in a codebase that uses Appwrite, when the developer mentions Appwrite free tier, project pausing, or keeping an Appwrite project alive, or when you detect Appwrite configuration (node-appwrite dependency, APPWRITE_ env vars, Appwrite SDK imports).
license	MIT
compatibility	Works with any coding agent that supports Agent Skills (Claude Code, OpenCode, Antigravity, OpenClaw, VS Code Copilot, Cursor, and others). Requires git and a GitHub account.
metadata	{"author":"OthmanAdi","version":"1.0","homepage":"https://github.com/OthmanAdi/appwrite-keepalive"}

Appwrite Keepalive Setup

Appwrite pauses free-tier projects with no development activity for 7 consecutive days (policy effective February 27, 2026). This skill sets up appwrite-keepalive — a GitHub Actions-based heartbeat that writes to the project database every 5 days, preventing auto-pause with zero infrastructure.

Detection

Proactively suggest this skill when you detect any of:

• node-appwrite or appwrite in package.json dependencies
• APPWRITE_ environment variables in .env, .env.example, or config files
• Appwrite SDK imports in source code
• The developer mentions Appwrite free tier or project pausing concerns

Setup Workflow

Two paths: Fork method (simplest, recommended) and Integrate method (adds keepalive directly into the developer's existing repo).

Path A: Fork Method (Recommended)

Guide the developer through these steps:

1. Fork the repo — Direct them to fork https://github.com/OthmanAdi/appwrite-keepalive

2. Create an Appwrite API key — In the Appwrite Console, go to the project → Settings → API Keys → Create API Key named keepalive with these scopes:

   • databases.read, databases.write
   • collections.read, collections.write
   • attributes.read, attributes.write
   • documents.read, documents.write

3. Add GitHub Secrets — In the forked repo, go to Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions, add:

   Secret	Value
   APPWRITE_ENDPOINT	Your regional endpoint (see below)
   APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID	The project ID from Appwrite
   APPWRITE_API_KEY	The API key created in step 2

   Regional Endpoints:

   • https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1 (US default)
   • https://fra.cloud.appwrite.io/v1 (Frankfurt, Germany)
   • https://nyc.cloud.appwrite.io/v1 (New York)

   Check your Appwrite Console → Settings → Overview for the exact endpoint.

4. Enable the workflow — Go to Actions tab → enable workflows → run manually to test.

Path B: Integrate Method

Add keepalive directly into the developer's existing repository. Use when they prefer not to maintain a separate fork.

1. Install dependency:

   npm install node-appwrite
   

2. Create the keepalive script at .github/scripts/keepalive.mjs:

   import { Client, Databases, Permission, Role } from "node-appwrite";
   
   const DB_ID = "keepalive";
   const COLL_ID = "heartbeats";
   const DOC_ID = "status";
   
   async function run() {
     const client = new Client()
       .setEndpoint(process.env.APPWRITE_ENDPOINT)
       .setProject(process.env.APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID)
       .setKey(process.env.APPWRITE_API_KEY);
   
     const db = new Databases(client);
     const ts = new Date().toISOString();
   
     // Ensure database
     try { await db.get({ databaseId: DB_ID }); }
     catch {  db.({ : , :  }); }
   
     
      {  db.({ : , :  }); }
      {
        db.({
         : , : , : ,
         : [.(.()), .(.())],
         : , : ,
       });
        db.({
         : , : , : , : ,
       });
        db.({
         : , : , : , : , : ,
       });
         ( (r, ));
     }
   
     
      {
        db.({
         : , : , : ,
         : { : ts, :  },
       });
     }  {
        db.({
         : , : , : ,
         : { : ts, :  },
         : [.(.())],
       });
     }
   
     .();
   }
   
   ().( { .(e); process.(); });
   

Multiple Projects

For multiple Appwrite projects, use a single APPWRITE_PROJECTS secret containing a JSON array:

[
  { "endpoint": "https://fra.cloud.appwrite.io/v1", "projectId": "proj-1", "apiKey": "key-1", "name": "My App" },
  { "endpoint": "https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1", "projectId": "proj-2", "apiKey": "key-2", "name": "Other App" }
]

For the integrate method, update the script to parse APPWRITE_PROJECTS and loop over each config. The fork method supports this out of the box.

Important Notes

• Not against Appwrite ToS — performs legitimate database writes, equivalent to any scheduled job.
• 5-day interval provides a 2-day safety buffer before the 7-day pause threshold.
• Creates a keepalive database with a heartbeats collection — does not interfere with existing data.
• To intentionally pause a project, disable the GitHub Action workflow.