Building a Node.js admin panel from scratch takes time. You need to handle authentication, CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations, and build the frontend. Instead of doing this manually, Kottster generates an admin panel for your database in minutes. It supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, and SQLite, allowing you to manage and customize your data without extra setup.

In this article, we’ll go through how to set up Kottster and generate admin panel on top of your database.

Before using Kottster, you should have:

  • Basic knowledge of JavaScript: You don’t need to be an expert, but understanding JavaScript fundamentals will help you customize and extend your admin panel.
  • Node.js (version 20 or higher) installed: Kottster requires a modern Node.js runtime to run smoothly. You can check your version by running: node -v

Creating a new Kottster project

To generate an admin panel, run the following command in your terminal:

npx @kottster/cli new

This will create a new folder and set up a Kottster project inside it. If you want to generate the project in the current folder, use:

npx @kottster/cli new .

Once the command finishes, you’ll have a ready-to-use Kottster project. Next, we’ll configure the database connection.

Running the project

Once the project is generated, navigate into the project folder (if you created a new one) and start the development server:

npm run dev

This will run your Kottster app. Open the provided URL in your browser, where you'll be prompted to create an account. After signing in, create a new app—this will initialize your local project and prepare it for database configuration.

A form for creating a new Kottster app

Connecting your database

After setting up the project, you'll see the Getting Started page. Here, you need to connect your database.

Choose your database type and provide the necessary credentials. If you prefer, you can use an alternative connection method, depending on the database you're working with.

Connecting a database in Kottster (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQlite)

Building the admin panel

Once your database is connected, you can start generating pages to view and manage data in your tables.

Click "Add Page", then choose what you want to generate. In just a few seconds, Kottster will create everything for you.

A

If you want to modify an already generated page, you can do it directly in the source file. Each page is stored in the app/routes/<pageId>.jsx file—just open it and adjust the code as needed.

You can also create completely custom pages from scratch. Define your own components, fetch data, and build the page however you want. Kottster gives you full control over customization.

Editing a generated page in Kottster

Final steps

Once your admin panel is ready, you can make it available to others by deploying it. Since Kottster is just a Node.js app, you have plenty of options for deployment, with many available resources to guide you.

You can deploy it to:

  • Cloud providers like Vercel, Railway, or Render
  • Self-hosted servers using Docker, VPS, or bare-metal setups
  • Any other platform that supports Node.js applications

There’s no special setup required—just deploy it like any other Node.js app, and your admin panel will be live.

Ready to go

Kottster makes it easy to generate an admin panel on top of your database in minutes. You connect your database, generate pages, and customize them as needed—all without writing boilerplate code.

Whether you're managing an internal tool or building an admin dashboard for production, Kottster gives you full control while handling the repetitive setup. And since it’s just a Node.js app, deploying it is as simple as any other project.

Give it a try and see how quickly you can get your admin panel up and running.