# Data & backends (https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/apps/data-and-backends)

Most apps need to remember something — a list, a score, a shared room. For that,
an app uses a **Resource node**: a durable service — a database, an API, or file
storage — that your app can read from and write to.

## Resource nodes [#resource-nodes]

A Resource node is a backend that lives alongside your app on the canvas. When an
app needs persistence — saving entries, syncing state between visitors — the
agent provisions a Resource and wires the app to it for you. You never set one up
by hand, and you never manage connections or credentials.

## See and manage an app's backends [#see-and-manage-an-apps-backends]

When an app has Resources, a  **database chip** appears on the App node, badged with the count.
Open it to see each Resource by name. From there, **Raise** (or **Show on
canvas**) a Resource to materialize it as its own node — handy when you want to
inspect it or wire it into other apps.

> [!NOTE] One backend, many apps
>
> Because a Resource is its own node, more than one app can share it. That's how a [forked](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/apps/remixing.md) app carries its data forward — the fork keeps pointing at the same Resource.

## Realtime and multiplayer apps [#realtime-and-multiplayer-apps]

Backends are what make **realtime** apps possible. Ask for something multiplayer
— a shared whiteboard, a live poll, a chat room — and the agent builds the rooms
and sync logic on top of a Resource, so every visitor sees each other's changes
as they happen.

## Local state in the preview [#local-state-in-the-preview]

For lighter persistence that doesn't need a shared backend, an app can store
state in the browser. That keeps per-visitor data — preferences, a draft, a local
history — around between visits without provisioning a Resource.

## What's next [#whats-next]

  - [Connecting inputs](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/apps/inputs.md): Wire a Database socket and feed media into your app.

  - [Forking & fusing](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/apps/remixing.md): Branch an app and choose what happens to its data.

  - [Publishing & versions](https://docs.fuser.studio/docs/apps/publishing.md): Ship an app once its backend is in place.