Can Business Teams Build Apps Themselves? How Volcano Supabase Powers Yuanfudao’s Conversational Agent

Background and Motivation

In the fast‑changing online‑education market, the speed of content and activity iteration directly impacts user growth and retention. Teachers, marketers, and analysts often need bespoke tools—feedback forms, event pages, data dashboards—that traditionally require weeks of development, which is too slow for hour‑level opportunities.

Rush Platform and Vibe Coding Concept

Yuanfudao built the internal Vibe Coding platform named Rush , which goes beyond low‑code by using conversational natural‑language interaction. Users describe requirements, and AI automatically designs data structures, generates front‑ and back‑end code, and deploys the application, enabling any employee to become a creator.

Key Pain Points Addressed

Hour‑level timeliness: Traditional development cycles (weeks) cannot match activities that last only hours.

Data governance & security: Strict isolation of class data and fine‑grained role permissions are required.

Version stability: Multi‑environment coordination and one‑click rollback are needed for reliable releases.

Cost‑efficiency: Small agile teams must deliver value without excessive backend resource consumption.

Choosing Volcano Supabase

To meet these needs, the Rush team selected Volcano Engine Supabase, an AI‑native BaaS that productizes and standardizes backend infrastructure. Supabase provides fully compatible PostgreSQL, authentication, storage, realtime messaging, edge functions, and AI assistants, allowing Rush to focus on the conversational front‑end while the platform handles the heavy backend lifting.

Real‑World Scenarios

Scenario 1 – Teaching “Idea Catcher” : A teacher asks Rush for a “student question collection form” with fields for name, description, screenshot, urgency, and status. Within minutes, an app with data entry, status management, and file upload is generated and shared, reducing implementation time from weeks to minutes.

Scenario 2 – Operations “Activity Accelerator” : Marketing staff generate a single‑page event site and a backend admin panel for an online lecture in seconds, dramatically speeding up campaign rollout and cutting external development costs.

Scenario 3 – Functional “Process Optimizer” : HR creates an interview scheduling and feedback board that consolidates candidate information, interview slots, and reviewer comments, improving data transparency and cutting communication overhead by roughly one‑third.

Impact and Future Outlook

After launch, Rush became a core productivity tool across Yuanfudao, enabling rapid, low‑cost creation of internal applications. The team plans deeper AI integration (vector search, large‑model access), broader ecosystem connections via Edge Functions, and eventually offering the conversational app‑generation capability to external partners.

Volcano Supabase Overview

Volcano Supabase is an AI‑native BaaS built on open‑source Supabase, offering 100% compatibility with Supabase APIs, serverless PostgreSQL, automatic scaling, and cost‑effective pricing. It delivers a “true” serverless experience, zero‑cost idle periods, and advanced database features such as Data‑as‑Git for branching and time‑travel.