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[blog] Add post about how MUI uses Toolpad (#40172)
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Signed-off-by: Prakhar Gupta <92228082+prakhargupta1@users.noreply.github.com>
Signed-off-by: Olivier Tassinari <olivier.tassinari@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Bharat Kashyap <bharatkashyap@outlook.com>
Co-authored-by: Sam Sycamore <71297412+samuelsycamore@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Olivier Tassinari <olivier.tassinari@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Danilo Leal <67129314+danilo-leal@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: MUI bot <2109932+Janpot@users.noreply.github.com>
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6 people authored Mar 4, 2024
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1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions docs/lib/sourcing.ts
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Expand Up @@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ const ALLOWED_TAGS = [
'Joy UI',
'MUI X',
'MUI System',
'Toolpad',
];

export const getAllBlogPosts = () => {
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43 changes: 24 additions & 19 deletions docs/pages/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement.md
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Expand Up @@ -4,18 +4,18 @@ description: Assemble admin panels and internal tools faster than ever before wi
date: 2023-07-24T00:00:00.000Z
authors: ['prakhargupta']
card: true
tags: ['Product']
tags: ['Product', 'Toolpad']
---

It's been over a year since we released the first version of Toolpad. Today, we're excited to take the next step on that journey with the release of Toolpad Beta. If you aren't familiar with Toolpad yet, it's an admin panel builder catering to the internal tooling needs of an organization, designed for developers who want to build a functional application quickly. It harnesses the speed of a UI builder for the front-end and closely integrates into your back-end. If this excites you, then read on!
It's been over a year since we released the first version of Toolpad. Today, we're excited to take the next step on that journey with the release of Toolpad Beta. If you aren't familiar with Toolpad yet, it's an admin panel builder catering to the internal tooling needs of an organization, designed for developers who want to build a functional application quickly. It harnesses the speed of a UI builder for the front end and closely integrates into your back end. If this excites you, then read on!

<a href="https://mui.com/toolpad/examples/basic-crud-app/">
<img alt="Introducing Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/intro.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1200" />
<img alt="Introducing Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/intro.png" width="2400" height="1200" />
</a>

## Why did we decide to build Toolpad?

Toolpad was created to meet the needs of the Material UI community. As a result of surveys we conducted, and market research we undertook, we decided to develop an internal tool builder because the idea resonates with MUI's mission of empowering developers to build apps faster and more efficiently.
Toolpad was created to meet the needs of the Material UI community. As a result of the surveys we conducted, and the market research we undertook, we decided to develop an internal tool builder because the idea resonates with MUI's mission of empowering developers to build apps faster and more efficiently.

Internal tools are software applications that are developed and used within an organization itself. They can automate tasks, manage data, and help foster collaboration. Internal tools are a valuable asset for businesses of all sizes, as they help to improve efficiency, productivity, and communication.

Expand All @@ -28,16 +28,16 @@ Toolpad is an open-source, low-code, drag-and-drop admin builder. The primary pu
Toolpad is not ideal for building static web pages, mobile apps, or customer-facing custom-designed front-ends. It's for building admin applications, CRUD interfaces, custom internal tools, and analytics dashboards.

<a href="https://mui.com/toolpad/examples/npm-stats/">
<img alt="Building an application on Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/toolpad.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
<img alt="Building an application on Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/toolpad.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
</a>

## Who is Toolpad for?

Before the arrival of Toolpad, the MUI organization primarily catered to the front-end needs of the development process. Our products were mostly useful for React engineers or designers, but we saw many full-stack engineers use our advanced components for data-intensive apps. These highly customizable components are well-suited for complex apps, but not all apps require the same level of customization: for example, internal tools just need basic theming.

<img alt="Toolpad personas" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/personas.png" loading="lazy" width="2076" height="900" style="margin-bottom:24px;" />
<img alt="Toolpad personas" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/personas.png" loading="lazy" width="2076" height="900" style="margin-bottom:24px;" />

Toolpad is for you if you're a full-stack or back-end developers who builds, manages, and integrate data pipelines, server-side logic, databases, microservices, and APIs—and knows the most about them. Sharing these endpoints with and maintaining the internal documentation for the front-end teams is a hassle that lasts forever. Toolpad empowers you to take the next step and build the UI you need using our drag-and-drop editor, without losing any part of your normal development workflow.
Toolpad is for you if you're a full-stack or back-end developer who builds, manages, and integrates data pipelines, server-side logic, databases, microservices, and APIs—and knows the most about them. Sharing these endpoints with and maintaining the internal documentation for the front-end teams is a hassle that lasts forever. Toolpad empowers you to take the next step and build the UI you need using our drag-and-drop editor, without losing any part of your normal development workflow.

## What are the main features available today?

Expand All @@ -46,15 +46,15 @@ Toolpad is for you if you're a full-stack or back-end developers who builds, man
Easily create user interfaces by dragging and dropping pre-built components onto the canvas. Utilize constraints to speed up the building process.

<a href="https://mui.com/toolpad/examples/basic-crud-app/">
<img alt="Dragging components to the canvas" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/drag.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
<img alt="Dragging components to the canvas" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/drag.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
</a>

### 2. Query builder UI

A Postman-like query builder allows you to integrate any REST API quickly. A binding editor, which supports JavaScript, allows you to wire query response directly to the components.
A Postman-like query builder allows you to integrate any REST API quickly. A binding editor, which supports JavaScript, allows you to wire query responses directly to the components.

<a href="https://mui.com/toolpad/examples/npm-stats/">
<img alt="Building an application on Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/uiquery.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
<img alt="Building an application on Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/uiquery.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
</a>

### 3. Bring your own components
Expand All @@ -70,41 +70,46 @@ Directly integrate with your Node.js back-end and have your data available on th
Toolpad runs completely locally. You're not stuck with an online code editor or a suboptimal GitHub integration. All configuration is stored in local files which you can version-control, edit, and deploy in any way you want.

<a href="https://mui.com/toolpad/examples/basic-crud-app/">
<img alt="Building an application on Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/code.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
<img alt="Building an application on Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/code.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
</a>

### 6. A catalog of components powered by Material UI

Material UI provides production-ready React components; a chosen few are currently available inside Toolpad, and we're adding more all the time.

<a href="https://mui.com/toolpad/examples/npm-stats/">
<img alt="Building an application on Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/library.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
<img alt="Building an application on Toolpad" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/library.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
</a>

## How is Toolpad different from similar products on the market?

In this domain, there are two categories of products:

1. **Visual first**: Retool, Appsmith, Budibase and the likes. While these are great tools, they don't integrate with the developer's local IDE nor offer a good git version control mechanism. Providing features that could have been hand-coded on a need basis makes the application heavy, and reports of slowness at runtime are common.
1. **Visual first**: Retool, Appsmith, Budibase and the like. While these are great tools, they don't integrate with the developer's local IDE nor offer a good git version control mechanism. Providing features that could have been hand-coded on a need basis makes the application heavy, and reports of slowness at runtime are common.

2. **Code first**: Airplane.dev, Interval and others. They also allow building internal tools but don't support a drag-and-drop UI builder. The components must be coded using their APIs, which comes with some learning curve.
2. **Code first**: Airplane.dev, Interval and others. They also allow building internal tools but don't support a drag-and-drop UI builder.
The components must be coded using their APIs, which comes with some learning curve.

Toolpad is solely focused on professional developers. As much as we are low-code, we are equally code-friendly. Providing the basic functionality that you expect from an open-source tool is non-negotiable for us—we will always prioritize your best interests over all else. With nearly a decade of experience building developer tools, we understand the long-term benefits of cultivating a close relationship with our community of users.
Toolpad is solely focused on professional developers. As much as we are low-code, we are equally code-friendly. Providing the basic functionality that you expect from an open-source tool is non-negotiable for us—we will always prioritize your best interests over all else.
With nearly a decade of experience building developer tools, we understand the long-term benefits of cultivating a close relationship with our community of users.

Lastly, Toolpad is the only product that offers a drag-and-drop UI builder closely integrated with your favorite IDE, such as VSCode. It's the best of both worlds!

## How can I use Toolpad?

Toolpad is available as an npm package. Follow the [Installation guide](https://mui.com/toolpad/getting-started/installation/) in the docs to get started. You can learn more about Toolpad by visiting the [home page](https://mui.com/toolpad/).
Toolpad is available as an npm package. Follow the [Installation guide](https://mui.com/toolpad/getting-started/installation/) in the docs to get started.
You can learn more about Toolpad by visiting the [home page](https://mui.com/toolpad/).

<img alt="Toolpad documentation and instructions on how to use it" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/docs.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />
<img alt="Toolpad documentation and instructions on how to use it" src="/static/blog/2023-toolpad-beta-announcement/docs.png" loading="lazy" width="2400" height="1394" />

## What's next?

We plan to continue to iterate on our vision of helping you as a developer to increase the speed and efficiency of your workflow. We want to optimize for the biggest pains that you face when building admin apps. Your input is crucial to helping us shape the roadmap from here.
We plan to continue to iterate on our vision of helping you as a developer to increase the speed and efficiency of your workflow. We want to optimize for the biggest pains that you face when building admin apps.
Your input is crucial to helping us shape the roadmap from here.

The best places to stay up-to-date about what we're currently working on are [GitHub issues](/~https://github.com/mui/mui-toolpad) and our [public roadmap](/~https://github.com/orgs/mui/projects/9/views/1).

If you have any questions or would like to share feedback, you can directly contact the team at toolpad@mui.com or reach us on [X](https://twitter.com/MUI_Toolpad). You can also engage in conversation in our [Discord](https://mui.com/r/discord/) server.
If you have any questions or would like to share feedback, you can directly contact the team at toolpad@mui.com or reach us on [X/Twitter](https://twitter.com/MUI_Toolpad).
You can also engage in conversation on our [Discord](https://mui.com/r/discord/) server.

If you'd like an in-depth demo to discuss your use case, please feel free to [schedule a meeting with me on Calendly](https://calendly.com/prakhar-mui).
7 changes: 7 additions & 0 deletions docs/pages/blog/toolpad-use-cases.js
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import * as React from 'react';
import TopLayoutBlog from 'docs/src/modules/components/TopLayoutBlog';
import { docs } from './toolpad-use-cases.md?muiMarkdown';

export default function Page() {
return <TopLayoutBlog docs={docs} />;
}
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