Accessing without deployment

I’ve been toying with replit for a few weeks off and on and decided I’d use it to learn the workings of APIs. So I started a fastapi program and it works fine. I began to read about deploying it (I had no idea what could be done with replit.com, not that I’d even deploy this toy) and that’s where the confusion started.

I have been able to access the API from pretty much any device. I can use curl from my phone, (pydroid) or I can access it from my phone using JS (termux)or python code. And I can access it from my computer using a browser, py scripts, and JS as well. Yet ive never deployed it. Yes it has to wake up, but I can still access it as well as a bare bones NodeJS server I wrote a while back that uses no framework.

Is this normal that they can always be accessed without deployment, using the repl.co address? After the wakeup?

(There was a link here, but it will not let me post it. Keeps saying only 2 links for new users and I only ever tried to use one, if this goes through I’ll link it in the comments.)

Or is this totally normal? At this point I am assuming that this is normal with the wakeup period, and deployment stops that.

Reading through the docs it sounded like no one would be able to access my work unless I deployed it, or they went via the coverpage, through replit com. But clearly, it can be accessed in several different ways.

Forgive my ignorance… I’m learning and there is so much about backend to take in, and I seem to be in awe most of the time.

Thanks

https://user-api.dcroft731.repl.co/

It doesn’t seem like that’s affecting ReplIRC servers (many servers only ever get started when other servers connect to them).

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But they do wake up. I made a nodejs server a good while back when I was learning JS, and to this day, it wakes up, and does exactly what it’s supposed to. As far as the API. If you use curl, it will respond in about 30, 45 seconds.

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ah I see… interesting I guess those were just spitball ideas, I apologize

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I appreciate the interest. None of this I guess really matters in the grand scheme, but I’m just confused by the docs saying none of your/my work could be accessed by anyone else unless I deploy.

So, I guess as long as you, or anyone/any code doesn’t mind, your replit will work. It just has to “wake up”, thereby making it totally accessible using the address from the outside. You would only need to deploy if you want it always on? It’s a great way to learn either way and tbh this gives me some interesting ideas to test, because of this.

You can make repls always on without deploying.

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Yeh, I see that. So I guess why even deploy then?

I believe deployments are supposed to be more reliable, so your Repls won’t go down every month.

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Ah… I see. That makes sense. Still exploring this tool.

Deployments still have egress limits afaik

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Yes but I mean Replit outages.