Fridgeboard needs a place to store your family's shared schedule so every device — iPhones and the wall-mounted iPad alike — can see the same events. Rather than using a database Fridgeboard's developer runs, it uses Back4App, a free cloud database service that your family sets up and fully controls. Only one family member needs to set this up. Everyone else just needs three details, which can be typed in or shared automatically — see the last section below.
This whole process takes about five minutes and costs nothing.
Go to back4app.com/signup and sign up (email or a Google/GitHub account both work). No credit card is required for the free tier.
From your Back4App dashboard, choose Build new app → Backend as a Service, give it any name (e.g. "Family Schedule"), and create it. Fridgeboard automatically creates whatever it needs inside this app the first time you save an event — there's no database setup to do by hand.
Inside your new app, go to App Settings → Security & Keys. You'll see an Application ID and a Client Key — copy both. In Fridgeboard, open Settings → Calendar Connection and paste them into the matching fields.
You don't need this step for Fridgeboard to work — without it, the app just checks for changes every so often. But turning on Live Query means new and edited events appear on every device instantly, which makes a real difference for a wall-mounted iPad everyone's glancing at throughout the day. We recommend it, but it's entirely optional.
Go to App Settings → Server URL & Live Query, activate a subdomain if you haven't already, and enable Live Query for the Event class. Back in Fridgeboard's Calendar Connection settings, enter just the subdomain part (e.g. enter familyschedule if your URL is familyschedule.b4a.io) in the "Live Query Subdomain" field.
Activating a subdomain is the one place in this whole setup where Back4App asks for a credit card. This is only to confirm you're a real person — they place a temporary $1 charge that gets released, not an actual fee. There's still no cost to use Fridgeboard.
Once you've saved your details, open Settings → Share Calendar Connection With Family. Choose a short passcode, then share the generated link however you'd like (Messages, email, AirDrop). Send the passcode separately — a text message or telling them in person both work fine.
For a device that can't receive a shared link directly — like a wall-mounted iPad — open the same screen on the iPad and use its Scan Setup Link From Family Member option to scan the QR code shown on another family member's phone.