Base44 has an export button, and it works. You can get your app's code out through GitHub or as a ZIP file. But if you run that code somewhere else, it still talks to Base44 for its data, its logins and its backend functions. Exporting is the first step of leaving Base44, not the whole of it.
This guide covers what Base44's export gives you, what it leaves behind, the three traps that catch people during a move, and a step-by-step checklist for a complete exit.
What Base44 lets you export
Base44 documents two routes for getting your code out: GitHub sync and a ZIP export. Both are listed on the Builder plan and above, so if you're on a lower plan you may need to upgrade for long enough to get the code out.
Either route usually gives you:
- A standard React project built with Vite
- Your front-end code and your backend functions
- Your data structure: the fields and permissions for each table
Your table records are a separate job. They export table by table as CSV files from the data area of the editor.
What the export leaves behind
Several things your app depends on are not in the export at all:
- App users and secrets. Base44 says these stay in Base44.
- The services behind the SDK. Your code reads data, signs people in, calls functions and uses integrations through the Base44 SDK, and those calls go to Base44.
- A place for your backend functions to run. They're written for Base44's hosted Deno runtime.
- Version history in ZIP exports. A ZIP contains the current saved code, not its change history.
Base44 says exported code run elsewhere still gets those features from Base44, using your live app's data. It also says it doesn't support self-hosting. Running fully outside Base44 means replacing the data, sign-in and function layers with a backend of your own.
Three traps that catch people during a move
1. Test runs can change live data
Base44's remote dev mode runs your front end against the hosted backend, and writes go to production data. If you test a half-migrated app this way, you can change real customer records. Test against a separate copy of the data instead.
2. Filters quietly shrink your data export
Tables export one at a time, and an active search or filter limits the CSV to the matching records. Clear every filter before you export, write down the row count for each table, and compare it against what lands in the new database.
3. Your users don't come with you
Because app users aren't in the export, nobody can promise a move your users won't notice. Decide early how they'll get back in. Depending on the app, that can mean a password reset email or switching to a new sign-in provider.
A step-by-step Base44 exit checklist
- Check your plan. Confirm GitHub sync or ZIP export is available to you.
- Get the code. Connect GitHub or download the ZIP, and make sure the repository is in an account you control.
- Export every table. Clear filters, export each table to CSV and record its row count.
- List every Base44 call. Search the code for each place it uses the Base44 SDK, grouped into sign-in, data, functions and integrations. This list is the real size of the job.
- Set up the replacement backend. A database, sign-in and server functions on the host you've chosen, with your Base44 functions adapted to run there.
- Load and count the data. Import the CSVs and check row counts table by table.
- Plan for users. Pick the sign-in approach and write the message your users will get.
- Prove it runs without Base44. Remove Base44 credentials from a test environment and check your core workflows end to end.
- Cut over, and keep a way back. Point your domain at the new app, and keep the Base44 app available until the new one has run in production long enough for you to trust it.
If you'd rather not do this yourself, it's exactly the work AppExit does. We scan your app with read-only access, and small Base44 web apps are a fixed $199, code and database included. The Base44 migration guide walks through how we handle each step.
Frequently asked
Can I keep using Base44 while I migrate?
Yes. Keep the current app available while you prepare and test the new one. Plan a pause in writes for the final data copy, and tell users about any maintenance window before switching traffic.
Should I delete my Base44 app afterwards?
Not straight away. Keep it until the new app has run in production long enough for you to trust it, so you have a way back.
Is a Base44 export enough to self-host?
No. The export gives you code that still depends on Base44's services. Self-hosting means replacing those services; see where to host your app after leaving an AI builder.
Sources
Vendor documentation checked November 2026. Plans and export paths can change. AppExit is not affiliated with Base44.