// base44 app audit
Leaving Base44: export is available, migration still needs a design
Base44 can now export code, backend functions and data collections depending on the plan. That makes a handover easier, but it does not turn the app into a self-hosted deployment in one click.
What Base44 provides today
Base44 combines interface, data, authentication, functions and hosting in one environment. That integration explains its speed. It also means that leaving involves replacing several services, not just copying files.
Eligible plans can export the project to GitHub or download it as a ZIP. Backend functions are included, while collection data can be downloaded separately as CSV.
What the export does not decide
An export does not choose the new database, authentication system, hosting or secret management. It also does not guarantee that every Base44 SDK dependency will work outside the original environment without adaptation.
The useful question is therefore not “can I retrieve something?”, but “which services does this code need to reproduce the current behaviour?”.
The handover path
- Inventory. The Scan lists entities, functions, roles, integrations, files and authentication journeys.
- Test the export. The GitHub or ZIP project is built in a separate environment to reveal active dependencies.
- Select replacements. Database, authentication, storage, secrets and deployment are chosen from the project's actual needs.
- Migrate the data. CSV exports are validated, transformed and imported while preserving useful identifiers and relationships.
- Compare journeys. Old and new versions are tested before the domain moves.
Depending on the app, this is a Production Upgrade or a targeted Rebuild. The answer depends more on the services to replace and the exported code than on the platform name alone.
// faq
The questions we keep hearing
Can I export a Base44 app?
Yes. On eligible plans, Base44 supports GitHub and ZIP exports. Current documentation says that client-side code and backend functions are included. Data collections are exported separately as CSV files.
Is the export enough to host elsewhere?
Not always. Base44 SDK dependencies must be reviewed, and database, authentication, secrets and deployment configuration may need to be recreated.
Can I recover my Base44 data?
Collections can be exported as CSV files. The migration must then preserve identifiers, relationships and the user journey when importing into the target database.
Measure what the export actually solves
The Scan compares exported code with the services still required to run the app elsewhere.
Describe my Base44 app