Base44 code export or moving to Vercel

What it means in plain English

You want the Base44 project as files you can host somewhere else, including Vercel. On the Builder plan or higher, Base44 lets you download a ZIP or connect GitHub. The export includes the client-side code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and assets) and the backend functions.

Base44 says the export does not include managed hosting, the authentication system, or the database infrastructure. Data is a separate download: in the editor, open Data, select a collection, click the More actions icon, then Export. That file is a CSV.

Base44 also says that if you export the frontend and the data, you can host the frontend elsewhere and connect it to your own backend. The backend-service page says a frontend can keep talking to the hosted Base44 backend through the JavaScript SDK, including when that frontend is hosted elsewhere. Those are two documented paths. The export itself does not move the hosted database or login system onto Vercel.

A Base44 app is a React app built with Vite. In the project, Home.jsx is / and Settings.jsx is /settings. Locally, Base44 says to run npm install, then npm run dev. With GitHub two-way sync, entity files stay in Base44 and are not in the local repository.

Connecting GitHub does not by itself move hosting to Vercel. On two-way sync, you merge into a branch named main (Base44 says master is not supported), and the changes show up in Base44. You then click Publish in Base44 to make them live. Only the app owner can connect the repository, and it requires the Builder plan or higher.

Likely causes

• The account is below the Builder plan, so Export project as ZIP and GitHub connection are unavailable. On the Free plan, Base44 says you can view code and not edit it.
• The ZIP was treated as a full Base44 app. Hosting, auth, and the database infrastructure are not in the export.
• GitHub two-way sync is still deploying through Base44 Publish, so the Vercel project never received a build.
• The Vite app is deployed on Vercel as a single-page app, and a direct open of an inner path 404s. Vercel says deep linking does not work out of the box for a Vite SPA. The documented vercel.json rewrite sends /(.*) to /index.html. If cleanUrls is true, that destination is / with no file extension. Vercel says multi-page app mode is the recommended production build.
• A value the Vite app reads at build time is missing the VITE_ prefix. Vercel says system environment variables are available to Vite during the build when the name starts with VITE_, for example VITE_VERCEL_ENV.

Login on the Base44 URL is unchanged by an export. See Base44 login not working. Payments on Base44 are still the Base44 Stripe setup. See Base44 Stripe payments not working. The same inner-path 404 on any Vite app is Vercel "404: NOT_FOUND" when refreshing or opening a link.

How to fix it, step by step

1. On the Builder plan or higher, click the More actions icon and select Export project as ZIP, or select GitHub connection and follow the setup. The mobile export note describes the same choice as the export button in the top-right of the editor: GitHub or ZIP.
2. Export each collection you need from Data, More actions, Export. That is the CSV. It is not inside the ZIP as the live database.
3. To run the project on your machine, Base44 says npm install, then npm run dev.
4. To put that Vite project on Vercel, Vercel says to install the Vercel CLI and run vercel from the project root. Vercel can also deploy from a Git provider.
5. If routes are client-side and a refresh 404s, add the rewrite Vercel documents for a Vite SPA:

{
  "$schema": "https://openapi.vercel.sh/vercel.json",
  "rewrites": [
    { "source": "/(.*)", "destination": "/index.html" }
  ]
}

6. For a Vite value that must exist in the built assets, set it in Vercel with a VITE_ name and redeploy. Vercel reads it at build time.
7. If you meant to keep hosting on Base44 and only wanted Git history, connect GitHub, merge to main, then Publish in Base44. base44 link is required on each fresh clone because base44/.app.jsonc is gitignored.
8. Paste this to the Base44 chat:

I am exporting this app to run outside Base44. Do not claim the ZIP includes managed hosting, authentication, or the database infrastructure. Point me at Export project as ZIP or GitHub connection, and at Data → Export for each collection CSV. If I stay on Base44, remind me to merge to a branch named main and then Publish.

How to check it worked

• The ZIP or the GitHub repo contains the React/Vite project, and npm install then npm run dev starts it locally.
• On Vercel, the site loads, and a refresh of an inner path such as /settings returns the app when the SPA rewrite is in place.
• Collections you still need were downloaded as CSVs. The hosted Base44 database is still in Base44 unless you connected your own backend.

Sources

• https://docs.base44.com/documentation/building-your-app/developer-tools (opens in a new tab)
• https://docs.base44.com/Building-your-app/Mobile-experience (opens in a new tab)
• https://docs.base44.com/developers/app-code/overview/project-structure (opens in a new tab)
• https://docs.base44.com/developers/app-code/local-development/github (opens in a new tab)
• https://vercel.com/docs/frameworks/frontend/vite (opens in a new tab)