Can you take your site with you?

You can export your code from Lovable, Bolt, v0 and Replit, but not from Framer or Wix. All four sync with GitHub, and Lovable (on paid plans), Bolt and Replit also offer a download. Framer and Wix sites run only on their own servers, so you rebuild them elsewhere.

Code is only part of the move, because your data, logins and domain travel separately. Below are the exact steps from each vendor’s own docs, checked on September 28, 2026, plus a test of Replit’s database commands that we ran on our own machine.

01Which AI website builders let you export your code?

Five of the builders we checked give you the full code: Lovable, Bolt, v0, Replit and Base44. Webflow gives you static pages, and Framer, Wix and ChatGPT Sites give you nothing you can host elsewhere.

Checked on September 28, 2026, in each vendor’s docs, linked from its name. The steps for each follow below the table.

Owning your work and exporting it are different things. Lovable, Base44 and Wix all say what you build belongs to you, yet only Lovable and Base44 let you take the code out.

02How to export code from an AI website builder, platform by platform

These are the vendors’ own steps, shortened. Menu names change, so if a label looks different, the linked doc has the current version.

Lovable

1. A workspace admin connects GitHub once, under Workspace settings > Git > GitHub > Add connection.

2. Open Project settings > Git > GitHub and click Connect. Lovable creates a private repository and keeps it in two-way sync. GitLab and Bitbucket work the same way.

3. For a one-off copy, use Download codebase in Project settings > Git, or at the bottom of the Code editor’s file list. This needs a paid plan.

4. For Lovable Cloud data, go to More > Cloud > Overview > Advanced settings, click Export data, then Export on the Database card and Start export. Lovable emails you a download link.

The export covers databases up to 15 GB, as a file of at most 5 GB, once every 24 hours. It includes user accounts with their password hashes, so users keep their passwords if you restore it into Supabase. It leaves out stored files, Edge Function code and secrets, and Lovable says there is “no one-click migration” from Cloud to your own Supabase project.

Keep the GitHub repository: deleting it stops the sync, while renaming it does not.

Bolt

1. To download, click the project title in the top left, then Export > Download. Unzip it and run npm install && npm run dev, which needs Node.js installed.

2. To sync, click the GitHub icon in the top right, then Log in to GitHub, install the GitHub app on the repositories you choose, and click Install & Authorize. Bolt commits every working change and checks GitHub for outside edits every 30 seconds.

3. To take the database, connect your Supabase account under Applications in Bolt’s settings, then open the Database icon > Advanced > Claim. You must be an owner of the Supabase organization.

v0

1. Open Project menu (...) > Settings > GitHub and select Connect.

2. Under Git Scope, pick the account or organization, name the repository and select Create Repository. v0 creates a private repository with your current code.

From then on, v0 commits each change to a working branch with its own preview, and Publish merges the pull request and deploys to production on Vercel. The code is Next.js, React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui. We found no zip download in v0’s docs, so GitHub is the way out. Databases come from providers such as Neon, Supabase or Upstash, each with its own account.

Replit

1. To download, open the three-dot menu at the top of the file tree and choose Download as zip. If that fails, run zip -r project.zip . in the Shell.

2. To sync, link GitHub in your account’s connected services, open the Git tool, connect the repository and turn on auto-sync.

3. Copy the database with pg_dump, as shown in the next section.

Replit says secrets, the database and deployment settings do not come along with the code. If your app uses Replit Auth, your users sign in with Replit accounts, so plan a new login for the new host.

Base44

1. GitHub sync needs the Builder plan or higher, from $40 a month billed yearly.

2. Click Dashboard, then the GitHub icon and Connect to GitHub, then Connect GitHub and Authorize Base44 Builder.

3. Install the app on your account, name a new repository and click Create Repository.

To run the code locally, Base44’s docs have you install its CLI, sign in and link the project, then run base44 dev. That starts a local copy of Base44’s backend, which shows the code is written for Base44’s backend service.

Webflow

1. Code export needs a paid Workspace plan; Site plans cannot export.

2. Open Main menu > Code export, or press Shift + E, then click Prepare ZIP and download it.

The zip leaves out CMS content, user accounts, ecommerce, form handling, site search, password protection, localized pages and code components. CMS Collections, products and user accounts export separately as CSV files.

Framer, Wix and ChatGPT Sites

Framer’s help center says it “does not offer HTML export for self-hosting”, because its sites depend on Framer’s own hosting services. Wix says “your site must run on Wix’s servers”, though the content you build belongs to you. For both, plan a rebuild and keep copies of your text and images.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT Sites docs describe no export. A Site built from a local project in the ChatGPT desktop app is the exception: that folder stays on your computer, with versions tied to Git commits. Our ChatGPT Sites alternatives guide covers the other limits.

03Does your data come with the code?

No. In every builder we checked, the database moves separately from the code, so treat it as its own step. Lovable, Bolt and Replit each have a different route, described above.

We tested Replit’s route on September 24, 2026. We made a throwaway PostgreSQL 16 database on our own machine, with two small tables standing in for an app’s customers and bookings. Then we ran Replit’s two commands exactly as its guide prints them. This is our test script’s output:

### old project shell: DATABASE_URL points at the old database
$ pg_dump -Fc "$DATABASE_URL" --no-owner --no-privileges -f backup.dump
(exit code 0)
backup.dump: 5438 bytes
### new project shell: DATABASE_URL points at the new, empty database
tables in new db before restore: 0
$ pg_restore --clean --if-exists --single-transaction --no-owner --no-privileges --exit-on-error -d "$DATABASE_URL" backup.dump
(exit code 0)
after restore 1: customers=3, bookings=4
### the final copy runs the same restore again
(exit code 0)
after restore 2: customers=3, bookings=4
next customers id: 4

Both commands printed nothing when they worked; Replit’s guide says no output from the restore means it worked. Running the restore a second time cleanly replaced the first copy, which matters because Replit’s guide runs it twice: once to test and once for the final switch. New rows kept numbering from 4, so IDs did not collide.

If you are choosing where the data goes next, our database guide compares Postgres hosts and their free tiers.

04How do you move a domain you bought inside a builder?

Transfer it to another registrar from the builder’s settings, usually after a 60-day lock, or leave it where it is and point its DNS records at the new host. Checked on September 28, 2026, in each vendor’s docs, linked from its name.

ChatGPT Sites does not sell domains, so there is nothing to transfer. You do not have to transfer at all: a domain can stay where it is while its records point at the new host, as our guide to connecting a custom domain explains.

05A safe order for moving a site

Move in this order so the old site keeps working until the new one is ready.

1. 01

   Save the code first

   Sync to GitHub or download a copy, and keep the history. Our git guide for AI coding covers the eight commands you need.

2. 02

   Export the data and test a restore

   Restore it into the new database and check the row counts before you rely on it.

3. 03

   Re-create secrets, logins and settings

   API keys, environment variables and sign-in settings rarely travel with the code. Add each one at the new host by hand.

4. 04

   Deploy to the new host

   Test on its temporary address with real data. Our guide to where to deploy your app compares hosts and their free plans.

5. 05

   Move the domain last

   Change DNS or start the transfer only when the new site works. Keep the old plan active until traffic has moved.

06How do you avoid lock-in next time?

Pick tools that keep the code somewhere you control from day one. GitHub sync counts, and so does building on your own computer.

With a coding agent such as Claude Code or Cursor, or with Cyborb, a desktop AI agent from Orbioom and our product, each project is already a folder of ordinary code on your machine. Our Lovable alternatives guide compares both kinds of tool, and our AI website builders comparison covers the visual builders.

07FAQ

Next, compare tools that keep the code yours in our Lovable alternatives guide, or read about Replit alternatives for building, running and hosting.