--- title: Migrating from Bubble | Contember Fabrika description: "Bubble can't export your app as code, it runs only on Bubble. Your options: keep it there, or rebuild it as code you own and bring the data along." url: "https://www.contember.com/from/bubble" type: static generatedAt: "2026-09-28T14:08:32.919Z" --- # We can't take over a Bubble app. Here's what you can do instead. A Bubble app can't be exported as code and runs only on Bubble. You can keep it there, or rebuild it as regular code your company owns, with the current app as the brief. The data comes with you. This page is for companies whose Bubble app has become something the business relies on, and who are weighing what to do with it. The same goes for other no-code builders that can't hand over runnable code. Updated 28 September 2026 [Show us your Bubble app →](https://cal.com/contember/demo) [Your three options ↓](#options) ![](/illustrations/machine-workshop.webp) Code Can't be exported Bubble says so in its own manual. The app runs only on Bubble's servers. Data Comes with you Exported from the Bubble editor as CSV or JSON, one data type at a time. The new app Regular code In your company's Git and in a cloud account registered to you. ## Why can't a Bubble app *just be moved?* With apps from Lovable, Cursor, Claude Code or a developer, we take over the code, make small changes and deploy it to your account. A Bubble app has no code to take over. The screens, the workflows and the data live in the Bubble editor and run on Bubble's servers. The same holds for other no-code builders: if the tool can't hand over code that runs somewhere else, the app can't be moved, only rebuilt. If you're not sure how your tool handles it, ask us. > “While it's technically true that Bubble “generates” code for you, this doesn't mean you can export this code and run it somewhere else.” *[Bubble Manual, “Transitioning to Bubble from…”, checked 28 September 2026 ↗](https://manual.bubble.io/help-guides/getting-started/transitioning-to-bubble-from)* ### What you can get out - The data in the database. The Bubble editor exports it as CSV, JSON or NDJSON, one data type at a time. - Data through the Data API, once you switch it on. Useful when there's a lot of it or it needs to move more than once. - Uploaded files such as images and documents. Bubble stores them in its own storage, so they move separately. - A description of how the app works. It doesn't export as code, but the screens, workflows and rules can be read in the editor and written up. ### What stays behind - Code that could run somewhere else. There isn't any. - User passwords. Bubble stores them as a one-way hash that nobody can read, not even the app's author. - Plugins and Bubble's own features. In the new app they're replaced by ordinary libraries and services. - The hosting. A Bubble app keeps running only as long as it stays on Bubble. ## So what can you do *with a Bubble app?* Three honest options. None of them is right for everyone, and the first one costs nothing. 01 ### Keep it on Bubble Bubble handles the hosting, the database and sign-in, and the app keeps running as it does now. Nothing gets rewritten. Enough when the app works, a handful of people use it, nothing critical depends on it, and you're fine with the data and the running of it staying at Bubble. 02 ### Rebuild it with us In the kickstart we build the first app together with your person. A week is the default scope: a small app is often done sooner, a bigger one takes longer, and the offer says exactly. The Bubble app is a ready-made brief: we know its screens, who does what in it and what data it holds. The kickstart is optional. Makes sense when you want the app to be yours and your person should keep developing it with AI afterwards. 03 ### Rebuild it with your developer Your own developer or agency builds the new app on Fabrika. We handle operations, change review and the SLA, and your contract is directly with us. Makes sense when you already work with a developer or an agency. [How it works with your own developers →](/your-developers) Whether we build it or your developer does, the result is regular code in your company's Git, deployed into a cloud account registered to your company, on Cloudflare or Zerops, or AWS by arrangement. Colleagues sign in with their company account, and we review every later change before it goes live. ## What from your Bubble app *becomes the brief?* The new app doesn't start from a blank page. At the scoping call and then during the build, we go through your Bubble app and take this from it: ![](/illustrations/machine-assembly.webp) 01 ### Screens Who sees what, in which order, and what they fill in where. The new app can look much the same, or we fix what slows people down. 02 ### Workflows What happens after a click, which emails go out, what gets calculated and what runs in the background. This is where most of the unwritten rules live. 03 ### Privacy rules Who may see and change which data. In the new app, roles on the platform and rules in the code handle this, and we review them. 04 ### Data types and fields They become the data model of the new database. Along the way we see what's used and what's a leftover. 05 ### Connections to other services API Connector calls and plugins: payments, email, accounting, maps. Their keys are issued again and kept in the cloud, not in the code. 06 ### What doesn't work What the app is missing or what people work around. A rebuild is a good moment to sort it out. ### What we need from you - Access to the Bubble editor, or half an hour of screen sharing. - Someone who knows how the app is really used day to day. - At switch-over, someone with access to export the data. ## How does the move *from Bubble work?* The Bubble app keeps running until the new one is built and tried out. People switch over only once there's something to switch to. 1. 01 ### Scoping call You show us the app and tell us who uses it and what the business relies on in it. Within a few days you get an offer with the scope, the timeline and the price, and our view on whether a rebuild is worth it at all. free · 30 min 1. 02 ### We go through the app in the editor Screens, workflows, privacy rules, data types and connections. We write down what the new app must do from day one and what can wait. part of the setup 1. 03 ### Building In the kickstart with your person, or your developer builds it. You see the current state as it grows, not only at the end. kickstart or your developer 1. 04 ### A trial run with the data We export the data from Bubble as CSV or JSON, load it into the new database and check that the counts and the links between records add up. part of the setup 1. 05 ### Sign-in Colleagues sign in with their company account through Google, Microsoft or Okta. Outside people set a new password, because passwords can't be carried over from Bubble. part of the setup 1. 06 ### Switch-over day On an agreed day nobody writes to the Bubble app any more, we make the final data export and people move to the new app. If the app runs on your own domain, we point it at the new one. one agreed day 1. 07 ### Switching Bubble off You switch the Bubble app off once you're sure. From then on every change goes live only after our review, and each version comes with a report of what we checked. from go-live · monthly ### What to know about data from Bubble - The export lives in the editor under Data → App data. You pick a data type and a format (CSV, JSON or NDJSON), and Bubble emails a download link when it's done. - The export runs in the same queue as scheduled workflows, so when the app is busy it can take a while. - The Data API is off by default. It's switched on in Settings → API, only for the data types you choose. - Passwords are stored as a one-way hash. Bubble's manual says nobody has access to them, not even the app's developer. - Uploaded files sit in Bubble's own storage (Amazon S3 by default) and are moved separately from the database. Checked in Bubble's manual on 28 September 2026. [Exporting data ↗](https://manual.bubble.io/help-guides/data/the-database/export-import-data/exporting-data)[The Data API ↗](https://manual.bubble.io/help-guides/integrations/api/the-bubble-api/the-data-api)[Data types and fields ↗](https://manual.bubble.io/help-guides/data/the-database/data-types-and-fields)[How Bubble hosting works ↗](https://manual.bubble.io/help-guides/optimizing-an-application/hosting-and-scaling/how-bubble-hosting-works) ## When isn't Fabrika for you? We'd rather say it up front than at the end of a call. - The Bubble app works, nothing critical depends on it and it suits you. A rebuild would cost money and time without a clear gain. - You want to keep changing the app by clicking in an editor and don't want to deal with code. On Fabrika, apps are regular code built with AI. - The app is a public service for thousands of customers, with payments and sign-up open to anyone. Fabrika is built for company apps used by your people and a few outsiders. - Your IT requires Azure, Google Cloud or your own servers, or SAML-only sign-in. Fabrika runs on Cloudflare or Zerops, or AWS by arrangement, and connects company accounts through OIDC (Google, Microsoft, Okta). ## Why not a takeover, like with other apps? We take over apps that have code: from Lovable, Cursor, Claude Code, a freelancer or an agency. We make small changes and deploy them, and nothing gets rebuilt. Bubble has no code to hand over, so here we talk about a rebuild. If you also have apps built with those tools, the takeover works differently. [How the takeover works →](/already-building) ![](/illustrations/spot-exit.webp) ## What people ask about moving off Bubble ![](/illustrations/spot-queue.webp) ### Can I export my code from Bubble? No. Bubble says it directly [in its manual](https://manual.bubble.io/help-guides/getting-started/transitioning-to-bubble-from): it “generates” code, but that doesn't mean you can export it and run it somewhere else. The data comes out, the app doesn't. ### How do we get the data out of Bubble? With the export in the editor (Data → App data), as CSV, JSON or NDJSON, one data type at a time. For a lot of data, or data that needs to move more than once, through the Data API. We handle loading it into the new database and checking it. ### Will we lose data in the move? No, as long as nobody writes to the Bubble app after the final export. That's why the switch-over happens on one agreed day, and until then Bubble runs as usual. ### Do our users have to set new passwords? Those who sign in with a password, yes. Bubble stores passwords so that nobody can read them, not even the app's author. Colleagues will sign in with their company Google, Microsoft or Okta account, so it's mostly outside people who set a new one. ### How much work is it to rebuild the app? It depends on how many screens, workflows and connections it has. A small app is often done in a day or two, a typical one in the kickstart week, a bigger one takes longer. You get the exact scope and price in the offer after the scoping call. ### Will the new app look the same? It can, if that matters to you. A rebuild is also a good moment to fix what slows people down in the current one. You decide. ### Can the Bubble app keep running until the new one is ready? Yes, that's how we do it. Bubble runs until switch-over day, and you switch it off once you're sure. ### Does this apply to other no-code builders too? Generally, yes. If the tool can't hand over code that runs elsewhere, we rebuild the app from the current one. If it can, it's a takeover instead. Tell us what the app was built in and we'll say which applies. ### Who develops the app afterwards? Your person with AI, your developer, or us. The code lives in your company's Git, and every change goes live only after our review. ### What does it cost? A one-off Fabrika setup that includes rebuilding the app, then a monthly fee for operations and change review, based on the number of apps, never per user or per hour. You pay Cloudflare or Zerops directly for the servers, by usage, and you can cancel the Bubble subscription after the switch. You get the figures in the offer after the scoping call. [How pricing works](/pricing). ![](/illustrations/cta-crane.webp) ## Show us your *Bubble app*. Half an hour and a shared screen with the editor open is enough. We'll tell you what a rebuild would involve and whether it's worth it at all. If it isn't, we'll say so plainly. [Book a 30-min call →](https://cal.com/contember/demo) [Your developer builds, we run it →](/your-developers)[Taking over apps that have code →](/already-building)