Your AI app builder doesn't want you to leave. Here's the export script it hopes you never run.
Five popular AI builders. Five different definitions of "export." Only one of them gives you something you can actually run on a fresh laptop in under a minute.
Four of the five tools I tested ship an "export to GitHub" feature. Only one produced a repo I could clone, install and run in under 60 seconds without their account. The others ship the source files but skip the runtime, the env vars, the build step, or the database. That's not export. That's a screenshot in zip format.
The test
I built the same app five times — a basic to-do with auth, a database, and a "share by URL" route. Then I exported each project. Then I opened a fresh terminal on a fresh user account and ran:
git clone <export>
cd <repo>
npm install
npm run devThat's the test. Three commands. If it doesn't run, it's not exported.
The results
| Tool | Repo on GitHub? | Runs after 3 commands? | Database included? | Deploy config? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Builder A | Yes | No (needs their CLI) | No | No |
| Builder B | Yes | Partial (UI only) | External (Supabase) | Vercel-only |
| Builder C | Yes | No (binds to platform) | No | No |
| Builder D | Snapshot, not synced | After fixing 4 paths | SQL dump only | No |
| buildr.sh | Yes, native | Yes, on first try | D1 schema + migrations | wrangler.toml committed |
What "export" usually means
In most of these tools, "export to GitHub" means: here are the source files we generated for you. Not here is the running app. The difference is the difference between a recipe and a meal.
- The runtime is not in the repo. The platform's container, edge function or proxy is part of the app — but it's not in your zip.
- The env vars are not in the repo. Half the time the README is "set these 14 secrets." The other half, the README doesn't mention them.
- The database is not in the repo. You get an empty schema. Sometimes you don't even get that.
- The build pipeline is not in the repo. Their UI hides whatever bundler magic was happening.
"Export to GitHub" is a marketing checkbox. "Boots after three commands" is a feature.
Why this matters more than you think
Lock-in is rarely overt. Nobody sends you an email saying "we own you now." It's incremental. You forget where the env vars came from. The CLI updates and breaks. The free tier shrinks. By the time you want out, the cost of getting out is higher than the cost of staying. That's the trap. The export feature is supposed to be the escape hatch. If the escape hatch only opens halfway, it's a closet.
What to ask before signing up
- Show me a repo of an app you built. Right now. Live link.
- Can I clone it and run it on a fresh laptop with no account?
- Where is the database schema? Where are the migrations?
- If I revoke your access tomorrow, does my deployed app keep running?
If the answer to any of those is "uh, well…" — write it down. That's the moat between you and your code.
Export should mean "runs on a fresh laptop in 60 seconds."
Anything less is a polite zip file. Pick tools by that test, not by the marketing page.
Try the 60-second test on us.
Build something on buildr, push it to your GitHub, clone it on any machine, and run it. We'll wait. We're confident because the repo is yours from commit one.
Build my app free