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Follow this quickstart to scaffold a project, define an entity, and run your app locally. This project includes a pre-configured Base44 SDK client, UI components, and Tailwind CSS styling.

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Step 1 | Install the CLI

Install the Base44 CLI globally using npm: 
npm install -g base44
The CLI requires Node.js 20.19.0 or higher.

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Step 2 | Authenticate

Log in to your Base44 account using the device code flow: 
base44 login
The CLI generates a unique device code and verification URL. To complete authentication:
  1. Open the provided URL in your browser.
  2. Enter the device code shown in your terminal.
  3. Complete authentication in your browser.
Your credentials are securely stored locally at ~/.base44/auth/auth.json and remain valid until you log out or the session expires.

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Step 3 | Create a project

Create a new Base44 project using the interactive wizard: 
base44 create
Select Start from a template when prompted to choose a template, then follow the prompts to configure your project. The CLI creates your project with a complete React application and example entity. Your app ID is automatically added to .app.jsonc. After creation, follow the prompts to push entities and deploy your site. The CLI will set up and deploy your project. When complete, you’ll see:
  • Project: Your project name
  • Dashboard: Link to your Base44 dashboard
  • Site: Your live application URL
The generated project structure:
<your-project-name>
base44
.app.jsonc
config.jsonc
entities
task.jsonc
src
App.jsx
main.jsx
index.css
.gitignore
.nvmrc
components.json
index.html
jsconfig.json
package.json
postcss.config.js
README.md
tailwind.config.js
vite.config.js
For more information about the files in this project, see Project Structure. This project includes an example Task entity in base44/entities/task.jsonc which was pushed to Base44 during project creation. You can modify this entity or create additional ones.

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Further development

Now that your project is deployed, you can continue building and customizing your application. This section covers development workflows including running locally, updating entities, and deploying changes.

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Running locally

To develop locally, navigate to your project and start the development server: 
cd your-project-name
npm run dev
This starts Vite’s development server with hot reloading. Your React application will open in your browser. The pre-configured SDK client connects your app to your Base44 backend, allowing you to work with the entities you pushed and functions you deployed during project creation.

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Defining and deploying entities and functions

Entity schemas are defined in the base44/entities/ directory. To modify existing entities or add new ones, edit or create entity files and sync them with your Base44 project using the entities push command. To add backend functions, create them according to the function structure documented in the project structure guide. Once created, deploy them with the functions deploy command. After deployment, you can call functions from your frontend using the SDK or via HTTP at <your-app-domain>/functions/<function-name>.
Entity and function changes must be deployed to Base44 using deploy before they appear in your local application.

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Developing your frontend

This project’s frontend code uses the Base44 SDK to interact with the backend. The project includes a pre-configured SDK client in src/api/base44Client.js that handles authentication and API calls. Use the SDK to create, read, update, and delete data from your entities, call backend functions, and access integrations. Learn more in the JavaScript SDK documentation.

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Deploying updates

Once you’ve finished developing locally and are ready to deploy your updated site, rebuild your site and redeploy using the site deploy command.

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See also