Leaving Emergent?
Here's what comes with you.
Emergent can push your code to GitHub, but the database and keys stay behind. This page covers what you take, what you'd rebuild and the routes that work.
What Save to GitHub gives you
Paid plans push to a repository you choose
On the Standard and Pro plans, Emergent pushes your project to a GitHub repository and branch you choose (Emergent's GitHub guide). The free plan has no GitHub option, so save the code before a paid plan lapses.What the push contains
Emergent doesn't document what the push contains. Public repositories pushed by its agent share a shape: a Python FastAPI backend in backend/server.py, a React or Expo frontend, and no .env files. The database address and any keys stay with Emergent, so whoever runs the code next has to recreate them.One dependency may need replacing
Some backends also import emergentintegrations, the package behind Emergent's built-in AI key. It wasn't on the public Python package index when this page was checked, so installing the backend elsewhere may mean replacing that dependency first.What stays with Emergent
The data
Published apps run on Emergent's managed MongoDB, and there's no download button: the docs point to MongoDB's own export tools or a snapshot from support. The one documented way to hold the data yourself is bringing your own MongoDB Atlas cluster, which needs the Pro plan and a dedicated M10 cluster or larger (details). Even Emergent's own guide to self-hosted builders lists self-hosted data storage as Enterprise only.The live app
Deployments are built from Emergent's workspace, not from GitHub, so a change merged on GitHub reaches your users only after it's pulled back into Emergent and redeployed. After you cancel, a deployment stays up while the account still holds 50 credits, its monthly hosting charge (plans and credits). What happens below that isn't documented.Your routes off Emergent
- Stay, but save to GitHub
Good when: The app still changes every week and the credits feel worth it
What it involves: Credits for each change, plus 50 a month for every live app (Emergent pricing)
- Hand the repository to a developer
Good when: Someone can run FastAPI and MongoDB, and host both
What it involves: Recreating the .env files, getting the data out and choosing a host
- Rebuild on a stack you own
Good when: The app is small and its data is simple to move
What it involves: Refinar's Foundation build: a developer, 3 business days, a fixed $1,000. Moving existing data is quoted separately
- Refinar on the Emergent code
Good when: Not today
What it involves: Its cloud preview can't open the direct database connection an Emergent backend relies on
| Good when | What it involves | |
|---|---|---|
| Stay, but save to GitHub | The app still changes every week and the credits feel worth it | Credits for each change, plus 50 a month for every live app (Emergent pricing) |
| Hand the repository to a developer | Someone can run FastAPI and MongoDB, and host both | Recreating the .env files, getting the data out and choosing a host |
| Rebuild on a stack you own | The app is small and its data is simple to move | Refinar's Foundation build: a developer, 3 business days, a fixed $1,000. Moving existing data is quoted separately |
| Refinar on the Emergent code | Not today | Its cloud preview can't open the direct database connection an Emergent backend relies on |
Why Refinar can't run it as it stands
Refinar starts an app from its repository in a cloud sandbox, and that sandbox reaches outside services over the web. MongoDB isn't reached that way. An Emergent backend opens a direct database connection, which the sandbox can't make, and without its database the backend has nothing to serve. The preview would show an app that can't load its own data. Refinar's hosting doesn't change that: it runs static sites and Next.js apps, not Python servers.
Apps that keep their data in Supabase are a different case, since Supabase is reached over the web, and Emergent's agent can switch an app from MongoDB to PostgreSQL when asked. That combination hasn't been tested on Refinar, so book a call before counting on it.
If you're moving, go in this order
01
Save to GitHub while you're on a paid plan
Choose a repository you own, ideally a private one in your company's GitHub organisation rather than a contractor's account. Emergent commits to it for you.
02
List what the app connects to
Write down every service and key the app uses, from payments to email. None of them travel with the code.
03
Get a copy of the data
Ask Emergent's support for a database snapshot, or move to your own Atlas cluster if you're on Pro.
04
Keep the live app up until its replacement works
It stays online while your account covers its hosting, so there's no need to switch in a hurry.
05
Decide who carries it on
A developer can take over the repository as it is. If a rebuild makes more sense, the Foundation build hands you an app Refinar can change from day one.
Questions from Emergent users
Is Refinar an Emergent alternative?
Only partly. Emergent builds apps from a prompt and Refinar doesn't; it changes apps that already exist on GitHub. For a new build, the Foundation build puts a developer on it instead, with sign-in, payments, SEO, database rules and email included (what's in it). If the new app is a Next.js or static site, Refinar can host it as well, at a refinar.app address or your own domain.
Will a rebuilt app keep my data?
Not within the fixed price. Moving an existing product's data sits outside the Foundation build, and it's quoted before any of that work starts.
What about an Emergent mobile app?
Emergent's mobile apps use Expo with the same FastAPI and MongoDB backend, so the same limit applies. Native mobile apps are also outside the Foundation build.
Can a developer work on it and still deploy from Emergent?
Yes. Emergent's documented workflow for developers runs through GitHub: work on a branch, merge by pull request, then pull the result into a new Emergent task and deploy from there.
What does Refinar cost once an app runs on it?
From $50 a month for about 100 requests, with 20 teammates included and unused credits carried over while the plan is active (pricing).
Emergent details come from its help centre, pricing page and learn articles, read on 5 October 2026, and from the layout of public repositories pushed by Emergent's agent. For the numbers, see Emergent pricing; for a comparison, Emergent vs Lovable.