Base44 Not Working? Fix the 7 Most Common Errors (2026)

Jump to your symptom: editor won't load · blank app or preview · works for you, not for others (or login fails) · 429 or features stop · AI chat stuck · backend functions · custom domain or SSL

Start Here: Base44 Triage in 5 Checks

Do these checks before you ask the AI to change anything. Every extra AI change can stack a new problem on top of the one you already have.

1. Check whether Base44 is down. Open status.base44.com and look for reports in the Base44 Discord. If there is an active incident, wait. Nothing you change in your app will fix a platform outage.
2. Rule out your browser. Open the app in an incognito window with extensions turned off. If you stay in your normal window, hard refresh with Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac, in Chrome, Edge or Firefox). Base44 lists ad blockers and privacy extensions among the things to turn off when the editor won't load.
3. Undo the last change the right way. If the app broke right after a prompt, click the Revert icon on that chat message, or open Version History (the clock icon in the AI chat) and restore the last version that worked. Asking the AI to "revert" in the chat does not undo anything. Reverting restores an earlier version of the app; don't assume it brings back records the change deleted or edited, so check your data in the dashboard afterwards.
4. Read the error code. The table below tells you who can fix it.
5. Let Base44 look first. If you see no clear error, type Something is wrong in the AI chat. Base44 analyzes the app and suggests fixes in context. Read what it suggests before you approve any change.

Error 1 - The Base44 Editor Won't Load or Is Stuck on Loading

What you see: a blank editor, a loading icon that never finishes, or an editor so slow it barely responds.

Why it happens

Start with the browser: extensions, cached data or an outdated browser can stop the editor from loading, and so can a connection problem or a Base44 incident.

How to fix it

1. Open the editor in an incognito window with extensions off, or in another browser.
2. If that works, clear your browser cache and Base44 cookies (this signs you out), then reload. Turn extensions back on one by one to find the one that blocks Base44.
3. Update to a current version of a supported browser.
4. Check the status page and the Discord for a reported outage.
5. Still stuck? Open the browser console (F12 on Windows, Cmd+Option+J in Chrome on Mac), take a screenshot of the red errors and send it to Base44 support with your browser and operating system.

What you should see: if the editor opens in incognito, the cause was an extension or cached data in your normal browser profile.

Special case: the error Failed to load app: Error serializing to JSON: UnicodeEncodeError can happen when the app name contains an emoji or an unsupported special character. You can't open or rename the app yourself, so contact Base44 support.

Error 2 - The App or Preview Shows a Blank or White Screen

What you see: a white page in the published app or in the editor preview, a spinner, only the header, a page that loads and then disappears, a crash when you click something, or an Issues Found notification in the preview.

Why it happens

• A recent AI change broke the code. Suspect this first if the app worked before your last prompt.
• Field definitions and saved data don't match. Base44 doesn't enforce schemas, so your field definitions and the data your app saves can drift apart. After publishing, this can show up as a blank screen or as the error Uncaught Error: Error in json schema: properties is required for object type.
• You published, but the old version is still showing. Possible reasons: browser cache, a publish that didn't finish, or changes made on a branch. Publishing always happens from main.

How to fix it

1. If the preview shows Issues Found, read the error first. Resolve with AI sends the error details to the AI chat, which will change code. Use it once; if the next version breaks too, revert instead of pressing it again.
2. Revert the last prompt with the Revert icon, or restore an earlier version from Version History. Then ask for the change again in a smaller prompt.
3. If only part of the page fails, such as a button, a form or a list, click that element in the preview, choose Discuss and describe exactly what happens and what should happen, for example: "After clicking this button, a PDF should download, but nothing happens." If the whole page is blank, type Something is wrong in the AI chat instead.
4. If you see the JSON schema error, check your field definitions and make sure each field type matches the data being saved. For a flexible object, only use a JSON schema form when its properties are defined in advance.
5. If your changes don't appear live: clear the cache, check from another device, and confirm you clicked Publish and saw the success message. If you worked on a branch, the Publish button is replaced by Merge to main: merge first, then publish. If you changed a backend function, redeploy it from the dashboard and check the error logs there.

What you should see: after a revert, the page renders and the console has no red errors.

Error 3 - The App Works for You but Not for Anyone Else

What you see: the app opens in your browser, but other people get a login screen, a request-access pop-up, an "Invalid login" error, a blank page or nothing at all.

Why it happens

• The latest version was never published.
• App Visibility is set to Private (only invited people) or Workspace (only members of your Base44 workspace). Anyone else sees a pop-up asking them to request access, or an "Invalid login" error.
• You tested with Test Data on. Records created in testing mode live only in the test database, and the published app always reads production data, so other people don't see them.
• The custom domain isn't connected properly (Error 7).
• You want a public landing page in front of pages that need a login.

How to fix it

1. In the app dashboard, click Publish (top right) and choose Publish app.
2. If only specific people need the app, such as your team or a client, keep it Private and invite them by email from the dashboard.
3. Switch to Public only if the app is meant for anyone on the internet, because a Public app doesn't require sign-in. First open Security in the dashboard, run the security scan and fix what it finds. Then go to Overview, open the App Visibility drop-down and select Public.
4. Test in an incognito window while logged out. That is what your users see. If you use a custom domain, also open the default Base44 app link; if that works, the problem is the domain.
5. For a public landing page with private pages, Base44 documents two options: build the landing page as a separate public app on your main domain and put the private app on a subdomain, or set the app to Public and ask the AI chat to protect the pages you choose and send visitors who aren't signed in to your login page. With the second option, run the security scan and open every page while logged out before you share the link.

Login not working

• You can't sign in to Base44 itself: check status.base44.com, then try an incognito window with extensions turned off.
• Your users see "Invalid login": the most common cause is that the app is Private and they weren't invited. Other causes are a mistyped email or password, an email that was never verified, or an expired session.
• Verification or reset emails don't arrive: ask users to check spam, add app@base44.com to their allowed senders and check the address for typos. A reset link works only once.
• Sign-in methods such as Google or Microsoft are set in Dashboard → Settings → Authentication.

What you should see: in an incognito window, logged out, a Public app opens. A Private or Workspace app shows a sign-in or request-access screen, which is expected until the person is invited.

Stop and ask for help if the default Base44 link still fails in an incognito window after you publish and invite the person.

Error 4 - "Rate Limit Exceeded", 429 Errors or Features That Suddenly Stop

What you see: 429 or "rate limit exceeded" errors, actions that stop working in the middle of a session, or emails, uploads and AI features that fail with a generic error message.

Why it happens

Two different limits get mixed up here:

• Rate limits (429). Too many requests in a short time. The limit is per person. Patterns that send many requests quickly include data refreshed on a timer, a search that runs on every keystroke, or a list that loads records one by one.
• Integration credits. Base44's built-in services use integration credits: sending emails, uploading files, generating images and calling the built-in LLM. Backend function invocations use them too, about 1 credit per 100 calls. When the credits run out, those actions fail. Your users get a generic error that doesn't mention credits, but if you repeat the action yourself, the error says you have used all your integration credits.

AI chat messages use a separate balance, message credits. When those run out, you can't send prompts until you have message credits again; the chat shows how many you have left and offers a way to get more. On paid plans, message and integration credits reset monthly, on the same day of the month you subscribed. On the free plan you can use up to 5 credits a day, up to a total of 25 a month, and daily credits reset at midnight in the workspace owner's time zone.

How to fix it

1. Check your credits first: click your workspace name at the bottom left, then Settings → General → Credit usage, or click the Base44 logo at the top left of the editor. If integration credits are at 0, emails, uploads and AI features fail until the credits reset or you add more.
2. For a 429, wait before retrying and stop repeating the same action.
3. Find what sends requests too often. In Discuss mode, ask the AI which pages refresh data on a timer, search on every keystroke or load records one by one, before you let it change anything. Then fix those patterns: search only once the user stops typing, group writes into batch requests where possible, and cache (store and reuse) results that don't change.
4. If your own code calls an API, add retry logic that waits after a 429 instead of retrying immediately.
5. If you use built-in email or AI heavily, calling an external service with your own API key from a backend function does not use integration credits, although the function invocations themselves still count.
6. If 429 errors appear during normal use, contact Base44 support with the time and the action you were doing.

What you should see: Credit usage shows integration credits above 0, and the action that failed works again with no 429 in the console.

Error 5 - The AI Chat Is Stuck on "Thinking" or Can't Fix the Problem

What you see: the chat spins on "Thinking", "applying changes" or "undoing", doesn't respond, or keeps making the problem worse.

How to fix it

1. If a prompt has run for more than 10 minutes, or shows no updates, click Stop and tell Base44 support where it got stuck, what the prompt was and how long it ran. The first prompt of a new app is the exception: complex first prompts can take 10-15 minutes. For the full walkthrough, including what to do if Stop and Revert don't work, see Base44 stuck on "Thinking"?
2. Revert to the last working version, then split the request into smaller prompts.
3. Plan in Discuss mode and switch to Build only when you're ready for changes. Discuss mode uses about 0.3 credits per request, so it's also the cheaper way to think a problem through.
4. If the prompt or the stop button is stuck and you can't revert, Base44 suggests these steps in order: restore from Version History; switch to another AI model (click the current model name at the bottom of the AI chat, which needs the Builder plan or higher), then switch to Discuss mode and send a short message such as "hi"; or make a tiny manual edit in Edit mode to force a state change.
5. If the very first prompt of a new app never finishes, go to Dashboard → Settings → App settings → Clone app and open the clone. If that fails, start a new app with the same prompt split into smaller steps.

What you should see: the chat is back to an empty message box, and the preview shows the version you restored.

Error 6 - Backend Functions Return 404, 500 or ISOLATE_INTERNAL_FAILURE

What you see: functions that fail in the dashboard test tool, webhooks from Stripe, Telegram or other services that don't arrive, or an ISOLATE_INTERNAL_FAILURE error when you save or deploy a function.

Most of these steps need someone who can read the function code. If that isn't you, note the error and the function name and use the checklist in What to Include When You Ask for Help.

How to fix it

1. Check your plan. Backend functions need the Builder plan or higher.
2. Test the function in the dashboard, not by opening its URL in a browser. Go to Dashboard → Code → Functions, select the function and click Test Function. If the test passes, the function works: a browser tab sends a GET request without the data the function may expect. GET requests carry data in the URL's query string, and POST requests carry it in the request body.
3. 404 on every function: check that each file is in the right folder with the right name and starts its handler with Deno.serve(), then redeploy the app from the dashboard and confirm the deployment finished.
4. ISOLATE_INTERNAL_FAILURE: the function can't start in Base44's Deno runtime. Every file in /functions needs its own Deno.serve() block. Move empty files and shared utility files out of that folder. Remove imports of frontend components or other functions, and replace Node.js built-ins such as fs, path or process. Then save and publish again.
5. 500 on a webhook POST: use your default Base44 app link as the base URL, in the format https://app--your-app-name.base44.app/api/apps/your-app-id/functions/yourFunctionName. Base44 recommends this even when a custom domain is connected.
6. 403 on webhooks from services such as Telegram or WhatsApp: those services can't send your app's login credentials, so the webhook needs its own public function. Keep authentication on the other functions, and make the public one check that each request really comes from the service before it does anything: Telegram can send a secret token you choose in the X-Telegram-Bot-Api-Secret-Token header, and Meta signs WhatsApp webhook requests in the X-Hub-Signature-256 header with your App Secret. Store that token or secret as a Secret, never in the code.
7. API keys: Base44 can't fetch keys from Stripe, OpenAI or other services for you. Generate the key in that service and add it to Base44 as a Secret. Paste it only into the Secret field, never into a chat message or into page code: page code runs in your users' browsers, where anyone can read it. Backend functions read secrets at runtime, and setting a secret automatically redeploys the functions that use it.

What you should see: Test Function returns the expected response instead of an error, and the service that sends the webhook shows the delivery as successful.

Error 7 - Custom Domain Not Working or SSL Errors

What you see: a domain stuck on "Pending verification" or "Connecting", a domain that shows as connected but doesn't load, or ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR.

A quick glossary: a CNAME record points a name like www to another name. ANAME or ALIAS does the same for the root domain. An A record points to an IP address, and an AAAA record to an IPv6 address.

How to fix it

1. Pending verification: refresh the Domains page first, since the status only updates when it is re-checked. If your app already loads on the domain, it is connected. Otherwise hover over the badge and use Set up DNS for me, or check your records against Base44's domain guide. Propagation can take 48-72 hours; whatsmydns.net shows whether the new records are visible worldwide.
2. Stuck on "Connecting" for more than 30 minutes: in Dashboard → Domains, unlink the domain and link it again.
3. Connected but the site doesn't load, or SSL errors. Before you change anything, take a screenshot of all your DNS records. Only change the records for the root (@) and www, and leave MX and TXT records alone: they handle your email and domain verifications.
   • Delete any AAAA (IPv6) records for the root and www: they can block the connection.
   • Point www with a CNAME to base44.onrender.com. Point the root (@) with an ANAME or ALIAS record to the same target, or with an A record to 216.24.57.1 if your provider has no ANAME or ALIAS.
   • Set up both the root and www, copy the values exactly, and make sure the domain is renewed and active.
   • On Cloudflare, set the Base44 records to DNS only (grey cloud). With the proxy on, new pages return 404 on the custom domain.
4. A mystery A record: if public DNS tools show an A record you can't find in your registrar's DNS zone, the registrar's domain forwarding, URL redirect or parking feature is adding it. Turn that feature off and wait for propagation.
5. Domain bought through Base44 that won't connect: the registrar (Wix, GoDaddy or IONOS) sends a verification email that has to be confirmed within 15 days. Search your inbox and spam for it, confirm it, then unlink and reconnect the domain.
6. 429 when reconnecting a domain: a temporary limit. Wait a few minutes and try again.

What you should see: the Domains page no longer says Pending verification or Connecting, whatsmydns.net shows your new records in most locations, and your domain loads over https with no certificate warning.

Stop and ask for help if the domain still fails 72 hours after your records match, or if you aren't sure which record to change.

Is Base44 Built on Supabase? Why Some Fixes Online Don't Apply

No. Base44 includes its own backend:

• a NoSQL database with MongoDB-compatible queries;
• authentication with email and password, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple, plus SSO on the Elite plan;
• row-level and field-level security;
• Deno-based backend functions;
• hosting.

Many troubleshooting guides copy fixes from Lovable or Bolt apps built on Supabase, such as Postgres RLS policies, Supabase's anon key or VITE_ environment variables. Those only apply if your backend functions call an external Supabase project you connected yourself.

Two more things matter when you debug:

• Test data is separate; secrets are not. On the Builder plan and higher you can turn on Test Data (Dashboard → Settings → Advanced Capabilities). It creates a separate, empty test database: in testing mode the preview reads and writes test records, but your published app always uses production data. Secrets are read by backend functions at runtime, and the docs don't describe separate secrets per environment.
• Security has its own scan. If users can see or edit data they shouldn't, open Security in the dashboard, run the security scan, review the findings and apply the fixes, then test by signing in with different user roles.

When It Isn't a Bug: Signs You've Hit a Base44 Limit

• Hosting is for single-page apps only. If you need server-rendered pages, for example for SEO or link previews, no prompt will change that.
• Error chains. Each fix produces a new error somewhere else. Stop prompting, restore the last version that worked, and scope the change before you try again.
• Limits during normal use. Rate limits or integration credits running out while your users are simply using the app. That points to a problem in how the app requests data, or to an app that has outgrown its plan.

What to Include When You Ask for Help

Whether you contact Base44 support or a developer, include:

• the app link;
• when the problem started and the last change or prompt before it;
• exactly what you see, with screenshots of the error and of the browser console (crop out user data, and never send passwords or API keys);
• your browser and operating system;
• for domain problems, a screenshot of your DNS records.

That saves a round of back-and-forth questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still broken after this guide?

If your Base44 app keeps failing in ways this guide doesn't cover, the AppStuck Master Prompt gets your AI builder to write up the problems in your app, so you can see what's wrong before you change anything else. It's free. Get the Master Prompt.

Sources

Checked on September 16-17 and 23, 2026:

• Base44 docs: Troubleshooting issues
• Base44 docs: Troubleshoot your project
• Base44 docs: Backend features
• Base44 docs: Credits and Base44 pricing
• Base44 docs: Managing access
• Base44 docs: Managing login and registration
• Base44 docs: Testing your data
• Base44 docs: Working with branches
• Base44 docs: AI chat modes
• Base44 docs: secrets set
• Telegram Bot API: setWebhook and Meta webhooks: validating payloads
• Base44 status page