Exporting a database from the cloud to create a template for other cloud users

[Commonly]

Hi there,

We are hoping to build an equivalent template on Baserow which we have released via Airtable called AirRegister. It’s a share register for co-operatives to manage their members and investments.

We are building it on the cloud version of Baserow and are hoping to have a mechanism to share it with other organisations that will likely use the cloud version of Baserow. I know there is not currently a ‘Template Marketplace’ but wondered if there is an interim process to export / share the database and make it available to other users.

Thanks,

Simon

[olgatrykush]

Hello @Commonly, welcome to the Baserow community!

@HiramFromTheChi and @frederikdc, could you help Simon here?

[HiramFromTheChi]

Hey Simon @Commonly

This is a great use case. Unfortunately, not having a dedicated template marketplace makes our process for sharing and duplicating templates kinda tricky at the moment.

I’ve tried to solve this problem myself in the past (with a personal use case), and here’s what I came up with:

1. Create an export of every table inside the database. (I usually like working with the JSON format in cases like these.)
2. Create a compressed (.zip) file of all the tables.
3. Share the exported tables with your users.
4. Draft and share documentation of each field and the field types that exist so that the users can recreate the template exactly.

Needless to say, this process is not as streamlined as it could be, but it’s what we can work with at the moment until we have duplicate template functionality and a marketplace to go along with it.

If you want to see how this would work on a practical level, I actually have a real-life product that I built called Reddit Account Manager. Here’s the documentation for the process:

You can also check out the original doc here, which has all the details. I know it may be tricky to see everything on this tall screenshot.

If you find a more streamlined way of doing this in the process, let me know! I’m sure the community would like to learn.

[frederikdc]

Hi Simon @Commonly

A more streamlined approach would be the use of the Baserow API with an automation service like N8N - which is also open source. This allows you to automatically create a new application (database) after your user has authenticated.

Once you have created the new database, you can use the API endpoints to create tables, fields, views and import data.

I can try to prepare a demo if this approach looks like a solution to you

[frederikdc]

Export a database from the SaaS (and import it for another workspace or account)

Baserow is a great platform. But one of my frustrations from time to time is that it is not possible to create a template database and pass it to other users. A scenario that is very common when using Baserow to teach database and API basics. Luckily, Baserow is a great platform with a well-documented API that makes almost everything possible. So, I started this weekend project and created an automation with n8n that makes it possible to export an entire database with structure, views and dat…

[Commonly]

Thank you @frederikdc - this looks like a great approach. I’ll work through your guide and get in touch if I have any questions.

[HiramFromTheChi]

Frederik’s solution seems to be more streamlined, so I’d go with that.

@frederikdc Q for you: does this require the recipient (the person who wants to clone the database) to also have n8n, or no?

[frederikdc]

I use my own n8n workspace at the moment which can takes 5000 executions a month. So, non-professional users can use that one.