NocoDB Base Export/Import Tool

Export and import NocoDB bases between instances.

Quick Start

Install

# Install uv if you haven't already
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Export a Base

NOCODB_EMAIL="your@email.com" \
NOCODB_PASSWORD="yourpassword" \
BASE_ID="p2b1mor87640vjw" \
uv run --with requests nocodb_full_export.py

Import a Base

NOCODB_EMAIL="your@email.com" \
NOCODB_PASSWORD="yourpassword" \
IMPORT_FILE="nocodb_export_BaseName_TIMESTAMP.json" \
uv run --with requests nocodb_full_import.py

Authentication

Option 1: Email/Password (Recommended)

NOCODB_EMAIL="your@email.com" NOCODB_PASSWORD="yourpassword"

Option 2: Auth Token

NOCODB_TOKEN="eyJhbGc..."

Configuration

Export Script

Variable	Required	Default	Description
NOCODB_EMAIL + NOCODB_PASSWORD	Yes*	-	Email/password auth
NOCODB_TOKEN	Yes*	-	Token auth (alternative)
BASE_ID	Yes	-	Base ID (from URL)
NOCODB_URL	No	http://localhost:8500	NocoDB instance URL
INCLUDE_DATA	No	true	Include table data
OUTPUT_FILE	No	auto	Custom output filename

*Either EMAIL+PASSWORD or TOKEN required

Import Script

Variable	Required	Default	Description
NOCODB_EMAIL + NOCODB_PASSWORD	Yes*	-	Email/password auth
NOCODB_TOKEN	Yes*	-	Token auth (alternative)
IMPORT_FILE	Yes	-	Path to export file
NOCODB_URL	No	http://localhost:8500	NocoDB instance URL
NEW_BASE_TITLE	No	{original} (Import)	New base title
WORKSPACE_ID	No	-	Target workspace ID

*Either EMAIL+PASSWORD or TOKEN required

What's Included

✅ Base metadata, tables, schemas, columns, data, views ⚠️ NOT included: Link/Relationship columns, Lookup/Rollup columns, Webhooks, API tokens

Use Cases

Duplicate a base:

NOCODB_EMAIL="user@email.com" NOCODB_PASSWORD="pass" BASE_ID="p123" uv run --with requests nocodb_full_export.py
NOCODB_EMAIL="user@email.com" NOCODB_PASSWORD="pass" IMPORT_FILE="nocodb_export_*.json" uv run --with requests nocodb_full_import.py

Transfer between instances:

NOCODB_URL="http://source:8500" NOCODB_EMAIL="user@email.com" NOCODB_PASSWORD="pass" BASE_ID="p123" uv run --with requests nocodb_full_export.py
NOCODB_URL="http://target:8500" NOCODB_EMAIL="user2@email.com" NOCODB_PASSWORD="pass2" IMPORT_FILE="nocodb_export_*.json" uv run --with requests nocodb_full_import.py

Schema only (no data):

INCLUDE_DATA="false" NOCODB_EMAIL="user@email.com" NOCODB_PASSWORD="pass" BASE_ID="p123" uv run --with requests nocodb_full_export.py

Finding Your Base ID

Open your base in NocoDB and look at the URL:

http://your-instance/nc/p2b1mor87640vjw
                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                        This is your BASE_ID

Tips

Use .env file:

cat > .env << EOF
NOCODB_EMAIL=your@email.com
NOCODB_PASSWORD=yourpassword
BASE_ID=p123abc
EOF

export $(cat .env | xargs) && uv run --with requests nocodb_full_export.py

Batch export:

for BASE_ID in p123 p456 p789; do
  NOCODB_EMAIL="user@email.com" NOCODB_PASSWORD="pass" BASE_ID="$BASE_ID" uv run --with requests nocodb_full_export.py
done

Troubleshooting

• 401 Unauthorized: Use email/password auth or get fresh token
• Base not found: Check BASE_ID format (starts with 'p')
• Missing relationships after import: Recreate Link columns manually in UI
• Slow exports: Use INCLUDE_DATA="false" for schema only