Blog
Own Your Build: Export and Self Host Your Tools & Workflows with BuildShip
Tutorial
·
May 13, 2025
Starting today, every tool or workflow you create on BuildShip can be exported as an API or clean, production-ready JavaScript, and run it wherever you need.
We realized that modern workflows and visual platforms focus on making building easier with drag-and-drop interfaces. On the other hand, devs resort to rewriting everything by hand to deploy them outside hosted environments. This is broken, being stuck to build fast or to own what you build - but rarely both.
Starting today, every tool or workflow you create on BuildShip can be exported as an API or clean, production-ready JavaScript, and run it wherever you need.
We realized that modern workflows and visual platforms focus on making building easier with drag-and-drop interfaces. On the other hand, devs resort to rewriting everything by hand to deploy them outside hosted environments. This is broken, being stuck to build fast or to own what you build - but rarely both.
Starting today, every tool or workflow you create on BuildShip can be exported as an API or clean, production-ready JavaScript, and run it wherever you need.
We realized that modern workflows and visual platforms focus on making building easier with drag-and-drop interfaces. On the other hand, devs resort to rewriting everything by hand to deploy them outside hosted environments. This is broken, being stuck to build fast or to own what you build - but rarely both.
Export, Self-Host, and Customize your AI Workflows & Tools
We’re working on removing the biggest friction - vendor lock in.
As our product evolved we talked to users wanting to self host for compliance reasons, keep greater control by inspecting or tweaking what AI built and have great reservations if they’re working in fintech, healthcare or internal tools.
That’s why with BuildShip we now allow you to export everything. The logic, the nodes, the flow, all turned into readable JavaScript you can run with a single npx command.
Here’s what this means:
One-click export from any tool or workflow in your workspace
Code-first output in clean JavaScript
Run locally with npx
Deploy anywhere: Vercel, GCP, AWS, Azure, your own MCP server or host on BuildShip itself
Future-ready for platforms like Polkadot JAM and blockchain runtimes
Easily integrate with open-source frameworks and access the latest npm packages to extend your workflows - be it pulling in a popular library or connecting with an open-source tool.
You still get the same fast, AI-native experience while building. But now, your tools are portable, giving you the flexibility to deploy and run your tools on your own infrastructure.
How it works
Build your tool in the BuildShip’s visual editor
Click Ship -> Export as function
Run with: bash / CopyEdit. With this, you can edit the code, add logging, wire it into your own infra - it’s yours.
Deploy it to a local MCP server
How does this stack up again other tools
There are plenty of tools that help you build with AI, but each one makes tradeoffs between speed, control, and deployability. Open source frameworks like LangChain give you flexibility, but they’re not fast to prototype and often require stitching everything together manually.
Here’s how BuildShip compares to LangChain and others in the space
Feature / Tool | BuildShip | LangChain | n8n | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-Native (How deeply AI is integrated into the platform) | ✅ Built around AI agents, memory, and tool orchestration | ✅ Developer-first AI framework with deep control, no UI | ⚠️ Supports AI via nodes, but no memory or agent reasoning | ❌ AI integrations available via external APIs only |
Speed to Prototype | ✅ Fast visual + AI builder | ❌ Slower, manual setup | ✅ Fast for automations | ✅ Quick setup with integrations, but limited AI |
Code Exportable | ✅ Clean JS export | ✅ Full control | ⚠️ Limited node-level export | ❌ No code export |
Self-Hostable | ✅ Via npx, deploy anywhere | ✅ With effort | ✅ Fully self-hostable | ❌ No |
Enterprise Ready | ✅ Designed with compliance in mind | ⚠️ Requires manual compliance setup | ✅ Yes - Open source, configurable | ✅ Yes |
Why Developers Love This
No Lock-In: Export your tools as clean code, giving you full flexibility without being tied to any vendor.
Compliance Ready low-code platform: Deploy tools in isolated, secure environments to meet compliance and security requirements. We’re also enterprise ready with HIPPA, SOC 2 and ISO Compliances.
Build in the Cloud, Deploy On-Prem: Create in the cloud and easily deploy on your own infrastructure, balancing speed and control.
Best of No-Code Speed and Code-Level Control: Build fast with a visual interface while retaining the ability to export and refine code for full control.
What’s Coming Next?
Expanded Export Features: Get ready for more export options like OAuth, memory, and AI Switch.
GitHub Repo: Access reference implementations and dive into our code.
Public Roadmap & Contribution: Stay tuned for our roadmap and guidelines to contribute.
Community Templates: Share and explore self-hosted tool templates with the community.
Start building on your own terms
Export your first BuildShip tool today. Take the code with you and run it where you want. Check out our videos on how to export and deploy locally on our YouTube or jump into the Discord and tell us where you're running your tools.
This is Day 2 of SHIP Week. This time, we ship the whole thing.
Export, Self-Host, and Customize your AI Workflows & Tools
We’re working on removing the biggest friction - vendor lock in.
As our product evolved we talked to users wanting to self host for compliance reasons, keep greater control by inspecting or tweaking what AI built and have great reservations if they’re working in fintech, healthcare or internal tools.
That’s why with BuildShip we now allow you to export everything. The logic, the nodes, the flow, all turned into readable JavaScript you can run with a single npx command.
Here’s what this means:
One-click export from any tool or workflow in your workspace
Code-first output in clean JavaScript
Run locally with npx
Deploy anywhere: Vercel, GCP, AWS, Azure, your own MCP server or host on BuildShip itself
Future-ready for platforms like Polkadot JAM and blockchain runtimes
Easily integrate with open-source frameworks and access the latest npm packages to extend your workflows - be it pulling in a popular library or connecting with an open-source tool.
You still get the same fast, AI-native experience while building. But now, your tools are portable, giving you the flexibility to deploy and run your tools on your own infrastructure.
How it works
Build your tool in the BuildShip’s visual editor
Click Ship -> Export as function
Run with: bash / CopyEdit. With this, you can edit the code, add logging, wire it into your own infra - it’s yours.
Deploy it to a local MCP server
How does this stack up again other tools
There are plenty of tools that help you build with AI, but each one makes tradeoffs between speed, control, and deployability. Open source frameworks like LangChain give you flexibility, but they’re not fast to prototype and often require stitching everything together manually.
Here’s how BuildShip compares to LangChain and others in the space
Feature / Tool | BuildShip | LangChain | n8n | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-Native (How deeply AI is integrated into the platform) | ✅ Built around AI agents, memory, and tool orchestration | ✅ Developer-first AI framework with deep control, no UI | ⚠️ Supports AI via nodes, but no memory or agent reasoning | ❌ AI integrations available via external APIs only |
Speed to Prototype | ✅ Fast visual + AI builder | ❌ Slower, manual setup | ✅ Fast for automations | ✅ Quick setup with integrations, but limited AI |
Code Exportable | ✅ Clean JS export | ✅ Full control | ⚠️ Limited node-level export | ❌ No code export |
Self-Hostable | ✅ Via npx, deploy anywhere | ✅ With effort | ✅ Fully self-hostable | ❌ No |
Enterprise Ready | ✅ Designed with compliance in mind | ⚠️ Requires manual compliance setup | ✅ Yes - Open source, configurable | ✅ Yes |
Why Developers Love This
No Lock-In: Export your tools as clean code, giving you full flexibility without being tied to any vendor.
Compliance Ready low-code platform: Deploy tools in isolated, secure environments to meet compliance and security requirements. We’re also enterprise ready with HIPPA, SOC 2 and ISO Compliances.
Build in the Cloud, Deploy On-Prem: Create in the cloud and easily deploy on your own infrastructure, balancing speed and control.
Best of No-Code Speed and Code-Level Control: Build fast with a visual interface while retaining the ability to export and refine code for full control.
What’s Coming Next?
Expanded Export Features: Get ready for more export options like OAuth, memory, and AI Switch.
GitHub Repo: Access reference implementations and dive into our code.
Public Roadmap & Contribution: Stay tuned for our roadmap and guidelines to contribute.
Community Templates: Share and explore self-hosted tool templates with the community.
Start building on your own terms
Export your first BuildShip tool today. Take the code with you and run it where you want. Check out our videos on how to export and deploy locally on our YouTube or jump into the Discord and tell us where you're running your tools.
This is Day 2 of SHIP Week. This time, we ship the whole thing.
Export, Self-Host, and Customize your AI Workflows & Tools
We’re working on removing the biggest friction - vendor lock in.
As our product evolved we talked to users wanting to self host for compliance reasons, keep greater control by inspecting or tweaking what AI built and have great reservations if they’re working in fintech, healthcare or internal tools.
That’s why with BuildShip we now allow you to export everything. The logic, the nodes, the flow, all turned into readable JavaScript you can run with a single npx command.
Here’s what this means:
One-click export from any tool or workflow in your workspace
Code-first output in clean JavaScript
Run locally with npx
Deploy anywhere: Vercel, GCP, AWS, Azure, your own MCP server or host on BuildShip itself
Future-ready for platforms like Polkadot JAM and blockchain runtimes
Easily integrate with open-source frameworks and access the latest npm packages to extend your workflows - be it pulling in a popular library or connecting with an open-source tool.
You still get the same fast, AI-native experience while building. But now, your tools are portable, giving you the flexibility to deploy and run your tools on your own infrastructure.
How it works
Build your tool in the BuildShip’s visual editor
Click Ship -> Export as function
Run with: bash / CopyEdit. With this, you can edit the code, add logging, wire it into your own infra - it’s yours.
Deploy it to a local MCP server
How does this stack up again other tools
There are plenty of tools that help you build with AI, but each one makes tradeoffs between speed, control, and deployability. Open source frameworks like LangChain give you flexibility, but they’re not fast to prototype and often require stitching everything together manually.
Here’s how BuildShip compares to LangChain and others in the space
Feature / Tool | BuildShip | LangChain | n8n | Zapier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AI-Native (How deeply AI is integrated into the platform) | ✅ Built around AI agents, memory, and tool orchestration | ✅ Developer-first AI framework with deep control, no UI | ⚠️ Supports AI via nodes, but no memory or agent reasoning | ❌ AI integrations available via external APIs only |
Speed to Prototype | ✅ Fast visual + AI builder | ❌ Slower, manual setup | ✅ Fast for automations | ✅ Quick setup with integrations, but limited AI |
Code Exportable | ✅ Clean JS export | ✅ Full control | ⚠️ Limited node-level export | ❌ No code export |
Self-Hostable | ✅ Via npx, deploy anywhere | ✅ With effort | ✅ Fully self-hostable | ❌ No |
Enterprise Ready | ✅ Designed with compliance in mind | ⚠️ Requires manual compliance setup | ✅ Yes - Open source, configurable | ✅ Yes |
Why Developers Love This
No Lock-In: Export your tools as clean code, giving you full flexibility without being tied to any vendor.
Compliance Ready low-code platform: Deploy tools in isolated, secure environments to meet compliance and security requirements. We’re also enterprise ready with HIPPA, SOC 2 and ISO Compliances.
Build in the Cloud, Deploy On-Prem: Create in the cloud and easily deploy on your own infrastructure, balancing speed and control.
Best of No-Code Speed and Code-Level Control: Build fast with a visual interface while retaining the ability to export and refine code for full control.
What’s Coming Next?
Expanded Export Features: Get ready for more export options like OAuth, memory, and AI Switch.
GitHub Repo: Access reference implementations and dive into our code.
Public Roadmap & Contribution: Stay tuned for our roadmap and guidelines to contribute.
Community Templates: Share and explore self-hosted tool templates with the community.
Start building on your own terms
Export your first BuildShip tool today. Take the code with you and run it where you want. Check out our videos on how to export and deploy locally on our YouTube or jump into the Discord and tell us where you're running your tools.
This is Day 2 of SHIP Week. This time, we ship the whole thing.
