---
title: "Start ownership transfer"
method: POST
path: "/api/apps/{app_id}/ownership/transfer"
---

# Start ownership transfer

`POST /api/apps/{app_id}/ownership/transfer`

## Request

- Base URL: `https://app.base44.com`
- URL: `https://app.base44.com/api/apps/{app_id}/ownership/transfer`
- Auth: HTTP bearer

<Info>This API is in beta. Endpoints, fields, and behavior may still change, so avoid depending on it in production.</Info>

Invites a new owner for the app by email, which starts an ownership transfer.

The recipient gets an email with a link, and the transfer completes only once they sign in and accept it. Nothing about the app changes until then. The invitation expires after 7 days. Check first that it can be sent, and what would transfer with the app, with [Check ownership transfer](/api-reference/check-ownership-transfer). Afterwards, follow it with [Get pending ownership transfer](/api-reference/get-pending-ownership-transfer), [Resend ownership transfer](/api-reference/resend-ownership-transfer), or [Cancel ownership transfer](/api-reference/cancel-ownership-transfer).

When the recipient accepts, they pick the workspace that receives the app. If it's a different workspace, the app's current collaborators lose access and its AI chat history is cleared. Integrations and secrets follow the choices in the request. To pass the app to a member of its workspace right away, with no invitation, use [Transfer ownership to a workspace member](/api-reference/transfer-ownership-to-a-workspace-member).

An app can have only one pending transfer. Starting another while one is pending is rejected, whoever it's for. An expired invitation is replaced.

You need to own the app or be an owner or admin of its workspace. A workspace admin who doesn't own the app also needs an Enterprise workspace or approved partner status. An invitation to someone outside the workspace needs that status too, and only workspace owners and admins can send one. The workspace's transfer policy can narrow that to owners, or turn it off.

This is limited to 30 requests a minute per workspace. Some workspaces have a different limit. Invitation emails are also limited to 5 an hour and 20 a day per caller, and to 3 an hour and 10 a day per recipient. Resending counts toward the same limits.

<Note>This endpoint accepts a personal API key. A read-only key is refused, and workspace API keys are not accepted.</Note>

## Path parameters

- `app_id` string, required: ID of the app.

## Request body

- InitiateTransferRequest: The ownership transfer invitation to send.
  - `new_owner_email` string, email, required: Email address of the new owner. The invitation goes there, and they need a Base44 account with this email to accept it.
  - `destination` 'same_workspace' | 'external_email', nullable: Either `same_workspace`, to invite an owner, admin, editor, or member of the app's workspace, or `external_email`, to invite anyone. Defaults to `external_email`.
  - `disconnect_integrations` boolean: Whether to disconnect all of the app's integrations when the recipient accepts into another workspace (`true`) or keep them connected (`false`). It's used only when you send neither `integration_decisions` nor `secret_decisions`, and has no effect when the recipient accepts into the app's current workspace. To disconnect integrations in that case, send `integration_decisions`. Defaults to `true`.
  - `integration_decisions` IntegrationTransferDecisionRequest[], nullable: What happens to each of the app's integrations when the recipient accepts. An integration you leave out is disconnected, and so is one whose `can_keep_connected` is `false`, whatever you choose. If you send `secret_decisions` without this, it counts as empty, which is rejected when the app has integrations.
    - `integration_type` string, required: Integration type, from `transfer_package.integrations` in the preflight result.
    - `action` 'keep_connected' | 'disconnect', required: Either `keep_connected`, to leave the integration connected for the new owner, or `disconnect`.
  - `secret_decisions` SecretTransferDecisionRequest[], nullable: What happens to each of the app's secrets when the recipient accepts. A secret you leave out needs a new value. Values never go in the request, and are copied on the server. If you send `integration_decisions` without this, it counts as empty, which is rejected when the app has secrets. When you send neither list, every secret keeps its value.
    - `secret_name` string, required: Name of the secret, from `transfer_package.secrets` in the preflight result.
    - `action` 'transfer_value' | 'require_new_value', required: Either `transfer_value`, to copy the secret's value to the new owner, or `require_new_value`, to clear it so the new owner sets their own.
  - `keep_sender_as_collaborator` boolean: Whether the app's current owner keeps editor access to the app after the transfer (`true`) or loses their direct access to it (`false`). An owner or admin of the workspace the app ends up in keeps access through that workspace either way. Defaults to `false`.

## Response `200`

The new transfer, waiting for the recipient to accept it.

- PendingOwnershipTransfer: An ownership transfer waiting for its recipient to accept it.
  - `id` string, required: ID of the ownership transfer.
  - `app_id` string, required: ID of the app being transferred.
  - `new_owner_email` string, required: Email address the transfer invitation was sent to.
  - `status` string, required: Either `pending`, while the invitation waits for the recipient, or `accepting`, while the recipient's acceptance is being applied.
  - `expires_at` string, required: When the invitation expires, as a UTC timestamp in ISO 8601 format. The recipient can't accept it after that.

## Other responses

- `400`: The new owner is you or the app's current owner, their account is disabled, the app already has a pending transfer or is blocked, a `same_workspace` recipient isn't an owner, admin, editor, or member of the workspace, or `integration_decisions` or `secret_decisions` is empty while the app has integrations or secrets, names one the app doesn't have, or transfers a secret that has no value.
- `401`: Missing or invalid credentials.
- `403`: You can't manage ownership transfers for this app, the workspace's transfer policy doesn't let you invite someone outside it, the app came from the marketplace, your API key is read-only, you used a workspace API key, or the app's workspace isn't Enterprise and you aren't an approved partner, for an invitation outside the workspace.
- `404`: The app doesn't exist, or it's outside the workspace or apps your API key is scoped to.
- `409`: The app is moving to another workspace.
- `422`: `new_owner_email` is missing or isn't a valid email address, or another field has an invalid value.
- `429`: Rate limit or invitation email limit reached. Retry later.

## Changes

- **2026-10-11** `80287813ab84`: 1 info
  - the endpoint scheme security `PersonalAccessTokenAuth` was added to the API
- **2026-09-30** `63675fa5257c`: 1 info
  - endpoint added

[Operation history](https://skmtc.dev/base44/apis/base44-app-management-api/changes/api/apps/:app_id/ownership/transfer/post.md)

---

[API](https://skmtc.dev/base44/apis/base44-app-management-api.md) - [All operations](https://skmtc.dev/base44/apis/base44-app-management-api/llms.txt) - [OpenAPI document](https://skmtc.dev/base44/apis/base44-app-management-api/revisions/c534f09cf314?raw)