# Leaving is a documented procedure > Leaving is a written procedure. See what the handover pack holds, the steps with minutes for each, and what stops when you go. Source: https://customhosted.com/portability/ № 01 Portability Not a negotiation, and not a page that just asserts 'no lock-in' and moves on. Here's what the handover actually contains, what it costs, and what honestly stops when you go. № 02 The pack ## What you receive Every item below is a real, standard file format — nothing that only opens with us. | Item | Format | Good for | | --- | --- | --- | | Infrastructure definition | Code, in the repo | Stand the exact same shape up anywhere that reads it. | | Application repository | Full git history | Every commit that ever touched it, not a snapshot. | | DNS zone | Standard zone file | Import into any registrar or DNS provider. | | Environment & config values | Encrypted export | Everything the app reads at startup, moved deliberately rather than left behind. | | Database dump | Standard dump format | Restore into any compatible database. | | Uploaded & user files | Ordinary files, not a proprietary export | Every file your app ever wrote, not just what shipped in the build. | | Backup archives | Ordinary files | Not a proprietary snapshot format only we can open. | | Pipeline / deploy configuration | Code, in the repo | Whatever ships a merge today keeps shipping it elsewhere. | | Written runbook | Document | What each piece is and how it fits together, for whoever picks it up next. | | CodeHerder brief-and-pull-request history | Already in the repo | The record of every change ever briefed and shipped, kept with the code it changed. | № 03 The procedure ## How it actually goes One procedure, whichever exit shape you pick below — the branch only happens at the rebuild step. 30 minutes, typical That's the whole procedure added up: a typical estimate scheduled around, not a measured average, and most of it is confirming things rather than doing them. 1. You — Say which way you're going — Pick one of the two shapes below, through the quote form: take the pack yourself, or have it rebuilt into an account you own. — ~10 min 2. CustomHosted — The pack is assembled — Every item in the manifest below is exported fresh, alongside the stack that keeps running while it happens. — Nothing 3. You — Confirm where it lands — Your own storage, or handed straight to whoever's building the new home — your call. — ~10 min 4. CustomLabs — Rebuild, if that's the shape you picked — Only for the "rebuild into your account" shape: the same definitions, stood up inside infrastructure you own. — Nothing 5. You — Confirm the new home is live — Point DNS, or just confirm everything is where it should be. — ~10 min 6. CustomHosted — Old access is revoked — On the schedule you set, once you've confirmed the new home is live — not before. — Nothing № 04 Two shapes of exit ## Take it, or have it rebuilt for you Both are free. Both are documented. The difference is whether you want the definitions, or the running stack itself. 1. 1 — Take it and go — You receive the full pack and stand it up wherever you like — another provider, or back in-house. Free, documented, no rebuild required from us. 2. 2 — Rebuild in an account you own — You want the running stack itself, not just the definitions for it. We rebuild it from those same definitions into an infrastructure account you control, and hand over the keys. Also free, also documented. № 05 The honest limits ## What stops when you go Said plainly, not buried — that's the reason this page is worth publishing at all. Leaves with you - The app, and every commit that ever touched it — Full git history, not a snapshot taken on the way out. - The infrastructure definition — The same code that stood the stack up in the first place. - The domain's DNS records — A standard zone file, importable anywhere. - All the data — A fresh database dump, plus the backup archives as ordinary files. - The deploy pipeline configuration and a runbook — What ships a merge today, written down well enough to hand to someone new. - The CodeHerder brief-and-pull-request history — It's already in the repo, so it leaves with the repo. Genuinely stops - Monitoring, patching, and the backup schedule — The schedule we run stops when the account does. Whoever hosts it next needs to pick that back up. - The named human — The person on the other end of the quote channel is only reachable while you're a customer. - The CodeHerder loop — The repo, its history, and every brief in it stay yours — but briefing a change and having an agent open a pull request that ships through CI needs the pipeline we operate. Once that's gone, shipping a change goes back to being a manual pull request again. № 06 Answers ## Portability questions The follow-ups that come up once leaving is actually on the table. 1. 01 Does leaving cost anything? No. The handover pack and both exit shapes above are free, whenever you ask for them, and there's no minimum term to run out first. 2. 02 How long does a handover actually take, on my side? Under 30 minutes of your own time, spread across the steps above — the same discipline as the onboarding checklist, added up rather than guessed at. The pack itself is assembled without pausing the stack that's still running. 3. 03 What if I don't have anywhere to put it yet? That's fine — ask for the pack and take your time deciding where it goes next. Nothing about assembling it commits you to a destination. 4. 04 Can CustomLabs just rebuild it somewhere else for me? Yes — that's the second exit shape above. Same infrastructure definitions, stood up inside an account you own, with the keys handed over at the end. 5. 05 What happens to the CodeHerder brief history when I leave? It stays — every brief and pull request already lives in the repo you're taking with you. What ends is the pipeline that turns a new brief into a shipped change automatically; the record of the old ones doesn't go anywhere. 6. 06 Do I need a reason to ask for a handover? No. It's documented and free precisely so it isn't a negotiation — ask for it because you're leaving, because you're curious what it contains, or for no stated reason at all. № 07 Keep reading ## What portability connects to - [Your data The unplanned exit — this page's own pack list, reused for what survives a delete rather than a move.](https://customhosted.com/your-data) - [Onboarding The handover checklist for arriving. This page is its outbound mirror — the same discipline, running in the other direction.](https://customhosted.com/onboarding) - [Repository The repository this page's "application repository" pack item names — who owns it while you're still a customer.](https://customhosted.com/repository) - [Migrations The cutover mechanics for moving in. Already hosted here and moving on instead? That direction is this page.](https://customhosted.com/migrate) - [Security The security questionnaire. Its last row asks whether you can leave with everything.](https://customhosted.com/security) - [Domains The DNS zone in the handover pack above, in full — every record class, and who owns it while you’re still here.](https://customhosted.com/domains) - [The Loop The pipeline behind § 05 below — what a briefed change relies on, and why it needs us running it.](https://customhosted.com/loop) - [Recovery The unplanned exit — this page's sibling for when something is gone or broken instead of a deliberate move.](https://customhosted.com/recovery) - [Billing What cancelling actually does to the invoice, and where this page’s free handover pack fits into it.](https://customhosted.com/billing) - [Access Who holds a key while you're still a customer — this page is about the keys handed over when you're not.](https://customhosted.com/access) - [Without us The mirror question — what happens when CustomHosted is not there, not when you leave, reusing this page's own pack and procedure.](https://customhosted.com/without-us) ## Ready to see the pack for real? Ask for a handover any time — free, documented, no reason required. [Get a quote →](https://customhosted.com/contact)