fix(dev): scaffold apps with the injected local dev server URL

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@
 
 - App visibility: `base44 visibility <public|private|workspace>` sets it on the server directly (accepts `--app-id` to target any app). Also configurable via `"visibility"` in `config.jsonc`, which `base44 deploy` applies. New projects scaffold `"visibility": "public"`.
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Newly scaffolded apps talk to the local dev backend under `base44 dev`: the generated client reads the `VITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL` env var the dev server injects, falling back to the production server when unset (e.g. plain `npm run dev`).
+
 ## [0.0.51] - 2026-04-28
 
 ### Added

packages/cli/templates/backend-and-client/src/api/base44Client.js.ejs

@@ -2,4 +2,8 @@ import { createClient } from '@base44/sdk';
 
 export const base44 = createClient({
   appId: '<%= projectId %>',
+  // `base44 dev` injects VITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL (http://localhost:<port>) so the
+  // SDK targets the local dev backend; unset in prod builds, so it falls back to
+  // the SDK's default server.
+  serverUrl: import.meta.env.VITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL || undefined,
 });

packages/cli/tests/cli/create.spec.ts

@@ -76,6 +76,34 @@ describe("create command", () => {
     expect(config).toContain('"visibility": "public"');
   });
 
+  it("scaffolds a client that targets the dev server URL injected by base44 dev", async () => {
+    await t.givenLoggedIn({ email: "test@example.com", name: "Test User" });
+    t.api.mockCreateApp({ id: "dev-url-app-id", name: "Dev Url App" });
+
+    const projectPath = join(t.getTempDir(), "dev-url-app");
+
+    const result = await t.run(
+      "create",
+      "Dev Url App",
+      "--path",
+      projectPath,
+      "--template",
+      "backend-and-client",
+      "--no-skills",
+    );
+
+    t.expectResult(result).toSucceed();
+
+    const client = await readFile(
+      join(projectPath, "src", "api", "base44Client.js"),
+      "utf-8",
+    );
+    expect(client).toContain("dev-url-app-id");
+    expect(client).toContain(
+      "serverUrl: import.meta.env.VITE_BASE44_APP_BASE_URL || undefined",
+    );
+  });
+
   it("infers path from name when --path is not provided", async () => {
     await t.givenLoggedIn({ email: "test@example.com", name: "Test User" });
     t.api.mockCreateApp({ id: "inferred-path-id", name: "My App" });