Does Base work on Mac or Linux?

It does, with the same .obase files. Base by Zaweba runs on macOS and Linux as well as Windows, and a database made on one opens on the others; the Mac and Linux version has been checked against a file made on Windows. There are two differences: the Mac and Linux version has no import for Microsoft Access .accdb files, and it prints through CUPS, the printing system those platforms use.

For anyone who has wanted an Access-style database on a Mac, that is good news, since Access itself is a Windows program.

One file, any platform

A Base database is a single .obase file, which is a SQLite database inside. Your tables are real SQLite tables, and their designs, relationships, forms, queries, reports, scripts and the diagram layout are kept in the same file. Nothing lives in a separate folder or a registry.

That is what makes moving between platforms easy. Copy the file to a USB stick, a shared drive or another computer, and open it. A club secretary on a Mac and a treasurer on a Windows laptop can take turns with the same database, as long as they aren't both editing it at the same moment.

What works the same

The building blocks are the same on every platform: the table designer with its field types, rules, masks and value lists; the datasheet with sort, search and filter; the relationships diagram; the visual query builder with parameter, crosstab and action queries; forms with sub-forms, conditional formatting and buttons; sandboxed scripts behind buttons; grouped reports; and the five templates.

Import of CSV and Excel files, export to CSV, .xlsx and JSON, and File > Export to website for a PHP and MySQL site are all part of the app too.

What differs

The Access import needs the Access Database Engine, a Microsoft component for Windows, which is why .accdb import is Windows only. If you are moving from Access to a Mac, do the import once on a Windows PC, then copy the resulting .obase file to the Mac and carry on there.

Printing goes through CUPS on macOS and Linux rather than through Windows printing. Reports still print and save as PDF.

Moving a database between computers

Close the database before copying it, so everything is saved. Records save as you type and designs save when you press Save, so a closed file is a complete one.

Base keeps automatic backups on each computer where you open the database, once a day with the latest ten kept, and File > Back up now makes an extra copy whenever you like. Before moving a database to a different machine for good, making a manual copy is a sensible habit.

If an older .obase file is opened in a newer Base, it is moved up to the current format after a backup copy. An older Base refuses a newer file with a clear message rather than damaging it, so keep the app at a similar version on each computer if you share files back and forth.

The exported website is platform neutral

The website that Base exports is PHP 8.2 with MySQL or MariaDB, which runs on ordinary web hosting whichever computer you built it on. That gives you a third way to share: export the database as a website with logins, and anyone with a browser can use it, on a phone, a Mac, a Linux machine or a Chromebook.

So Base by Zaweba fits mixed households and offices well. Build on whatever computer you have, share the file, or put it online.