Your Lovable or Cursor app is breaking in production. What now?
By Ian Storni · Published · Updated
Short answer
If your Lovable, Cursor, Bolt or Replit app works in the demo but breaks with real users, start by finding out what is failing before you change anything. This note covers what to check first and when to keep using the AI tool. If you want a developer to take over, my rescue sprint for AI-built apps starts at $5,000, with a fixed price in writing first.
Lovable, Cursor, Bolt and Replit are good at getting a working demo in front of you. That demo runs on one account, one browser and the data you typed in yourself. Real users bring new accounts, slow connections, two people doing the same thing at once and money on the line. Most of the breakage lives in that gap, and most of it is fixable.
Before you change anything
- 01Stop prompting. Each new prompt changes more than you asked for, and you can lose the version that still worked.
- 02Write down what breaks, for whom and when, for example "Sign-up fails for new users on mobile".
- 03Back up the database and push the code to a repository you control, in accounts you own.
What is failing, and what to check first
The same few failure modes show up in most AI-built apps. Match your symptom to the row and check that first.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Check first |
|---|---|---|
| Works for you, fails for a new user | Sign-in, roles or permissions set up around one test account | Sign up as a brand-new user and walk the main flow end to end |
| Breaks when two people use it at once | State kept in the browser or in one shared record | Open two sessions side by side and try the same action |
| Payment goes through, nothing updates | The Stripe webhook never reaches the app, or is not verified | The webhook log in the Stripe dashboard, then the server logs |
| AI feature is slow, times out or stops | The API call runs in the browser, has no timeout, or the key is exposed | Where the API key lives and where the call runs |
| Pages load, data is wrong or missing | Database rules missing, or queries written for the demo data | Row-level rules, and what the query returns for a second user |
When to keep using Lovable
Keep using it when the app is for you or a small group and nothing critical runs on it, when you are still finding out what the product is and change it every day, or when the problems are only cosmetic and sign-in, data and payments work.
Get a developer when real users, their data or their money depend on the app, when the same bug comes back after every prompt, or when you can no longer explain what the app does. A rescue starts with a short review and a written verdict, and the verdict says what to keep, what to fix and whether you can keep prompting on top of it afterwards.
Prices
What it costs
- 01
AI-built app rescue sprint
Get a Lovable, Cursor, Bolt or Replit app ready for real users.
From $5,000Details: AI-built app rescue sprint - 02
API integration
Connect Stripe, OpenAI or another API, at a fixed quote.
From $2,000Details: API integration - 03
Fixed-price MVP
The first version of your product, at a price fixed in writing.
From $8,500Details: Fixed-price MVP
Every price is a "from" price. You get a fixed price in writing before work starts, and nothing is charged before you approve it.
Questions I get
Can I keep using Lovable after a rescue?
Yes, if that is how you want to keep building. The code stays in accounts you own, and the sprint leaves it in a state you can build on, with or without me. The written verdict tells you which parts are safe to keep prompting on and which need a developer's hand.
Do I need to rewrite the app?
Usually not. A rescue starts with a short review and a written verdict that says what to keep, what to fix and what, if anything, to rebuild. Most of the time the demo is worth keeping and the gaps are in sign-in, data rules and payments. I'll tell you, including when you don't need me.
What does a rescue sprint cost?
Rescue sprints for AI-built apps start at $5,000, the same price as for Bubble apps. You get a fixed price in writing before work starts, and nothing is charged before you approve it.
Related offer
See the AI-built app rescue
Get a Lovable, Cursor, Bolt or Replit app ready for real users. Fixed price in writing first; the code and accounts stay yours.
Next step
Not sure which one you need?
Book a call. I'll tell you, including when you don't need me.
Or email hi@ianstorni.com or send a message.